Despair Behind Cute Characters: Why Asian Young People Are Enthralled

Released on September 13, it is competing for the top spot at the box office, ahead of the Chocha casting.

It has recorded the third-highest result so far among animated films released this year.

The protagonist is Chika, her friend is Garma, and another friend is a rabbit.

They are nicknamed 'Mamezakki,' an abbreviation meaning 'cute little characters.'

According to Japanese analysis, the average age of Chiikawa fans is about 40.

People in their 30s make up the largest share, and those in their 20s also account for a considerable portion. The fact that the 30s and 40s, a group not easily drawn to theaters, have become a large share of viewers cannot be explained by cuteness alone.

The Japan Character Award is called the Oscars of Japanese anime, and Chiikawa won its top prize for three consecutive years.

The character cannot speak and only mumbles. It has no defined gender and only has onomatopoeic dialogue.

The original manga is just a few panels, and the animation runs about a minute at most.

Despite their lovable and adorable appearances, the characters in Chiikawa are day laborers. Each day they make a living through day labor, worn down by worries about exams and paychecks.

Every morning they must visit a temp agency, and only by passing qualification exams can they do proper work. Garma holds a Grade 5 weeding certificate and the rabbit character a Grade 3; the higher the grade, the greater the income and social standing.

The protagonist Chiikawa spent five years working toward passing the Grade 5 weeding exam, succeeding only on the third attempt. Passing earns 70 yen an hour, and reaching Grade 3 earns 90 yen an hour.

Obtaining the top-tier Super License allows one to work a Grade 1 part-time job at a ramen shop. Failure in this process carries the risk of being killed by monsters, and to buy weapons one must earn certifications and save money through labor.

Running a business or trade is possible only for the ruling class. The protagonists can only labor, or use their certifications to earn a meager bowl of stew and engage in consumption.

Without the ability to accumulate capital, they live hand to mouth, barely covering basic food costs. Their homes, such as a cave-like shelter, are extremely poor.

It is described as a dystopian labor society, and most viewers feel that dystopian labor society.

The reality is extreme poverty, where one gets certifications and works part-time in a cave just to survive, and failing a monster hunt can mean death. Yet the character goes around saying 'hehehe' with a bright expression and endures it.

The gap between painfully harsh reality and a cute, cheerful portrayal captivated many fans. Many young people find a sense of kinship in that gap.

A 25-year-old fan in Korea is struggling with housing and job problems.

He feels the work understands lives very similar to his own.

This is why 11 million people in Japan have watched it. It is directly proportional to the degree of economic hardship felt by young people in each country, and the more a country struggles, the higher its popularity rises.

Young people in Korea are also forming a sense of shared experience, and Korean youth are dividing into those who identify with Chiikawa and those who do not.

The figure appears to have shrunk from the earlier 30-percent-range numbers.

Competition over the gaokao (China's college entrance exam) is fierce, and the academic-credential obsession in China is far stronger than in Korea.

Even after repeating exams once or twice and still failing to enter the desired university, people get branded with the label of 'full-time children.'

Workers in the platform economy, such as delivery riders, are left without guaranteed basic rights.

Insurance is not provided, and compensation for injuries is inadequate.

A Japanese character has achieved rare success in China. Beyond diplomatic friction, it has won over a large number of Chinese fans.

Young people describe Chiikawa as a 'digital painkiller' that soothes their anxieties.

Rather than voicing complaints directly, people convey messages in soft, indirect ways. Works like Chiikawa are examples of 'indirect satire through cuteness,' and Westerners often wonder why Asians do not act more assertively.

High school students in France are staging intense protests.

Asian societies are described as having no middle ground: the choice is framed as extreme action versus passive, indirect expression.