Chiikawa: Anxious, Cute, and Definitely Popular
A year ago, Rob and I were making our way through Osaka Station in Japan near the end of October. A cute souvenir shop caught my eye as we were walking, and they had a bunch of cute mascot keychains of "Chiikawa" characters- I had seen them just about everywhere on the trip. Hell, even a a few days prior when we were traveling to Takarazuka for the Tezuka Museum, the train line was running a Chiikawa themed promotion. I remember little signs with illustrations of the Chiikawa main cast sitting on the train with a reminder to passengers to be mindful of not spreading out too much on the seats so everyone can have a space to sit. I didn't think much of it at the time. They must have been really cute mascots of some sort, though that second time at Osaka I did turn to Rob and ask him, "What IS that?", like he was going to know the answer or something.
I would finally have my answer in September of this year when a Chiikawa anime episode would eventually show up in my Youtube recommended. They're short episodes, around less than a minute long with the ending theme bumping it to around 1:40. And what I saw would eventually engross me totally for months to come.
Chiikawa- which is a portmanteau of "Chiisana Kawaii Yatsu" (Something Small and Cute), stars a small, white, hamster-like creature (We're not sure WHAT they actually are) and the bizarre, surreal universe they live in and their friends. It was started by the author Nagano on Twitter back in 2020 and has been going pretty strong since, with an ongoing anime adaptation. Chiikawa is a very anxious creature and this plays a massive part in the appeal of the series. Despite this, they tend to be extremely lucky (shown by how many times they win lotteries over the course of the series), and their shortcomings are easily made up through their friends. Hachiware, a blue tuxedo-like cat, is one of their best friends and also does most of the talking in the series, as Chiikawa doesn't really speak outside of the occasional "No!" and crying noises. They are also accompanied by Usagi, a rabbit who is constantly active and enters the scene by screaming.
I think a big part of the series' boom is due to how Chiikawa reacts in certain situations, and how relatable and endearing they come off to the audience as they navigate an issue. Sharing meals with friends is also a pretty consistent theme throughout, which is something that's important to me as an adult. There is an episode where both Hachiware and Chiikawa decide to try a new restaurant, only to find out that it has strict rules upon ordering. After finding out what the rules are online, they arrive there and begin to place their order... until poor Chiikawa is overcome with anxiety on what they went over before they walked in. Hachiware steps in to complete their order and proceed without issue, laughing off how stressed they were over nothing after the fact. How many times did you wrack your brain over something that ended up not being a big deal after, and did you realize it was pretty silly? Chiikawa covers a lot of little day to day snags like this, and it's no surprise this is why it's amassed such a fanbase.
And... what a fanbase it has! I was SHOCKED to see the amount of people that show up to the exclusive pop-up shops and restaurants in Japan. I watched a video where a woman showed off her receipt from one of the pop-ups and she had spent over the equivalent of $700 at this single store. One video of the anime also filled my recommended with Japanese fan videos engaging in "ちい活"- "Chiikatsu" or "Chiikawa fan activities". All exclusive stores have lottery based entry as well, making it pretty competitive amongst fans. And boy, do people show up for it. It's my dream to eventually go to the Chiikawa Bakery in Harajuku, but who knows...
As for me, I've got somewhat of a little Chiikawa collection going now thanks in part to my local Japanese shopping spot and Miniso. I even said "Screw it!" and went to American Dream mall for its Chiikawa pop-up event last month. One of my travel goals is to potentially be able to visit the Chiikawa MoguMogu Honpo store in Kyoto and get some of the super cute Kyoto-themed merch where they're all dressed up as inari foxes or holding matcha soft serves. I will brave those crowds again if I must.
And my favorite of all the little guys? I love them all a lot, but Kurimanju-senpai is my favorite, partly due to him acting like such an old man and never talking, just chugging down a beer and going, "Ha~ah!" It's so deeply infectious that my husband and I do the same thing after finishing off a beer.
I recommend checking Chiikawa out if possible! It's super endearing and much needed in the current hellscape. The manga is unfortunately not translated officially, but fans have taken to scanlating what is available and the anime is being distributed by HiDive. Also, watch this and see how you feel about Chiikawa after.