~Chibiness~ What makes the Chibi style so unique? I would say it's definitely the body proportions. No matter what the original character and body type was, the Chibi versions tend to have a similar (exaggerated) body type, making the style easily recognizable. However, what appeals the most to me is the "cuteness factor", where chubby cheeks and body, rounded shapes, and big eyes all contribute to the overall cuteness. In a nutshell, I would say that Chibi style is about making characters of any age and body type look like an adorable small chubby toddler or child - hence the adorable cuteness. The typical Chibi style would have the head size representing about a third to even half of the body size, but in this case, I was aiming more for the cuteness. It has all the key elements of the style, just missing the huge head. In Japanese, "chibi" means a short or small person, but it can also be used to objects or animals. Calling someone a "chibi" in Japan may be offensive if used to describe them, though it can also be used as a sign of affection. However, more often than not, people would be offended. It would be the equivalent of calling them "shorty" or "small fry", where that is offensive everywhere else in the world. However, it is especially offensive in Japan because they like to think they all "look the same", which is translated into the term "futsu" (ordinary), in the sense of belonging to a uniform group and never standing out from it. In the West, being called "ordinary" could be offensive, but in Japanese society, it's the opposite because it's something that would make them stand out from the group. So, in a sense, you could say this would be offensive to the Japanese in more than one way. If nothing else, now you know yet another way to insult a Japanese. LOL Although the Kanji writing system used in Japan was imported from China, the term "chibi" has its roots in Kobun (classical Japanese), originally pronounced "tsubi", meaning a "tiny, rounded thing". It has then evolved to "tsubu", meaning to round out something with sharp edges by wearing it out. Over time, it has evolved to "chibiru", still meaning to be "worn out". During the 1370s (Nanbokuchō period), it was finally worn out down to "chibi" (pun intended), now meaning "a smaller version of itself", now finally getting closer to its modern meaning. However, Japanese literature of that period used the term like "a little bit" or "little by little", meaning it could only be used as a complement in compound words. It was only in the Meiji period (1868-1912) when people finally began using "chibi" as a word on its own, finally winning its independence from compound words. So, you could say the term took 5 centuries to get to its current meaning and pronunciation in Japan! Nonetheless, the West (namely the USA) came up with its own "Super Deformed" (SD) term for it in the late 20th century, still referring to "Chibi Style". So don't be confused by this - both terms mean the same thing. The world has a long-lasting tradition of inventing their own words for existing Japanese terms. A classic example is "Japan", where the actual country name is "Nippon" (or "Nihon"). The word "Japan" is a result of interactions and adaptations between Chinese, Malay/Indonesian, Portuguese, and English languages during the mid 16th century. But in the artistic side, Chibi style is about making anyone as cute as a small chubby toddler/child. The style is often used as comic relief as a break from more serious drama situations. As far as I know, the style was first seen in 1982 as Gen Sato was working on the action sci-fi Anime OAV called "Crusher Joe", and apparently, by accident. Sato claimed to being afraid of getting fired for not being good enough to work in the project, so he came up with a special 4-panel manga gag using Chibi style for the first time in history. To his own surprise, his bosses liked it so much that it was sent to other manga magazines, and the rest is history. Having that said, next time you see a Chibi/SD character, you will now have a much deeper understanding of the style and its cultural meaning. Image made with Stable Diffusion, postwork in PaintShop, with cultural and historical overview by Ken Kawashima.