Could You Explain Kawaii To Me

[FairreLilette]

It seems to me Kawaii has had a super explosion.  I see Kawaii stuff everywhere and showing up in the what customer's are buying now of just the past few weeks.

However, I'm not quite sure what the look is nor anything about it really.

As far as the look, is it mostly baby pastels and black for the colors of the clothes and "chunky" shoes?

What are those interested in Kawaii looking for in their dress and what is it about?  

Also, I think I came upon a Kawaii seller and there were guns to wear.  What do the guns symbolize?   Does Kawaii come from some kind of "action" game?  

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

simple. it means Kawaii.. aka Japanese for cute. uwu

its for anything anime'ish that is cute or small or chibi'ish.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Drakonadrgora Darkfold

[FairreLilette]

Just now, Drakonadrgora Darkfold said:

simple. it means Kawaii.. aka Japanese for cute.

Oh, thank you.  It's weird that explanation says "that Neko is so cute" because I was going to ask if it Kawaii was the "new Neko".

So, Kawaii and Neko are sort of related?  

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

well a neko could be considered kawaii to some people yes.

'she is such a kawaii neko isn't she!'

if you read down several of the definitions it kind of explains the use of it by some other people.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Drakonadrgora Darkfold

[FairreLilette]

1 hour ago, Drakonadrgora Darkfold said:

well a neko could be considered kawaii to some people yes.

I see, so a Dinkie could be considered Kawaii.

I just realized what may be driving this Kawaii (human character) explosion I've been seeing recently in the "what customers are buying now", especially the clothes that are "cute" and pastels and for young looking avatars is that Maitreya just recently came out with a Petite body which could be for teen shapes.

It's been a Kawaii explosion lately plus I noticed Kawaii sims in the What's Hot Now in the Destination Guide inworld and I've never seen that before.  

 

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

9 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

I see, so a Dinkie could be considered Kawaii.

I just realized what may be driving this Kawaii (human character) explosion I've been seeing recently in the "what customers are buying now", especially the clothes that are "cute" and pastels and for young looking avatars is that Maitreya just recently came out with a Petite body which could be for teen shapes.

It's been a Kawaii explosion lately plus I noticed Kawaii sims in the What's Hot Now in the Destination Guide inworld and I've never seen that before.  

 

yes a dinkie or tiny could be considered kawaii to some people because it fits in the category as being chibi. often chibi and kawaii are interchanged by some people because they have similar meanings.

'awww such a kawaii chibi you are!!!' aka.. your super cute and small i want to devour/cuddle/hold/spoil/etc.. you.

yeah that could be leading part of the trend. being seen as uber cute can be a real turn on to some people and for others seeing them. on the opposite side of the spectrum is the mega or hyper characters, with over accentuated body parts.

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Drakonadrgora Darkfold

[Pussycat Catnap]

40 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

I just realized what may be driving this Kawaii (human character) explosion I've been seeing recently in the "what customers are buying now", especially the clothes that are "cute" and pastels and for young looking avatars is that Maitreya just recently came out with a Petite body which could be for teen shapes.

That addon for Maitreya is about 2 days old right now and has almost no supporting items thus far. This obsession with using the Japanese word for cute has been around for years in SL. Because the new Maitreya addon is so new though, it really couldn't be behind even a current spike in cute themes, as you won't find kits that can use the Maitreya addon in any of those places...

The 'Kawaii' thing is usually the 'flip side' of the 'loli' thing. Basically the 'G' and 'XXX' version of otherwise the same concept: girly, cute, underaged. Sometimes it blurs when people from one camp get confused and think they belong in the other... Basically are you having your play party at Disneyland or Jeffery Epstein's Island?

- Anytime the popularity in one spikes, the other does as well, and one of the other becomes the 'face' of the theme.

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Pussycat Catnap

[Maitimo]

Kawaii is simply Japanese for "cute" but yes, there is a tendency towards pastel colours and it crosses over with the "lolita" style and to some extent the "babygoth" or "pastel-goth" scene.  It also tends to involve lots of kittens. And cupcakes. I don't know if the guns symbolise anything at all but I have seen pink guns with Hello Kitty decals on them. Part of the reason for the current increase may be the anniversary of Hello Kitty, which wasn't so long ago. (45 years, that cat's nearly as old as me!)

[FairreLilette]

4 minutes ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

That addon for Maitreya is about 2 days old right now and has almost no supporting items thus far. This obsession with using the Japanese word for cute has been around for years in SL. Because the new Maitreya addon is so new though, it really couldn't be behind even a current spike in cute themes, as you won't find kits that can use the Maitreya addon in any of those places...

Oh, it's an add on from Maitreya and it's not that old.  

I was trying to figure out what might be behind the recent explosion in Kawaii I've noticed.  

It seems to be extremely popular right now...I've noticed it in trends of the past two weeks or so....just kind of exploding.  

[Pussycat Catnap]

Just now, FairreLilette said:

I was trying to figure out what might be behind the recent explosion in Kawaii I've noticed. 

I've been seeing it for years. Anytime you try to put together an anime avatar half your search attempts will land you there.

There's a lot of overlap between kawaii, anime, and child avatar themes. Also with 'loli' but they're more like a persistent infection...

 

[Wulfie Reanimator]

Like others have already kind of pointed out "kawaii" in this context refers to the Japanese "culture of cuteness," specifically all things "lovable" or "adorable." There are many sub-types like lolita-fashion or idols.

In SL it seems to primarily fall into the gothy categories. "Pastel-goth" was mentioned and that most accurately describes what I come across the most in random (not kawaii related) sims.

Anyway, to appeal to this crowd in general doesn't require much beside making it pink and low-contrast. The item doesn't matter. It can be anything from frilly dresses and thigh-highs to 6-inch combat boots and syringes. 

Anything can be kawaii.

P.S. The kawaii aesthetic caters to me so much. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Wulfie Reanimator

[ChinRey]

1 minute ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

Anyway, to appeal to this crowd in general doesn't require much beside making it pink and low-contrast. The item doesn't matter. It can be anything from frilly dresses and thigh-highs to 6-inch combat boots and syringes. 

Anything can be kawaii.

Thank you, now you made me think of Hello Kitty guns. 🤢

[FairreLilette]

40 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

Kawaii is simply Japanese for "cute" but yes, there is a tendency towards pastel colours and it crosses over with the "lolita" style and to some extent the "babygoth" or "pastel-goth" scene.  It also tends to involve lots of kittens. And cupcakes. I don't know if the guns symbolise anything at all but I have seen pink guns with Hello Kitty decals on them. Part of the reason for the current increase may be the anniversary of Hello Kitty, which wasn't so long ago. (45 years, that cat's nearly as old as me!)

Oh yeah, I remember seeing the Hello Kitty Anniversary stuff and pictures and it was cute.  

My real life best friend loves and wears Hello Kitty stuff, so she's Kawaii then.  Wait til I tell her!  lol AND rofl.  

Edited July 6, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

18 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

Like others have already kind of pointed out "kawaii" in this context refers to the Japanese "culture of cuteness," specifically all things "lovable" or "adorable." There are many sub-types like lolita-fashion or idols.

In SL it seems to primarily fall into the gothy categories. "Pastel-goth" was mentioned and that most accurately describes what I come across the most in random (not kawaii related) sims.

Anyway, to appeal to this crowd in general doesn't require much beside making it pink and low-contrast. The item doesn't matter. It can be anything from frilly dresses and thigh-highs to 6-inch combat boots and syringes. 

Anything can be kawaii.

P.S. The kawaii aesthetic caters to me so much. 

those characters in that picture would also be considered chibi.

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

16 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

Thank you, now you made me think of Hello Kitty guns. 🤢

the person is being cute and adorable while they shoot you dead.

[FairreLilette]

23 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

Thank you, now you made me think of Hello Kitty guns. 🤢

Oh wait ChinRey, the guns I've seen are see-thru.  I think they are supposed to be those water pistols we had when we were kids.  Well, in America, we had water pistols; you fill them with water and then shoot each other with water.  

 

48 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

It also tends to involve lots of kittens. And cupcakes. I don't know if the guns symbolise anything at all but I have seen pink guns with Hello Kitty 

I'm going to have to get my real life best friend some cupcake earrings now.  She will probably wear them too with her real life Hello Kitty stuffs.  

And, my rl best friend is an ice cream freak and she has those Hello Kitty ice cream dishes too.  I think my rl bf is a rl Kawaii.  I never knew this.  lol

Edited July 6, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Wulfie Reanimator]

4 minutes ago, Drakonadrgora Darkfold said:

those characters in that picture would also be considered chibi.

Yes, you can mix genres just like in any other art. "Chibi" tends to go hand-in hand with kawaii because it's just a fact that humans find round shapes to be more "cute" and the whole point of chibi characters is the cuteness. It's not binary ("that's chibi, not kawaii") like your comment implies.

It's not even uncommon to find kawaii mixed with pain/blood/horror elements. Especially bruises and bandaids, I imagine because being easily bruised implies frailty, which again fits with the kawaii theme. See, photos: example, example, art: example, example, art (blood): example, example, example

Anyway, the above examples aren't the type I see on SL (nor one I really get), but yeah. My point is you can mix with literally anything.

[HarrisonMcKenzie]

Kawaii is a Japanese word. It means cute. Like neko (which just means cat), if people are attributing any other meaning to it, they are wrong.

Signed,

A Japanese linguist

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

15 minutes ago, HarrisonMcKenzie said:

Kawaii is a Japanese word. It means cute. Like neko (which just means cat), if people are attributing any other meaning to it, they are wrong.

Signed,

A Japanese linguist

And in america, it is often co-opted to mean several things regardless of what the original japanese meaning of the word is, same as neko.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

1 hour ago, HarrisonMcKenzie said:

Kawaii is a Japanese word. It means cute. Like neko (which just means cat), if people are attributing any other meaning to it, they are wrong.

Signed,

A Japanese linguist

Look up the "Chinese room experiment." You are the computer in the analogy. You may know what the word means, but your comment is a pretty clear reflection of how little you understand of the word and culture. 

[ItHadToComeToThis]

Kawaii in RL : Cute things, dresses, hair bands, jewellery, pens, phone cases. Anything that is considered legitimately cute.

Kawaii in SL : Vaguely pink stockings sold at a fetish event alongside badly made black rubber catsuits and dildos. 

The latter was a real event i saw a couple months ago. Made a huge deal about being “Kawaii” and had nothing you would consider remotely cute, let alone related to the word Kawaii.

[ItHadToComeToThis]

Also...uwu...I can maybe see it as a monster with its eyes closed and teeth showing. Is that what it’s meant to be. I know it’s supposed to be a cute face but I have never seen it as one. Every other emote I have understood but this one...to me I live in a world of people dropping the sound “OooohWooo” into every conversation

[animats]

Kawaii

This is from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Japan's premiere kawaii store. That's the kawaii look at the high end. Baby has a branch in San Francisco. (Closed for the epidemic, though) For about US$1000, you can put together a good outfit there.  If you're doing this in Second Life, it's cheaper.

Edited July 17, 2020 by animats

[ChinRey]

On 7/16/2020 at 6:50 PM, HarrisonMcKenzie said:

Kawaii is a Japanese word. It means cute.

Oh. I thought the Japanese word for it was かわいい

 

[Syo Emerald]

On 7/17/2020 at 9:43 PM, animats said:

This is from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Japan's premiere kawaii store. That's the kawaii look at the high end. Baby has a branch in San Francisco. (Closed for the epidemic, though) For about US$1000, you can put together a good outfit there.  If you're doing this in Second Life, it's cheaper.

To be precise, what Baby, the Stars Shine Bright focuses on is Lolita Fashion (no, not related to that horrible book). Lolita can be kawaii, especially substyles like Sweet Lolita, which focuses on pastel colours, printed fabric with friendly designs (fruits, cake, kittens, teddybears, bunnies...) and lots of acessories. Other styles are a bit more subtile (example picture attached, this would be Qi Lolita)

Why I know all this stuff? Because I'm fool enough to own an outfit myself...precisly the one in the picture. If it weren't for covid, I would have worn it at least once to an event by now.