According to the Japanese-English dictionary, chibi is a Japanese slang term that means small and is used to refer to: a child, short person, midget, dwarf, small animal or runt. It can be used to mean pipsqueak, small fry, shrimp and such as well. Chibi is also used to describe small, cute versions of manga and anime characters, typically with oversized heads. That’s a whole lot of meaning for a word that represents smallness!

Ok, so let’s split this up in two. First we have the Japanese slang term which is used mostly as either a taunt or a term of endearment. If you’ve ever seen Fullmetal Alchemist, you’ll recall Ed has a bit of an issue with his short stature and is often referred to as chibi (shrimp or small fry in the translations) which usually leads to a very ticked off Ed. Sometimes a character will call out to a young child as chibi, which can be translated as something like “little guy” or “shorty”. And we can even see it in names like Chibiusa from Sailor Moon which is short for Chibi Usagi (lit. Little Rabbit) since she’s basically Usagi’s Mini Me.

The second way the term is used – and let’s face it, probably the main reason you ended up here – is to refer to those tiny, extra cute versions of anime (or manga) characters with big heads. Known in Japan as Super Deformed or SD, this style makes all characters look like small children, (though sometimes the curvier females tend to keep that quality). SD and chibi are used interchangeably by most non-Japanese fans and it can be easily identified by disproportionately large eyes and heads and –most of the time - little detail in regards to things like wardrobe or even fingers or feet, these sometimes ending in pointy stubs instead. Some features like noses and mouths can be lost as well depending on the emotion being presented.

While there is some anime which is completely in SD/chibi style, it is most widely used to express emotions in an exaggerated way. For example, a character can be in his usual style until someone calls him “shrimp” at which point he proves the person right by turning into a tiny, stubby, adorable version of himself with a huge head, no nose, exaggerated angry eyes with no pupils and a big screaming mouth. Sounds familiar? Other characters turn chibi when they are being super cute, energetic, sassy, shy, or yes, even sad! This style is used mostly to enhance an emotion by making it exaggerated, funny and 99% of the time, pretty cute!

As for the shows that are all in chibi form, they usually tend to add the normal amount of detail to wardrobe and extremities, just keeping the cuteness of having a bunch of tiny, rounder, softer, cuter, big-headed characters running around.

Now that you know way more than you ever thought necessary about chibis, here are some shows you can get your chibi fill from!

So there you go. Chibi isn’t just about being cute; it’s mostly about expressing emotions. Though the cuteness doesn’t hurt! Chibis make appearances in a vast number of anime and the list of suggestions could go on and on. I settled on the three I mentioned because they showcase a nice spectrum of situations in which you may encounter chibis in anime. Plus, 90’s chibis! A lot of shows won’t use chibis as often as the ones mentioned and will only reserve it for one particular character or only in certain situations, and in fact shows like Attack on Titan: Junior High are rare.

I hope this article was enlightening and entertaining. What do you think? How do you feel about chibis? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Need ‘em!? What chibi-featuring anime would you suggest? Let us know in the comments below!

Nya~!