Cute—"Kawaii" in local parlance—wears many guises in Japan. There's old-school kawaii, embodied by the helpless, mouthless gaze of Hello Kitty. There's the newer guy-cute, manifest by masses ...

but not cute little girls,” he said. “That contrast excited me. I started developing it from that point.” “You’ve got this colorful, cartoon-y, rainbow-y show with cute characters and ...