Kawaii is anime's cutest side ... Its ultimate embodiment is the chibi, a style that took what was already an adorable art form, shrank it to its most diminutive, and gave it glistening saucer ...

“Chibi Maruko-chan” is an essay-style manga set in Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture (present-day Shizuoka). It portrays the day-to-day existence of Maruko, a third-grader modeled after ...