Itami-kawaii: Cute gets depressing, inspires Japanese Twitter users
Perhaps one of the first words Japanese language-learners pick up is “kawaii,” which makes sense considering how often you’ll hear it in everything from TV shows and anime to a stroll down Takeshita-dōri. However, “kawaii” isn’t just “kawaii” anymore–there’s also kimo-kawaii (“gross but cute”), among others.
And now there’s a new kawaii that’s spreading through the Japanese Twitterverse: Itami-kawaii, or “painful but cute.” It might be hard to visualize, so check out some pictures below and get ready to groan “kawaiiiiiii” in agony.
▼”Itami-kawaii ♡” (Illustration by Saccstry )
痛みかわいい♡ http://t.co/ClDu2iHs7H
—
⁽⁽ଘゆ♡いଓ⁾⁾✡✯*☪ (@Neymar11Yui) June 07, 2014
Before we really get into “itami-kawaii,” we first need to get two other things out of the way. The first is “guro-kawaii,” which is basically “grotesque but cute,” sort of like the tweeted images below.
▼”Right-brain-chan and Left-brain-chan, together the two of them are one pair of twins.”
｢右脳ちゃんと左脳ちゃん｣
—
二人で1つの双子ちゃんですc(・ω・
#毒かわいい
#グロかわいい
#イラスト基地 #RT から気になった人フォローする http://t.co/KbbsKNGaK7
からめるざらめ。 (@zarame06) February 12, 2015
▼Mmm…blood! The breakfast of champions!
You could probably think of it as the intersection of Suicide Circle (warning: link contains very gory/bloody scenes, definitely NSFW) and Hello Kitty . If musical genres help more, it’s like someone combined grindcore and J-Pop.
Guro-kawaii seems to have been around for a while, but it has some slight (but important) differences from itami-kawaii. In fact, itami-kawaii seems to be an extension of yume-kawaii (dreamy and cute), which is similar to normal kawaii except that it uses mostly pastel colors and often has fairy tale themes.
▼Like this!
夢かわいいふくえさん(あくまでイメージ) http://t.co/BguKXGpaoH
—
りお@黒糖 (@Reox_0212) February 22, 2015
▼Or this! We think…
@ ___1981___ 夢かわいいwith相撲 http://t.co/6Q360vR5C7
—
よだれ (@__UoU__zZ__) February 15, 2015
So far, both of these “subtypes of kawaii,” probably make sense and are fairly easily identifiable. Now we can get to itami-kawaii, or “painful but cute!”
If “guro-kawaii” is like grindcore, then itami-kawaii would probably be closer to emo or goth musicians dressed up in sailor uniforms and overlaid with Instagram filters. Like this!
▼”BTW, I’ll kill you if you say I’m ugly.”
#ゆめかわいい
—
#病みかわいい http://t.co/uVvvQ02viQ
ゆめかわいいbot (@Dream_Cute_) May 03, 2014
While there does seem to be some overlap between guro-kawaii and itami-kawaii, it looks like itami-kawaii is less bloody. This should make sense since itami-kawaii is basically an extension of yume-kawaii, just with more ennui than dreaminess.
▼死んじゃえ (shinjae) basically means “Let’s just die.” However,
the context is intentionally unclear here, so it could mean
“Why don’t I just die?” or even “Why don’t you just die?”
死んじゃえ、
—
#病みかわいい
#可愛いから死ぬ http://t.co/MhLSW3rAUy
可愛い♡bot (@mooi_meisj) January 21, 2015
The pastel colors give the photo a cute-but-melancholy look, almost like a suicidal doll. A perfect example of itami-kawaii!
This next one is a bit more ambiguous, and you could probably argue that it’s more yume-kawaii or moe-kawai than itami-kawaii. That said, there’s also something vaguely unsettling about this galactic girl that we would say slots it into the itami-kawaii category.
▼Please note that this image was created by Saccstry ,
as was helpfully pointed out in the comments.
ゆめかわいい人気やん
—
めあはゆめかわいいよりも病みかわいい毒かわいいが好きかな
でも萌えかわいいが至高じゃねぇか http://t.co/ZQEj0I640I
ʚ めあ ɞ (@UoxoUmfmf) May 24, 2014
The illustration in the tweet below reads “I wish I had been born more beautiful. Or, I wish I had not been born at all,” and the tweeted message is, “The world is unfair, isn’t it?”
世界って不公平だよね
—
#ゆめかわいい
#病みかわいい
#拾い画 http://t.co/pYgeuOU0pc
病みふわbot (@pastel_0622) February 18, 2015
And moving into even more depressing territory, here’s an itami-kawaii illustration someone tweeted. They seem to be quite proud of their work–and it isa pretty good illustration. It’s also just incredibly depressing.
▼No. Just…no.
病みかわいいできました！！！！！！
—
ふぁぼください！！！！！！！！
#病みかわいい http://t.co/x2YkNSuHgb
⚡️ピカ族⚡️みさろーは8日武道館 (@see_miwa) February 19, 2015
Itami-kawaii also sometimes features medical imagery, such as pills, scalpels, and needles. This is another deviation from guro-kawaii, which tends to depict more visceral, immediate grotesque images.
▼Can’t forget the pastel filter!
※注射器はボールペン
—
#病みかわいい http://t.co/DxX0vkD10q
ひなるんだよ (@hinaxxroid) February 17, 2015
▼Someone really needs an apple a day.
ゆめかわいいも好きだけど
—
病みかわいいはもっと好き http://t.co/ZQKDm6kfPo
りぃか♡⃛((めんへら (@liliks021) November 08, 2014
▼We’d say that this got dark fast…but it started pretty dark.
病みかわいいハマっちゃったー http://t.co/RHahJ5DdhR
—
いりこ (@sabaaa0909) November 09, 2014
Itami-kawaii also aims for depressing over gross-out, which probably makes it marginally more safe for work. But only a little bit. In the image below, the top word is “watashi (I or me)” and the bottom word is “anata (you),” and in middle it says “Cut along the line.”
▼Maybe they want to be stapled together instead?
病みかわいい。 http://t.co/jniqN8V3wW
—
ゆ-み❁* (@yumiyuzuru) May 24, 2014
And, for our final itami-kawaii image, here’s another tweet.
頭の中がごちゃごちゃしてる。
—
し に たい
あわせ なり
♡夢かわいい
♡病みかわいい
♡フェアリー
♡恋愛
♡死
♡RTしてください
♡RTした方全員フォロー♡
♡フォロバお願いします♡ http://t.co/eEtMJsCPmQ
✞✡きゃりぱっぱ✡✞ (@banana_pamyu) June 11, 2014
The image text reads: “I always refrained from crying, and one day I couldn’t smile anymore.” The text of the message is arranged so that it could be read as either “I want to die” or “I want to be happy.”
And now that we’ve wandered down that depressing-but-cute path, we need something to cheer us up. And when we need cheering up, nothing works quite as well as Namakopuri ! We guess they’re kind of kimo-kawaii, but this video is sure to put smile on your face at the very least.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxXp-k7BNRE&w=580&h=357]
Be sure to tell us what you favorite kind of kawaii is in the comments section!
Sources: Naver Matome , Mery , Charisma Talk
Images: Twitter ( @Neymar11Yui , @Dream_Cute_ , @hinaxxroid , @banana_pamyu )
