Discussion Main / Kawaiiko

Maybe we should clarify who the "she" is referring to in the page quote? Right now it feels like a bit of an inside joke, rather than an example. I think it was Ema Skye's signature, right?

From my perspective as a person wholy unfamiliar with these terms- this trope is also a little bit confusing- the definition is clear- a character that is taking the Japanese cutseyness to an extreme and explaining that cutesyness is desirable in Japan (cultural context).

However reading thru with the examples, as a person who pretty much has never heard of this term before. I'm starting to get a bit lost as a person unfamiliar with the concept. First off ,there is simply the "cutesy" way of speaking, which is a style of speaking of speaking in the 3rd person, deliberately cutesy. I know this exists in both anime (3rd person speaking), and in real life in a slightly different manner (one of the Japanese style of singing is to sing in a really deliberately cutesy like way), Japanese women often modulate their tones to be higher pitched and cuter, I heard (for certain reasons) , there are some young women who talk in a deliberately cuter way in Japan and some of Asia— however it seems to be some kind of cultural thing?? And like, not necessarily coupled together with the rest of the cuteness? A lot of the examples seem to simply be [this character talks in the third person in a cutesy tone of voice] (and none of the other mentioned mannerisms) and it is getting pretty confusing. Does [cutesy tone of voice] automtically = kawaiiko?

Also, Burikko is mentioned in the article as the point when it grows obnoxious, but Burikko is mentioned in wikipedia as the real life version of what this kawaiiko seems to be, people who try to be deliberately cutesy. Which is correct? Where is the definition of Burikko = obnoxious coming from? Is it only in certain circles? Is Kawaiiko simply Burikko when not obnoxious and Burikko is used when obnoxious? Are these terms mentioned anywhere in any anime? (Right now I'm seeing a lot of examples of characters which are these things, but where is it?) I don't really understand all of the cultural context here so it sounds pretty weird. For example, I'm pretty sure although "Tsundere" is a well known thing in the Japanese fandom and in Anime by now, it's also something where there are examples where people in anime will call the other characters tsundere, or it will come up in manga and anime. I don't really see any such examples here. Also, doesn't it seem kind of problematic/more like bias than definition to include in an article [The name-identifier of this real life group of people] = obnoxious? ._. Is there any context in what, does anime tend to consider them obnoxious? And with that added to the definition, some of the examples become even more confusing. Usually I think we'd either say (not to be confused with) or the context, or something? I'm not familiar with this context at all though, so I may be totally off, this is just how the article comes off to me as a troper who has never heard of this trope before; please clarify.

And where would someone like Trucy Wright (Ace Attorney Charactr), fit in? She talks about herself in the third person, however, it seems (at least from one analysis by someone who understood Japanese that I read), she's more emulating an "Idol" style, or always "performing" or something- interacting with folk as if she is performing for an audience as a professional magician— but as a Westerner, to me that just seems overly cutesy. So would she be a Kawaiiko? Or would she not? on the one hand, she's calculated to be extra cutesy- on the other hand it seems like her cultural context is more to code for being an Entertainer, and acting "in-character" all the time, not for being cutesy for the sake of Japanese femininity.

Is it possible if someone(s) could clarify this? It's really confusing.

Also as a person with 0 experience with this trope or concept, honestly, calling out a group of people with some kind of culture as 'obnoxious' sounds pretty bad for the typical standard of tvtropes quality; even if tropers find it obnoxious I don't think we're supposed to put our own opinions in the article- and it's really confusing how it relates to the examples and the definition— I'm sure it's just poor wording though, but maybe we can clarify that a bit?

tl;dr: to me as a troper unfamiliar with this concept, the article is a hot mess. We need to fix. - some examples only cite cutesy speak (which also has a cultural context), and not always as described in the definition. Cutesy Speak is a Japanese and Asian thing; meaning of trope becomes unclear- is this referring to all instances of characters acting deliberately cute or is it only for characters that do everything mentioned in the definition? - According to the Other Wiki, bujikko is a name for a real life group of people who emulate an extremely cutesy culture. The only thing said about bujikko in the article is that they're 'obnoxious' - which to an outsider like me to this concept, sounds both like the personal bias of some troper and also doesn't clarify at all how they are related, especially given one of the examples where a musician emulates a 'bujikko' style - in which combining the definition + the example = utter confusion - I've never heard of either kawaiiko or bujikko in anime ever. Is there any origin story? are there any examples where character A calls character B a kawaiiko or bujikko? Did this appear in the Japanese fandom? Where does this *live*? - Taken all together, I come away from this article with absolutely no understanding of what this trope is supposed to be. - A character like Trucy Wright- acts cutesy because entertainers in Japan act cutesy, her character is like an Entertainer who is always "on"/putting on a show or using the entertainer mode of communicating in the Japanese version (but becuase it's Japan, being a teenager female entertainer = playing up cutesy, idol and certain mannerisms) -> would she be a kawaiiko? Or would she be something else? The trope is so confusing I can't tell.

Edited by SteakAddictsAnonymous

Hey... does anybody else find the current page picture creepy at all?

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