History Main / SuperDeformed

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', near the end of the manga Gotouge developed a new chibi artstyle, quite different from the deformed stubs used in the humorous moments before, the characters remain somewhat detailed but their proportions have been extremely shortened; the new chibi versions were never used in the story proper, it seems exclusive for promotional material and assorted galleries.

* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'''s artstyle all the way up until New Leaf was this artstyle. [[ArtEvolution In New Leaf, villagers, NPCs, and the player characters themselves were given less simplistic proportions for the sake of realism.]] Curiously, the Villager in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' retains the Super Deformed artstyle of the first three games. This character was even introduced ''after'' New Leaf was released.

** In ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', The entire cast appears as smaller, cuter versions of their regular appearances from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4''.

* The makers of ''VideoGame/{{Valis}} II'' put out for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis a joke version of the game, ''Valis SD'' (or ''Syd of Valis''), with the heroine of the series, Yuko Ahko, drawn in SD/chibi form.

* Most games in the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series portray the mecha as being Super-Deformed in their battle animations. Characters, close-ups of the mecha in battle, and in the Original Generation animes, are shown at normal sizes and proportions. This is at least party done to hide [[UnitsNotToScale the immense scale differences between the various units]], given it is entirely possible to have a 12 meter tall Macross Battleroid backing up the 250 meter tall Anime/{{Gunbuster}}. This does, however, occasionally lead to odd consequences in attack animations. ''Super Robot Wars W'' finds a way to complicate thing even further, Not only having such things as as a seven-foot-tall [[Anime/TekkamanBlade Tekkaman]] lifting up a 300-meter-long Battleship one-handed and impaling it on their spear, but also things like the differences in size between the cyborg Renee in [[Anime/GaoGaiGar KorRyu and AnRyu]]'s attacks, and the PoweredArmor-wearing heroes who are their own units. One game, ''VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars'', used non-SD models for battle animations, and so did ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsGaiden''.

* In "WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife", All the ponies are featured in this style having bigger heads and tiny bodies.

Also known as "chibi" (Japanese for "small") in some circles, although it's not just confined to anime -- it's a very common form of FanArt. Name any popular character, chibi art exists of them. It's almost as common as RuleThirtyFour. If [[EverythingsBetterWithPlushies plushies]] are made based on characters from media (particularly anime and video games) will have chibi proportions by default.

Also known as "chibi" (Japanese for "small") in some circles, although it's not just confined to anime -- it's a very common form of FanArt. Name any popular character, chibi art exists of them. In fact, it's almost as common as RuleThirtyFour.

* In general, any [[EverythingsBetterWithPlushies plushies]] based on characters from media (particularly anime and video games) will have chibi proportions by default.

** Lord of Dorkness was ruining the fun of the ElfOnlyInn room, with permission from Lord Elf. Duke and Nimoy went to Demon Citadel to try to recruit a demon to fight Lord of Dorkness. When they were laughed at, they decided to ruin the dark mood by being silly for as long as it took to get someone. One of their stunts was [[http://www.elfonlyinn.net/d/20021025.html Duke bringing back his Super-Deformed avatar]].

In issue 3 of Webcomic/IchikaWhatever, after screaming their head off for hours, they reduce themselves to how they looked in issue 1, while the outfits stay the same. Their original forms had large heads, big beady eyes, only 2 fingers, and small mouths

This also appears in video games, especially older video games with small characters compared to the screen, the Super-Deformed style was used mainly to get around graphical limitations so a character was recognizable and their face wouldn't be just a single pixel. Some newer games, use a version of this where characters appear super deformed on the TheOverworld or when the camera is far away but in cutscenes, character portraits, and battles they will be depicted with more realistic proportions (for an example, in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' and ''VideoGame/CaveStory''). See GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed for that.

** The success of ''Wataru'' actually led to magical chibi [[SuperRobotGenre Super Robots]] [[FollowTheLeader becoming a thing for a while]], giving us series like ''Anime/NGKnightLamune40'', ''Manga/LordOfLordsRyuKnight'', ''Madou King Granzort'', and so on, all sporting amusingly diminutive mechs. The subgenre even its own nostalgic revival with ''Anime/{{Granbelm}}''.

* [[http://www.funko.com Funko's]] collection of ''Pop! Vinyl'' dolls, which chibi-fies practically anything in pop culture.

* The ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series renders its human characters in the 'overly large head and small limbs' art style, in both their clay models and in-game sprites, making them look cute in a way that [[ArtStyleDissonance clashes somewhat with the darker themes present in the games]].[[note]]Those including FinalDeath, CyberneticsEatYourSoul, AlienInvasion, and ParentalAbandonment among others.[[/note]] The American versions of the clay models of [[TheAllAmericanBoy Ness]] and [[NiceGirl Paula]] of the second game in the series, ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', were noticeably stretched, giving them longer limbs and [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore likely trying to make them look older]], though strangely neither other party members [[GadgeteerGenius Jeff]] and [[BareFistedMonk Poo]] received the same treatment.

* All characters' battle sprites in ''VideoGame/Yume100'' and ''VideoGame/AkaSeka''.

** ''Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou Shou'' (both the TV series and the two-episode {{OVA}} with the same title) occasionally has short comical scenes with the character rendered in "chibi" size; also worth mentioning are the "Kotengu Classic" segments, ''always'' done in this style (if only because [[SmallAnnoyingCreature Kotengu]] is [[SleepModeSize "chibi" by default]]).

* "Super-Deformed" is the default art style of the main ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' series of games (1 through 10), and all the characters are deformed even further in ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp''.

* ''Chibi Tiny Tales'' is a series on Creator/DisneyChannel's Website/YouTube account featuring shorts based on ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'', ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|2017}}'', ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' and ''Film/{{Halloweentown}} in this style.

* All of the core series ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games from Generations I through V used this style for characters in the overworld. In Generation VI, this was changed to more realistic proportions while maintaining some exaggeration, before moving to regular proportions in Generation VII and beyond. ''Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', the eighth-generation [[VideoGameRemake Remakes]] of the fourth-generation ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', use 3D versions of the original 2D overworld sprites. Downplayed due to using Pokémon's normal art style in battle.

* All of the core series ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games from Generations I through V used this style for characters in the overworld. In Generation VI, this was changed to more realistic proportions while maintaining some exaggeration, before moving to regular proportions in Generation VII and beyond. ''Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', the eighth-generation [[VideoGameRemake Remakes]] of the fourth-generation ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', use 3D versions of the original 2D overworld sprites. Downplayed due to using Pokemon's normal art style in battle.

* All of the core series ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games from Generations I through V used this style for characters in the overworld. In Generation VI, this was changed to more realistic proportions while maintaining some exaggeration, before moving to fully-realistic proportions in Generation VII and beyond. ''Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', the eighth-generation [[VideoGameRemake Remakes]] of the fourth-generation ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', use 3D versions of the original 2D overworld sprites. Downplayed due to using Pokemon's normal art style in battle.

* All of the core series ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games from the first through fifth generations used this style for characters in the overworld. ''Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', the eighth-generation [[VideoGameRemake Remakes]] of the fourth-generation ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', use 3D versions of the original 2D overworld sprites. Downplayed due to using Pokemon's normal art style in battle.

* Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, the [[VideoGameRemake Remakes]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' use this style in the overworld, as they are 3D versions of the original 2D sprites. Downplayed due to using Pokemon's normal art style in battle.

* Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, the [[VideoGameRemake Remakes]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' use this style in the overworld. Downplayed due to using Pokemon's normal art style in battle.

Generally considered [[{{UsefulNotes/Kawaisa}} cute]] as well as humorous, it's most commonly used in parody or as part of promotional material, although it can be found in some shows at points of extreme comedy/slapstick, or when characters are seen to be acting extremely "cute" or immature.

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'''s Puck. In the latter part of the manga, he's relegated to so much comic relief that he's most always playing this trope.

* Some of the episodes of ''VisualNovel/RumblingHearts'' had short comedy sketches after the closing credits starring chibi versions of "Ayu-Ayu" and "Mayu-Mayu", an interesting contrast to the generally serious nature of the anime itself.

* Happens a lot in ''VisualNovel/OtomeWaBokuNiKoishiteru''. Sometimes they stay in chibi-mode for a moment when in the "real world", then immediately transform back to normal.

* One of the new characters in ''Comicbook/AstroCity'' after the Vertigo relaunch is [[http://www.herocopia.com/American_Chibi American Chibi]], [[spoiler: a video game character concept brought to life by Elder Gods]]. In the issue where the Honor Guard go to her world they become super deformed too.

* The {{Toys/Nendoroid}} figure line from [=GoodSmile=] Company is this for all sorts of anime characters.

* This has become {{Creator/Nitrome}}'s SignatureStyle, used to depict all humans (and, in one case, zombies.) [[SugarBowl Results]] [[GrotesqueCute vary]].

** Morgana from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' is a talking cat who while in the world of the Palace takes on a cartoony appearance, possessing a head bigger then his body along with goofy animations and facial expressions, and overall looks rather out of place amid the generally dark, gritty atmosphere of the world around him.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** SuperDeformed also occasionally makes an appearance in the actual storyline. The most notable example is [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=5568 here]], when Phani'nath gives a rather abridged summary of the previous council meeting.