chibi

What does chibi mean?

Chibi is an illustration style popularized by anime and manga that depicts adorable, child-like cartoon characters with disproportionately large heads and eyes on small bodies, often in a simplified design. A character drawn in this style is called a chibi.

Examples of chibi

… the Vatican … has announced a brand-new mascot created to pique the interest of a younger demographic: an anime girl. The chibi-style mascot is a blue-haired girl named Luce, who sports a yellow raincoat, a pair of muddy green boots, and a shepherd's staff.
—Naledi Ramphele, Game Rant, 3 Nov. 2024

Whether you're looking for adorable chibi (your character or fan arts), cute pet and animal chibis, or need help with design and layout, I’ve got you covered.
—@peacherryart, Threads, 3 Oct. 2024

The chibi versions maintain key characteristics of the original designs, but the overall cuteness factor adds a layer of endearment, making the characters more approachable and relatable.
—Purplebubblestudio (user), “Titans to Chibis: A Playful Transformation of ‘Attack on Titan’ Characters” (Medium), 23 Jan. 2024

Where does chibi come from?

Chibi is a transliteration of a Japanese word referring—often affectionately, though occasionally pejoratively—to a small child, person, or animal (similar to such informal addresses as shorty or diminutive designations like little in English). As an illustration style, chibi spread in Japan in the 1980s through baby- or child-like caricatures of existing anime and manga characters, often used for comic or emotional effect in a story. The style, and word, was popularized by the global rise of Japanese animation and comics in the 1990s, including chibi-styled characters in such hit series as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Western media has since embraced the popularity of the chibi style, as exemplified by Disney’s Chibiverse, an animated TV series starting in 2022 that features chibi versions of many of the company’s popular characters.

How is chibi used?

In English, chibi is widely used to designate chibi-styled versions of proprietary, fan-art, and original characters and related objects (‘Chibi Godzilla’). More generally, chibi is also used attributively to refer to this style (‘chibi dinosaur plush toy,’ ‘chibi design’).