ECC Ediciones brings us Chikawa, the cutest and craziest manga characters.
2020 was a really crazy year where the whole world stopped and everyone was stuck at home. Fortunately, we live in the digital age, where we continue to connect with more people, whether on computer or mobile, and many of us take refuge in the digital world to escape the craziness that is happening outside. The great advantage of the Internet at that time helped many artists and their works to see their fame and success. One of these works was Chikawa.
Chikawa was the brainchild of mangaka Nagano on Twitter (now X). In the year In early 2020, a small Japanese comic series that started publishing on a social network account became an international phenomenon. Today, the account has nearly three million followers, but its fame has not stopped on the Internet, with its work reflected in toys, merchandise, or even animation. Japanese publisher Kodansha has produced these stories in manga format. Like many, ECC Ediciones seems to have fallen in love with these lovely little critters, which is why it has decided to publish a volume in which some of these quotes are compiled.
The most cheesy and kawaii on the internet
Chikawa is a manga series consisting of short and independent stories, so it is difficult to talk about the plot. The main characters are Chiikawa, Hachiwear and Usagi and we can tell you that they will have all kinds of crazy and absurd adventures. Such is the level of some stories that Kodansha classifies as seinen, manga aimed at an adult audience. The reason for this is that, despite the simplicity of the work, the solutions to the stories are often so absurd that they can be difficult for children. With this, I am not saying that a child cannot read, but it may seem strange to adults, but rather to a child.
We have stories where a witch suddenly appears and transforms the protagonists into puppets, other giant dishes, and other medieval knights. Sometimes they’re telling adventures and other times they’re just plain silly. The stories are surprising because you never know where they are going. The surprise is guaranteed. They find stories about where they shop for their needs and even where they go to work.
Here, however, the story is not as important as the picture of the characters. It’s no coincidence that the manga is chiikawa, it’s a combination of the words chisai (small) and kawaii (cute). And we can say that we are experiencing the most beautiful creatures all over the internet and now in manga. Unlike traditional Japanese comedies, this is a full-color work. Don’t expect a backstory with all kinds of details, because the main thing here is the characters. It’s hard not to fall for bugs because they are the cutest things in the world.
Chikawa issue no. 01 editions of ECC
ECC brings us a more than adequate edition of this curious manga. This is a soft cover volume with a dust jacket containing 128 full color pages. Measuring 14.8 x 20.8 cm, you can get this first volume for €12.95.
Chikawa no. 01 Japanese culture is a must have for anyone who loves “kawaii”. With the most beautiful characters and the most absurd stories, no one will be left indifferent and it will be very interesting to read.
Key of Chikawa. 01
Author: Nagano
Publisher: ECC Editions
Format: Softcover with dust jacket
Dimensions: 14.8 x 20.8 cm
Pages: 128 in color
ISBN: 978-84-19920-73-7
Price: 12,95 €
Summary: These small insects, like little children (chisai) and monkeys (kawaii), are abbreviated as “chiikawa”. Sometimes they are happy, sometimes they are sad and sometimes they have some difficult days. This is his story. Everyone respects them and cares for them a lot, or at least that’s how they want to live…but more than that, they live surrounded by complete unknowns! Regardless, Chikawa lives a full life with his beloved Hachiware and Usagi. The festival of smiles around them never ends. that? Of course, specially drawn episodes are included for this volume!
Fully enter the world of Nagano!