I appreciate simplicity. In fact, one of the reasons I set up this blog as a form of short form expression is that I want to try to minimize my verbiage. Sometimes things are better when you take things away from them. In Japan, nothing illustrates this better than some of their cuter cartoon characters like the mouthless cat. While I am sick of "Hello Kitty", because I can never escape her and she makes an appearance in my life everywhere I go and follows me to every nook and cranny of my life in Japan, I can say that I am not immune to the lure of minimalist cuteness. To that end, I like Rilakkuma. "Rilakkuma" as a name is a play on the word "relax" and "bear" in Japanese.
While "Hello Kitty" has no mouth and seems to represent obedience and passive acceptance, Rilakkuma seems to represent a generation that values relaxation over being a company drone. I'll miss seeing its cute visage.
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