BABYMETAL came out of Tokyo in 2010 as an audacious mutation of Japanese pop and muscular heavy metal. With a very young Su-metal singing up front, and two other females dancing beside her, the band ...

McDonald's collab with TMNT x Hello Kitty brings a Happy Meal anime legacy to life. McDonald’s has unleashed a ninja-kawaii crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) and Hello Kitty Happy ...

Misa Kimura was still a student from Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, when she visited Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood for the first time. It felt like stepping into a dream. “Every kind of clothing or ...

Variations of the expression XOXO have been in the cultural lexicon for years. Maybe you associate those two letters with Gossip Girl (or its recent reboot), which featured them as the cheeky sign-off ...

Variations of the expression XOXO have been in the cultural lexicon for years. Maybe you associate those two letters with Gossip Girl (or its recent reboot), which featured them as the cheeky sign-off ...

Chiikawa, a contraction of the Japanese phrase nanka chiisakute kawaii yatsu, which means something like “so small and cute,” refers to the adorable animal characters that appear in a manga series ...

Publisher LEVEL-5 and developer LEVEL-5 Osaka Office have released a new trailer for social slow-life RPG FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time dubbed “Life Spotlight: My Kawaii Life Routine.” The ...

From Hello Kitty to Pikachu, the country changed what the world considers adorable. But do these characters represent joy — or rage? By Ligaya Mishan Artwork by Hiroshi YoshiiKimiaki Yaegashi and ...

Prebiotic soda startup Xoxo has closed a new £4m investment round. Led by Lever VC and Slingshot Ventures, with participation from both existing and new strategic investors, the raise would “fuel ...

Born from the trauma of World War II, this bow-wearing cartoon icon became a powerful tool for diplomacy, reinvention, and cultural soft power. Dressed in a kimono, Hello Kitty performs a classical ...

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Kawaii Kon 2025 is coming to Honolulu in March, and it’s packed with exciting events for anime fans, cosplayers and pop culture enthusiasts. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to ...