Chiikawa Goes Global: Why Chinese Fans Call It a "Digital Ibuprofen" for Anxiety (Part 2)

In Part 1, we followed how Chiikawa grew from one creator's wish into a national IP through a small team. We also looked at why adults are drawn to it: a "story of labor" made of weeding jobs, monster-hunting, certification exams and fights over jobs.

In Part 2, we trace how that story was read outside Japan. Even when people look at the same character, the anxieties and hopes they project onto it change with their country and their lives. Through overseas readings, we look at how Chiikawa spread.

Professor Jayson M. Chun of the University of Hawaii–West Oahu, who studies Asian popular media culture, published two articles on Chiikawa in March 2026, one on Japan and one on China. In both, he focuses on the anxiety, labor, failure and friendship beneath the cute surface.

What matters in his reading is that you need no special knowledge or success story to understand Chiikawa. If you have ever felt anxious, you can step into that world. The way in is wide, but pain alone wouldn't keep people watching. Short bursts of laughter and the kindness of friends bring viewers back.

A researcher's reading of a work plays a different role from a survey that measures the psychology of readers as a whole. Chun's essays are one way of connecting scenes from the work with conditions in society. Rather than concluding that people abroad came to love it for the same reason, we want to look at which scenes are laid over which experiences.

Working people, for example, may see themselves in a scene where a character fails at a job. Others simply enjoy a meal with friends or a short exchange. The lens of labor helps us understand one side of the work, but it doesn't rule out reading it for the cuteness, the humor or the relationships between characters.

In China, Chiikawa was described as a "painkiller for the heart" and as "digital ibuprofen." Behind that lie competition for jobs and exams and anxiety about the future. Taking weeding jobs, taking on qualification tests, failing and simply carrying on living: the characters' lives overlapped with the young fans' own days.

The popularity shows up not only in shared feeling but in behavior. A pop-up in Shanghai drew long lines, and collaboration products produced large sales. It may be closer to consumption where you keep a presence that understands your feelings by your side, rather than simply buying a character.

"Painkiller" is a metaphor for how people feel eased by encountering the work. It is not a measurement of any healing effect on illness. And the fact that some people use the expression doesn't mean every young person in China carries the same anxiety. Because the phrase leaves such a strong impression, we read it without generalizing beyond what the article describes.

What lines and sales confirm is that demand was large at that place and in that period. They don't tell us why each visitor bought. Several reasons are possible, such as sympathy with the story, interest in limited items or a gift for a friend, so sales shouldn't be treated as direct proof of psychology.

Chiikawa doesn't exist only while you're reading the manga or watching the anime. It has added points of contact along everyday routes: permanent stores, restaurants, convenience stores and themed facilities. Fans don't have to wait for a big event; on the way home or on a day off, they can return to its world.

But as points of contact grow, so do the problems: resale of limited items, purchases concentrated in a few moments, long waits, and frustration with random sales. The operators have responded with timed entry, purchase limits, made-to-order sales and better payment systems. The work of gathering popularity and the work of protecting a place where people can join with peace of mind are equally important.

Meeting a work at a nearby store is not the same as being able to buy every limited item. A place where you can browse permanent products at leisure and a limited-time shop with lottery entry, for example, ask for different amounts of time and preparation. If the official notice states whether reservations are needed, the sales period and restocking plans, fans can more easily choose the opportunity that suits them.

Overseas, it also brings peace of mind when people can see not only translated product names but also where to make inquiries and which retailers are official. Even when delivering the same project as in Japan, you have to check the whole path: receiving the product locally, paying, and getting help when something goes wrong. That is operational work to prepare alongside the publicity that spreads popularity.

LABUBU, which gained worldwide popularity, was reported to have seen prices fall in China's resale market after production was sharply increased. Reaching the people who want it matters, but when scarcity was at the heart of the popularity, a sudden rise in supply can change what the product means.

San-X, on the other hand, which has nurtured Tarepanda, Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi, explains that it deliberately avoids making the peak of buzz too big and aims for characters loved for a long time. A design that creates maximum sales in a short time is not the same as a design that stays in daily life.

A fall in resale prices is not the same thing as weak official sales. If supply grows and people who want an item can buy it at list price, that can even be a welcome change for fans. When comparing, we look separately at official sales, secondary-market prices and the movements of people who keep enjoying the work.

Nor can we credit a character's lasting popularity only to restricted supply. New releases, contact with stores, design and long-held affection all play a part. If you apply this to your own project, a sensible order is to decide first what you want people to enjoy for a long time, then think about the supply and guidance that experience needs.

The Chiikawa story is not simply that a cute Japanese character sold well overseas. It is an example of a tale that doesn't hide weakness or anxiety, and finds small joys, reaching across countries and languages. Use empathy as the entrance, and build a place people can come back to through laughter and kindness. That design is what turns an IP from a passing fad into culture.