Highlights
- The fashion trend of “Yami Kawaii” combines cuteness with the struggles of mental illness, allowing individuals to express themselves through fashion.
- The manga “Yami Kawaii Menhera-chan” features a non-conventional magical girl who embraces her flaws and encourages others to do the same.
- Menhera-chan represents an imperfect but relatable individual, reminding people not to give up and to embrace their true selves.
Like many countries, Japan is struggling with its mental health, with academic pressure, increased social stigma, and overall stress contributing to the issue. The term, “menhera” implies having mental instability; and so, by itself, holds a negative connotation. In 2013, Japanese artist Bisuko Ezaki created Menhera-chan, a magical girl who fights against the evils of the mind.
Having dealt with mental illness himself, Ezaki opted to draw her as a coping mechanism before she became her own character. “Yami Kawaii” (or “sickly cute”) is the term he uses to describe Menhera-chan’s aesthetic of being mentally ill but still her own person. This is a subgenre of another popular fashion trend called, “Yume Kawaii” (or “cute like a dream”).
A Serious Issue & Cute Aesthetics
Since mental health issues are not addressed as much in Japan as they are in other countries, many people struggle with their internal demons on their own. This leads to a skewed concept of hyper-individuality and self-isolation on the part of those who suffer from mental illness. Menhera-chan is the embodiment of that. While her own character, the term, “Yami Kawaii” on its own, has garnered support as a fashion trend in Harajuku. Combining a cute aesthetic with hints of morbidity, the wearer is able to express themselves through fashion.
Rather than running away from it, the fashion trend seeks to embrace the hardships of struggling with mental illness. The wearer is wearing clothing they like and being cute, but at the same time embracing the harsher aspects of what makes them, them. Additionally, Menhera-chan’s character plays this trope straight: someone may look fine on the outside, but not on the inside – and that is precisely just what mental illness is.
What Makes Menhera-chan Stand Out Compared to Other Magical Girls
In the manga,Yami Kawaii Menhera-chan, Menhera-chan’s real name is Momoka Sakurai. One day, she gets chosen to fight evil monsters that exploit humans’ insecurities to turn them into fiends. In order to transform, she cuts her wrists and becomes “Menhera Pink”. Later on, she and her other two companions, Sabukaru Blue (Sumire Kurauchi) and Yumekawa Purple (Himeko Odakura) join together to find the ruler of the Yami (or “dark”) world, who seeks to engulf the human realm into darkness and depression.
In a conventional magical girl-esque story, Menhera-chan takes liberties of its own when it comes to storytelling. For example, Momoka and Sumire are anything but conventional anime girls who are passive and kind. Momoka is independent and hot-headed, initially a loner who has trouble opening up to others. However, it’s because of her calm and collected nature that she draws the attention of one of her male classmates, who genuinely falls in love with her. But in turn, she encourages him to overcome his own flaws and weaknesses before dating her. Sumire is sarcastic and foul-mouthed, but she can be a team-player when she wants to be. While Himeko is more conventional in the sense that she’s an optimist, her character serves as a reminder to the girls that not everything is all doom and gloom. Her perception of life is portrayed as a naive one, but it’s ultimately her encouragement that brings them all together in the end.
A Light at the End of the Tunnel
Menhera-chan doesn’t shy away from the detrimental effects that mental illness has on individuals. But it also doesn’t shy away from what makes one human, either. Emotions are a big part of the human experience and though the typical anime character always wants to smile, Menhera-chan doesn’t.
In official art, her independent but feminine personality is always on display. From her blatantly saying, “I don’t like you”, to making an aggressive gesture, she represents an imperfect and relatable individual, who won’t hesitate to call out an inconsistency if she sees one. Even so, despite her short-comings, Menhera-chan always comes out on top and serves as an encouragement to others, not to give up and embrace who they are, flaws and all.
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