I was absorbed by NY Times Style issue “J Is for Japan.” @ligayamishan.bsky.social’s essay on “Darker Side of Japan’s Love of Cuteness” is wonderful—richly extending works like Sianne Ngai’s on cuteness in the specific register of all things astro_boy & hello_kitty. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/t-magazine/cuteness-kawaii-japan.html