Chiitan

  My first encounter with the baby otter happened on March 2023 and it  was not next to a river but on Twitter/X. The otter in question was not swimming in a river but running on a treadmill with a turtle on its head... It was so funny that I decided to follow this fairy creature called Chiitan.  I watched hundreds of videos on Twitter and YouTube and I really thought at first that Chiitan was alone. It took me a few months to realize that there were maybe more than one Chiitan.  Indeed, one day, I came across a picture showing 2 Chiitan together.  I kept on investigating on the internet, browsing Chiitan's Facebook and Instagram accounts. And I noticed several pictures showing 3 Chiitan together... At the same time, a remarkable event occurred : One of them settled in the city of Osaka and opened a Twitter/ X account under the name of Chiitan Osaka.  At this time, I was convinced that there were 3 Chiitan : 2 in Tokyo and one in Osaka... However, my certai...

Everything started on November 2023 with an incredible news posted on Twitter/ X : people from all around the world would be able to talk to Chiitan thanks to a new app : UP-T Talk. We were all excited about the news and many of us downloaded the app within a few minutes after the announcement. I remember that 2 sessions of an hour were planned for the 20th of November, meaning that about 30 people could have a private conversation with the mascot (3 minutes per person). Of course, all the sessions were booked with the speed of light. Many of Chiitan's followers were sad because they couldn't participate. However, the good news was that this event would be organized on a monthly basis. I think that after a few months, everybody had the luck to talk to Chiitan.  A few days before the first event, we were all excited and a little scared at the same time. Scared because we did not know how to use this app. How to connect to the video-conference or how it would look like... We had ...

 Chiitan's first affirmation is : the world as it is is too serious. But its first interrogation is : is this world really serious ? We understand why some Japanese people were frightened by Chiitan. Even if that negative impression didn't last, it speaks for itself. As a friend of mine said, Chiitan looks outrageous compared to the Tradition of the Samurai. There may even be a dimension of provocativeness about it... Irrespective of that, I can see three principal aspects, illustrated by the alternation of 1) daily posts on the social networks, 2) live communications on tiktok and instagram and 3) noteworthy appearances on a stage or a wrestling ring or again out in the open.  In other words, 1) Chiitan the comic blunderer, crazy impressive stuntsman and clumsy hilarious boastful showman ; 2) Chiitan the innocent child, the funny fanciful creature and the close friend ; 3) Chiitan as singer in a band, as wrestler in challenging fights and in odd outlandish situations defying ...

Chiitan made an incredible and dazzling ascent in the world of professional wrestling. Indeed  Chiitan made his debut in the DDT Pro-wrestling on the 3rd of May 2023 in Japan. His first match was against Chris Brookes, an English professional wrestler who signed to DDT in 2019. As a matter of fact, Brookes is the current KO-D openweight champion and has been a two time DDT Universal champion. Before the match, the main question was : "Will Chiitan make it out alive against Chris Brookes?" On the third of May 2023 Chiitan's strength was quite impressive against this giant of 2 meters high. The fight was tough but the result was merciless: Chiitan was victorious. He defeated Brookes in 10 minutes 26 seconds... After this tournament, Chiitan's dream was "to go to to America and become a professional wrestler. I hope to attend Wrestlemania in Philadelphia in April." And Chiitan's dream came true... Indeed, on the 3rd of April 2024, Chiitan's best friend,...

A blend of pop-culture and animistic tradition, the Yuru-chara or Japanese mascots have become key elements in the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. Omnipresent and very popular, most of them stand for a trademark, a firm, a town or a region. So they have no inherent personality, they embody the values of the society or the administrative center they are employed by. Most of them are simple characters, very laid-back, kind, friendly and often fairly clumsy. Thus, in 2013, the small town of Susaki created and unveiled its official mascot, Shinjô-kun, a mascot like an otter as an homage to the river otter, a species which was declared extinct in the 70ies. Very cute and lovely with its noodle bowl on its head, it was elected official mascot of the year 2016. So everything was fine and perfect in the sweet little world of Japanese mascots until that fateful day of 15th December 2017, when there came into the world a fairy baby otter. It has small claws, its name is Chiitan. What appe...