If you already thought that the classic American duo Tom and Jerry are already cute, wait ‘til you see their Japanese version!
On November 2022, Cartoon Network Japan debuted a new set of anime shorts, which featured the revamped look of the iconic cat and mouse duo, Tom and Jerry, turning them into really kawaii characters. Aside from the duo, Jerry’s nephew Tuffy, aka Nibbles, also underwent a kawaii makeover.
In a video that emerged on YouTube, the two-minute clip follows the usual antics of the duo, where Tom chases Jerry for stealing a slice of cheese and eating his food. What makes the Japanese version different from its original is that the beloved characters have transformation powers where they shapeshift into “cute things like candies and sweets.”
As per PR Times, the made-in-Japan series of shorts put a Japanese spin to the original, “speedy, humorous movement of the good natured fights Tom and Jerry always get into.”
To make the shorts adorable than they already are, the title of the show is written in hiragana, a cursive Japanese writing that is commonly used in names and words, unlike “the more angular” katakana, which is used for foreign words.
The adorable version of Tom and Jerry launched on Cartoon Network Japan last November 11, the same day that Cheese Day took place. Alongside the drawn-in-Japan cartoon, the original Tom and Jerry also airs locally in the country.
Tom and Jerry were originally created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1940. Since its release, the show produced 164 shorts until 2014. The show also spawned numerous spin-offs, a feature-length film, 13 direct-to-video films, and a musical adaptation.
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