In anime and manga, characters which are drawn in a highly exaggerated manner are said to be super deformed (SD) or chibi. Super deformed characters are typically small and chubby with deformed limbs and oversized heads, and may be used to express intense emotion, especially in the cases of anger or surprise. They are meant to be cute and are often used in humorous diversions from the storyline. Some series have entire Super Deformed parody series running alongside the main series, as in Gundam, Maria-sama ga Miteru, and Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. These parody series are often packaged as DVD-only specials.

The not-so-popular Nintendo 64 fighting game, Flying Dragon , created by Natsume and Culture Brain , features two playing modes, the original arcade style, and the "SD Mode", which makes all the playable fighters super deformed.

Many amateur anime artists enjoy drawing chibi both because the style is cute and because it is relatively easy to draw. The head to body ratio of a chibi is usually around one third and one quarter, while its eyes are fairly large, though of course different artists use different proportions.

See also

• Caricature
• Chibi