Culture
Chiikawa: Two terms nominated for Japan's Word of the Year
The "Chiikawa phenomenon" and Hachiware's catchphrase are both on Japan's list of 30 buzzwords.
Chiikawa has been nominated twice for Japan's "New Words and Buzzwords Award" 2026: "ちいかわ（現象）" ("Chiikawa phenomenon") and "なんとかなれーッ" ("Somehow it'll be fine!") are two terms from the manga and anime franchise on the list of 30 candidates. The nominations were published on November 5.
Two nominations for the same series
The expression "Chiikawa phenomenon" refers to the widespread popularity of the characters created by Nagano in Japan. The manga series, the TV anime adaptation, numerous collaborations and, especially, the cinema film that launched in July 2026 all contribute to this. The first Chiikawa film had earned 18.66 billion yen at the box office by early November and sold more than 12.77 million tickets in Japan.
The second nomination belongs to Hachiware, one of the central characters: his exclamation "なんとかなれーッ" can roughly be rendered as "Somehow it'll be fine!" The line is characteristic of the series and was also picked up in 2026 for special participatory screenings of the film.
Decision on December 1
As Anime!Anime! and Nijimen report, the jury has preselected 30 words and phrases from pop culture, society, the economy and everyday life. Alongside the two Chiikawa terms, these include "声の権利" ("rights to one's voice"), "ホビ垢" (accounts devoted to hobbies and fan culture) and "ボンボンドロップシール" (decorative stickers that appear three-dimensional).
The award has existed since 1984. The candidates are drawn in part from the reference work Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki ("Basic Knowledge of Contemporary Terms"). The selection committee then chooses ten particularly defining words and the year's winner. The results will be announced on December 1, 2026. A nomination is therefore not yet an award.
The sponsor T&D Holdings is additionally running a prediction campaign from November 5 to November 30. Only people residing in Japan may take part; prizes will be drawn among those who correctly guess the winning word.
Chiikawa is thus present not only through the ongoing manga and its collected volumes and the TV anime episodes. Two standalone terms from the same franchise have made it onto the nationwide list of the year's linguistic trends.