The real word is for short people and children. When used in manga/manhua/manwha it's when a character design change to have a small body with a big head, either for the joke or for the cuteness.
But what are some other commonalities in chibi?! *puppet-face emoji throwing up disembodied hands before turning to ashes*
I love these pictures! Endeed I do!!! But what makes chibi chibi? Not just size or head-to-body proportion.
"Not just size or head-to-body proportion." Well... Yes it's just that, the only thing you add is cute emotion display, be it angry or starving, doesn't matter. A chibi is just that a head with the same proportion or larger than the body with little detail on it and a show of emotion in a cute way.
Chibi for me is something that has been "child-ified." Lots of people consider children and babies (of humans, animals, etc.) cute, so features that are common among them are used, mainly with large eyes and a small size, and slight chubbiness. Of course it is more in depth than that, however there is a character limit for profile posts and that simple definition should suffice for now.
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(✿^ᆺ^)?
Edited lots: I really like your response @Stealthy_Enigma and @Sleds , and really want to hear that depth you are referencing if you have more you can share with me. Would you be interested in sharing more on a thread?