A menagerie of mascots and characters inhabit the islands of Japan, cheerfully guiding citizens through all sorts of daily activities and situations. Hello, Please! collects photographs of hundreds of the these cute (or kawaii) creatures in their native habitats, which are virtually everywhere: from public street signs to supermarket shelves, in doctor's offices and instruction manuals even emblazoned on the sides of Tokyo's emergency vehicles. Authors Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda explore the cultural context of these ubiquitous, hard-working critters and their relationship to anime and manga, commercial characters like Hello Kitty, and the cult of cute, while introducing readers to a host of adorable new best friends they never knew they had. (book synopsis from amazon)
