This is Setsu-chan. The little guy sure is cute when he's awake. But when he dozes off, he sure is fugly.
As pointed out on 2ch and IT Media, earlier this summer an illustrator named Mino started uploading photos of her slumbering cat Setsu-chan to her Twitter feed. Here, you can see him wide awake:
What a darling cat!
But the difference between how he looked when he was awake and his "negao" (寝顔) or "sleeping face" was huge. Typically, "negao" for cute animals (or cute people, for that matter) are supposed to be, well, cute. It's precisely that gap that people online found amusing.
Since Setsu-chan was even featured on Japanese television, it shouldn't come as too big of a surprise that NicoNico is reporting a photobook is being released tomorrow. The title is The Most Awful Sleeping Face in Japan: The Unparallelled Beautiful Cat Setsu-chan.
Just look at that cover. Look at it!
Below, you can find some more Setsu-chan pics from Mino's Twitter page. You can also check out her feed for even more Setsu-chan pics and info about the book. Mino's Pixiv has some of her illustrations, so check those, too.
The magazine article says "The Hengao!" (変顔) or "The Odd Face!"
[Photos: Mino]
美しすぎる猫の残念すぎる寝顔をとくと見よ！ [IT Media]
"日本一寝顔が酷い美猫"セツちゃん、初の写真集が登場！ 未公開ショットも収録 [NicoNico]
美しすぎる猫の残念すぎる寝顔をとくと見よ！ [2ch]
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