Of course, they can’t use Disney’s artwork, so they have to commission original illustrations, which is what Japanese publisher Kawade Shobo Shinsha does for its fairy tale series.
As frustrated as the publisher may be, though, it’s worth pointing out Kawade Shobo Shinsha doesn’t deny that the pictures its books end up with are moe.
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he now really wants a series of classic fairy tale picture books drawn in a mid-’90s OVA aesthetic.
Some Japanese parents have even written complaints to Kawade Shobo Shinsha, saying the art style is “inappropriate” for classical children’s literature, or “a bad influence” on kids.