Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a Fever, and the Song I Can’t Turn Off

Handheld consoles are an easy target—if you’ve built a proper setup at home with a 4K screen and surround sound, the idea of squinting at a small display seems like regression. I understand the condescension. But I spent this entire past weekend sick in bed, limbs aching, too tired to sit upright and too restless to sleep, and my Nintendo 3DS XL was the only thing keeping me functional. I played so much Fantasy Life that I could navigate every map blindfolded—and I’m still barely into the story, still just picking up the first few jobs. That little double-screened machine earned my loyalty this weekend.

Japan is about to get the upgraded model—the New Nintendo 3DS LL—and the ad campaign stars J-pop visionary Kyary Pamyu Pamyu performing a song called Kisekae. It’s so aggressively, precisely cute it nearly causes a structural event in your skull. I’ve already looped it enough times to qualify as a condition. The song works by the same logic as Kyary’s best material: take something that should be overwhelming—the color saturation, the density of visual information, the relentless cheerfulness—and make it feel inevitable instead of exhausting. It shouldn’t hold up this many times in a row. It does anyway.

There’s a version running on Nintendo Japan’s site in infinite loop. I understand why. This is not music you finish. It’s music you orbit.