Destruction and Apocalypse vs. the Culture of Cute

The dichotomy in Japanese pop culture is incredibly stark when one stops to really think about it. This is the country that has been destroyed thousands of times in stories and movies, (and has also suffered man-made and natural disasters in real life) but produced Hello Kitty, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Mario Brothers, Harujku style and even maid cafes, where young women and men cosplay as servants or anime characters and serve patrons. Were these pop culture depictions of Japan's (or in some instances, the world's) distruction and consequential rebuilding a means of coping with the trauma inflicted by the atomic bomb and natural disasters, or were they simply a means to capitalize on fear? I did appreciate that Dr. Tsutsui presented many different perspectives on how scholars view the destruction themes in culture. I had never known that Godzilla was meant to be anti-nuclear weapons testing, and pro-science and pro-Japanese government and military. I also found it interesting that one perspective is that all of these depictions of Japan's destruction led to its population reacting and responding incredibly well when 3/11/11 or other, more modern disasters have happened. 

Are the opposing themes of cuteness and innocence prevalent in Japanese popular culture (many of which have made their way across the Pacific) a means of escaping the horrors of the destruction? This culture of cute started and flourished with more recent generations of Japanese, but the obsession continues into adulthood. It's not just kids who are collecting Hello Kitty, playing Nintendo video games, dressing in costumes, or reading/watching anime. This reminds me of the countless adults I know with Disneyland annual passes who don't have children, or all of the people who flock to ComiCon and dress as their favorite characters. For some, escaping reality and returning to a more innocent time is more desirable than confronting the struggles of reality. 

One culture, two very different means of coping.