The image on the left from Hime-chan no Ribbon caught my eye becuase of the alternate spelling. I didn’t think too much about it until I saw another instance in Peach Girl.
I thought this was too much of a coincidence, so after thoroughly searching the internet for 5 minutes, I found the website for the actual books. It should be noted that near the bottom of the first site I found, there’s a news entry (April 9th, 2003) that reads Publisher Ordered to Revise “Stereotyped” Illustration.
Before you start thinking I watch too much shoujo anime, I’ll point you to the latest spatula I found in a particularly manly anime…