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The Internet can’t decide whether this is insanely cute or a prime example of terrible parenting.

While some 8 year-olds celebrate their birthdays with bouncy castles and cakes with friends, when you’re the son of Chiimelo, a popular beauty-obsessed blogger in Japan, turning 8 is a time to party with champagne towers and handsome men in the red-light district of Tokyo.

▼ Ryuchalo and his mother, Chiimelo, pull a cute pose for the cameras.

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The mother-of-two has been styling her son as a young “host”, with jewellery, tight-fitting outfits and dyed hair since he was about 4 years-old. While Japanese hosts are usually young men in their 20s, employed to provide entertainment to female clientele at bars, Ryuchalo has appeared on a number of variety television shows with his mother, making a name for himself as one of the youngest “hosts” in the country. With more than 123,000 followers on Twitter, audiences have been gushing over Ryuchalo’s cuteness with squeals of “kawaii!”, but their latest appearance in the media, for a segment on YouTube channel Host TV, which promotes “Japanese Host Club Entertainment”, has got people questioning Chiimelo’s controversial style of parenting.

▼ Check out Ryuchalo’s 8th birthday party, held in August at the Superstar host club located in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho red-light district.

The Superstar host club claims to be one of the cutest in Japan, specifically geared towards a female clientele with sweet candy-themed rooms and a bevy of handsome young men on standby to sweep ladies of their feet with drinks and engaging conversation. On this special occasion, however, Ryuchalo’s party was used to showcase one of their most innovative centrepieces, a projection-mapping champagne tower.

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The publicity stunt drew attention from viewers around Japan, with many shocked by what they saw.

“OMG what a toxic parent! I feel so sorry for the child.”
“As a parent and as a person, I can’t believe this.”
“This is disgusting. Don’t take your child to adult places like this. It’s abuse.”
“She hasn’t changed at all. She’s been treating him like her toy for years.”
“I can’t believe his mother has so many fans that adore her.”

With Ryuchalo appearing on his mother’s blog, Twitter and Instagram accounts in a number of poses, where he kisses champagne bottles to the delight of fans, it appears he won’t be able to give up his host-driven lifestyle anytime soon.

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While we’re yet to know what type of an impact his unusual 8th birthday party has on his overall development, we hope Ryuchalo is able to find more ways to enjoy his childhood like other children his own age before his next birthday.

Source: Girls VIP Matome
Top Image: YouTube/@HostTV Ikemen Douga
Insert Images: YouTube/@HostTV Ikemen Douga