Iwatani has often claimed that the character of Pac-Man himself was designed after the shape of a pizza with a missing slice while he was at lunch; in a 1986 interview he said that this was only half-truth, and that the Pac-Man character was also based on him rounding out and simplifying the Japanese character “kuchi” (), meaning “mouth”. The four ghosts were made to be cute, colorful and appealing, utilizing bright, pastel colors and expressive blue eyes. Iwatani had used this idea before in "Cutie Q", which features similar ghost-like characters, and decided to incorporate it into "Pac-Man". He was also inspired by the television series "Casper the Friendly Ghost" and the manga "Obake no Q-Taro". Ghosts were chosen as the game's main antagonists due to them being used as villainous characters in animation. The idea for the fruit bonuses was based on graphics displayed on slot machines, which often use symbols such as cherries and bells.