Upon arriving in Japan, one of the first things you’ll probably notice is the large army of characters being used to sell anything from services to stationary to automobiles, or giving tips on being a good citizen like when it comes to separating your trash or picking up your dog’s poop after it finishes doing its duty. Most of them are cute, but some are downright scary.
In recent years, yurukyara, literally “weaker mascot characters”, have slowly been taking over the country, with more and more cities and businesses allocating funds to coming up with the prefect representative character costume each year. Aside from being hot and stuffy inside, being a yurukyara seems like a pretty awesome job. Kids are happy to see you, people are clamoring to get a picture of you, and generally everyone loves you…
Or at least that’s the impression we got until news of a mascot character in a small Ehime Prefecture town getting attacked.
While participating in an event going on at a highway service area in Ehime Prefecture on September 22, local area mascot Tart-jin, who looks like a giant chocolate and white-frosted roll cake, was attacked by a group of men. The perpetrators were dressed in suits, and appeared to be on their way home from a wedding when they started punching the character.
While the fluffy costume probably cushioned some of the blows, it wasn’t enough to protect the female actor inside, who suffered injuries as a result.
Japanese netizens were quick to comment on the attack:
“Scary!”
“But (Tartjin) is so short, plump and adorable.”
“Even if (Tartjin) is creepy/cute, that’s awful.”
“Yurukyara are really annoying, so I understand wanting to punch one. Actually going through with it isn’t cool, though.”
“I bet the guys were drunk. They probably drank too much at the reception.”
“Stuff like this doesn’t happen, even in Osaka. Ehime must be a wild place.”
You can watch the full report here:
What’s up with all the violence committed by wedding parties lately? Following Tart-jin’s attack, later that week a Chinese newlywed couple was arrested for beating up a convenience store clerk the morning after they tied the knot. You know what they say, a full moon can make people do crazy things.
Source: Youtube/@ANNnewsCH via 2channel Itai News
Top/feature image: Youtube/@ANNnewsCH
Insert image: Jaguchi kara Pom Juice
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