Passersby were treated to the jazzy refrain of Kenshi Yonezu’s Lemon, as played by a gigantic mop-headed monster.
Vocaloid-producer-turned-pop-sensation Kenshi Yonezu won hearts all over Japan with his 2018 song “Lemon”, a bittersweet tune about the loss of a loved one. Though the lyrics are poignant and poetic, the melody is jazzy and bright; kind of like how a lemon itself has that sunshine color but a sour, acidic taste.
The tune is so catchy it’s even recognizable when played on a calculator. The fact it was used in a popular drama, Unnatural, means it’s even more likely for your average person to know it, and many would be happy to hear that same sweet melody during their train commute, no matter who was playing it.
▼ Even if it was a huge, shaggy looking monster.
The character in the video is Mukku, a yeti who appears in the children’s television show Hirake! Ponkikki. Usually to be found with his green dinosaur pal, Gachapin, Mukku gets up to plenty of antics in the public eye. This time was no different: he was clearly intending to draw a crowd, and he was going to use the public-use piano at Kannai Station in Yokohama to do it.
▼ “No one’s showing up…”
But once Mukku settled down to try his basic scales, faltering and stumbling with every note, people began to crowd around.
▼ He doesn’t play too badly, for a gigantic yeti monster.
When Mukku finished his shaky run-through of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, he’d amassed quite the respectable crowd. All the better to surprise them with what was hidden up his furry sleeve: Mukku is actually an accomplished pianist, capable of performing a beautiful rendition of “Lemon”!
▼ Several young women gasped “It’s ‘Lemon’!” as he tapped out the opening bars.
By the time he finished his performance, he had won the crowd over enough to earn a rousing round of applause!
▼ “Thanks for watching, everyone!”
As you can see in the video, many of Mukku’s adoring fans snapped footage of the performance on their smartphones. Social media quickly filled with tales of users’ personal Yonezu yeti yarns, like these:
▼ “I was out shopping and Mukku was there playing Kenshi Yonezu’s ‘Lemon’! He was really good, please check it out!”
▼ “Mukku was playing piano at Kannai…”
▼ “Mukku, playing ‘Lemon’ by Kenshi Yonezu in the Kannai underground subway…hahaha he was really good”
Apparently his musical stylings don’t end there, as there’s also video of Mukku serenading us with the very same song with his beautiful voice.
Of course, we know that there’s no shortage of musically talented mascots in Japan. Head to Aomori to check out the most amazing drummer we’ve ever seen (sorry, Yoshiki) and pear fairy Funassyi is no slouch, either.
And if you’re a mascot with no musical talent, you could always just wait for a star like Mukku to tickle the ivories so you can focus on getting your groove on.
Sources: YouTube/ガチャピンちゃんねる【公式】, Otakomu
Top image: YouTube/ガチャピンちゃんねる