yuru-kyara

Episode of Gunma-chan anime deemed not suitable for children and shelved

What has that little horsey gotten itself into?

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Kawaguchi’s mascot Cupolan doesn’t mind that you think it looks like a turd

It really is thick-skinned.

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Kumamon and other Japanese mascots get muscular makeover in new energy drink commercial【Video】

It falls somewhere between impressive and terrifying. We’ll let you decide.

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Japanese mascots endangered by effects of coronavirus

Is there a place for melon bears and ninja yams in post-corona Japan?

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“Ugly” mascot Sento-kun finds new popularity 12 years after debut

Savvy business practices helped the once-unsettling chimera win over hearts in the end.

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Kumamoto mascot Kumamon’s chance of being Olympic torch runner in jeopardy

Organizing committee seems to have a problem with a huge clumsy bear running around with an open flame.

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Otter mascot character Shinjo-kun kicks butt at Street Fighter tournament in full costume【Video】

Bubble-headed mammal quickly becoming the darling of Japanese pro-gaming.

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Kumamon comes under fire for prank against TV presenter, apologizes

Beloved regional mascot admits he’s been a bad, bad bear.

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Chiitan the otter mascot poised for mainstream success with fun videos of everyday tasks

Enlightening clips show just how hard it is to do the simplest things when you’re a mascot.

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Voting underway for Japan’s top bus mascot

In what other country would someone think it was a good idea to hold a national ranking of bus company mascots?

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“Crazy” new mascot for Kure City is an impressively good dancer with a slick TRF cover【Video】

Mr. Kure may not know karate, but he knows ku-re-shi!

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This year’s contest to choose Japan’s greatest mascot attracting some shady characters

Call me old fashioned but I remember when mascots were meant to be cute, not demons spawned by human weakness or yam ninjas.

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Pokémon GO enters partnership to help disaster-stricken regions of Japan 【Video】

Four prefectures in Japan team up with Pokémon GO developer Niantic to speed up their recovery.

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Hide your daughters! Kagoshima’s suave new bear mascot is winning hearts all over

Meet the bear that’s making women say: “I wanna fall prey to him!”

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Sweet frog hat-wearing pup is a totally edible yuru-kyara available from one place in Japan only

Yuru-kyara, or regional promotional mascots, are so ubiquitous in Japan it can sometimes be hard to recall which one’s which, where they’re from, or even what type of brand or product they’re promoting.

Over 1,000 mascots represent different regions in Japan, which means the need to leave a lasting impression is a constant driving force in the creation of cute products like the sweet puppy above. Can you guess which region he represents and the even more unusual place where he can be found?

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Two Japanese baseball mascots meet in the outfield for a kick to the face and shot to the head

Japanese sports in general place an emphasis on discipline, sportsmanship, and respect for the game. Even though baseball was imported in fairly modern times from America, these traditional values are still in full play, as showboating and taunting on the diamond are frowned upon as much as they are in the sumo ring.

Normally, these high standards of conduct extend to everyone in the ball park, players, fans, and stadium employees included. One recent game, though, saw an odd bit of violence between opposing mascots, including a boot to the face and baseball remix of a gangland-style execution.

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Neiger, the Akita superhero who’s keeping the people safe and fed by growing rice

We’ve talked before about yuru-kyara, Japan’s adorable illustrated mascots. But cute manga-style horses and anthropomorphic pears aren’t the only local spokescharacters you’ll find in Japan, as some regions of the country are also represented by “Local Heroes,” (Gotouchi Hiro in Japanese), Power Ranger or Kamen Rider-like defenders of their communities.

One of the more popular Local Heroes is Neiger, whose mission is to protect Akita Prefecture’s people, mountains, and seas. Akita is a pretty safe and sleepy part of Japan, though, and not exactly the kind of place that’s under constant threats that require a superhero-level response. So what’s he been doing with all of his downtime?

Growing rice, apparently.

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Last Week Tonight tackles Japan’s mascot craze and the results are glorious【Video】

Emerging from the cocoon that was The Daily Show, John Oliver has carved out a brilliant spot for himself with his own talk show Last Week Tonight. He has produced some amazing pieces on net neutrality, Edward Snowden, the Miss America Pageant and the NCAA. Viewers tune in each week to find out what subject close to their hearts is being roasted or promoted on HBO. Japan has gotten a couple of mentions on the show before, but this past week brought the insanity that is Japanese mascots to the attention of his viewers. Surely Japan’s mastery of the subject can teach the rest of the world something.

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Get ready for yuru-kyara car plates! Japan to lift ban on colourful regional license plates

In larger countries like Australia and the United States, vehicle registration is carried out at the state level. This has long allowed each state to produce distinctive designs, including slogans or iconic imagery on number plates. In little Japan, however, vehicle registration is issued by the national government, so car owners have had no option to show their local pride with a regional license plate…until now.

The Ministry of Transport has announced that from next year, local authorities will be free to put colourful character designs on car number plates. Let’s have a look at some of the potential ways to pimp your Japanese numberplate!

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Regional mascot/hyper pear Funasshi’s new album hits number four on Japanese charts【Videos】

Earlier this week, we took a look at the year’s 20 most popular karaoke songs for teens, and found that the list was made up entirely of anime themes, vocaloid songs, and the Japanese version of “Let It Go” (proving there’s literally nowhere you can go where you won’t run into the Frozen hit). And while we’re sure the 2-D sweep put a smile on the face of otaku and technophiles, we can imagine some traditionalists grumbling about a lack of music with a connection to anything real.

Well, is a human-sized pear real enough for you?

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