Funasshi, the Humanoid Pear, Japan’s Top Mascot for 2013
Remember that article we did about the importance and prominence of yurukyara (mascots) in Japanese culture? And remember how there was a competition called the Yurukyara Grand Prix that pitted these adorable mascots against each other in an all-out battle royale for dominance? Well after two weeks voting, this year’s winner of the Yurukyara Grand Prix is Funasshi, the strange humanoid pear from Funabashi City in Chiba!
Your mascot overlord for the year, ladies and gentlemen.
This year’s top mascots include this humanoid pear, a melon-bear, a chubby dolphin, a really cute giraffe (?), and three other mascots that I couldn’t properly describe without pictures.
OKazaemon from Okazaki City in Aichi Prefecture (2nd Place). What is this?! WHAT IS THIS EVEN?! And holy crap, it got second place. From OKazaemon’s Facebook Koto-chan from Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture (3rd place). There’s something strangely adorable about seeing a chubby mascot doing promotion. From Koto-chan’s Facebook Isa King from Isa City in Kagoshima Prefecture (4rd place) He’s forever winking. Poor creature… From Isa-King’s FacebookGakuto-kun from Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture (5th place) It’s a mix between musical notes and wheat… From Alpen Fitness Club
Ishikirin from Higashi-Osaka City (6th place) How did such a cute creature rank so low? Ishikirin’s Facebook
Gakuto-kun from Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture (5th place) It’s a mix between musical notes and wheat… From Alpen Fitness Club Melon Bear (the bear, not the grandlady) from Yubari City in Hokkaido (7th place) It is a crime that such a magnificent creation ranked last in the Grand Prix. Personally, I think he should have won. Melon Bear’s Facebook
You may be wondering how a pear beat a chubby dolphin, or musical-note-wheat-figure-thing, or, most shockingly, the half-bear half-melon. Well, apparently Funasshi likes to dance.
He likes to dance a lot.
I don’t even know what he’s doing
There you have it folks. The winner of this year’s Yurukyara Grand Prix is a strange, gyrating pear. I can’t wait to see the mascots that compete next year. And even more so, who will be Japan’s next top mascot.
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