Funassyi, the unofficial yuru-chara of Funabashi, Chiba, has taken the country. In a “general election” where local characters compete for popularity, Funassyi became the first champion with room to spare. At the August 6 awards at Daimaru Tokyo (Chiyoda, Tokyo), it shouted “Thank you-nassi,” trophy in hand, and exploded with its signature jumps = photo above.
For character popularity votes, the autumn Yuru-Chara Grand Prix came first; Kumamon’s 2011 win and later breakout are well known. This “election,” hosted by the Japan Department Stores Association, was launched “to energize Japan together with local characters, heroes, and fans on department-store stages” (the association’s site) — frankly a second serving. Big names already famous — Kumamon, Bari-san (Ehime, 2012 Grand Prix), Hikonyan (Shiga), Sento-kun (Nara) — did not enter, so some wondered how high the excitement would go.
Then Funassyi appeared. As this blog has written many times since May 2, it is already a TV and CM superstar, so you might think an election was unnecessary. Thanks to that, though, the awards ran on the society pages of almost every morning paper on the 7th, including the Mainichi, and many TV stations covered it. Without Funassyi, it would not have drawn this attention. Fear the Funassyi effect.
The vote counts felt decided early. About 480 characters nationwide ran. Web-only preliminaries in seven regions (March 30–April 21) picked the top three per region (six in Kanto); seven who survived the regional heats (May 11–June 16, in-store and web) = photo below fought the final (July 10–25, web only). In the heats Funassyi already had some 390,000 votes, crushing second-place Ishikirin (Osaka, about 180,000) and the rest. Of 33,573 final votes, Funassyi took 11,220, leaving second Okazaemon (Aichi, 7,840) and third
Koto-chan (Kagawa, 6,698) far behind.
To recap Funassyi’s secret: designer Inuyama Akihiko, co-author of a book on yuru-chara, told the Mainichi evening edition of August 3 that “being unofficial is the strength. Working without a government stamp of approval wins ordinary people’s sympathy.” The freedom and wildness of not being a constrained official character must be large.
Still, there is a worry. The fierce movement and unique voice are Funassyi’s traits — which means the person inside is irreplaceable. In this heat, will the stamina last?