'Lax' characters put to death in prefectural putsch!

[Taro Toporific]

Osaka to 'fire' character mascots that failed to earn their keep
The Asahi Shimbun -- AJW | May 08, 2014
While regional mascots have worked wonders around Japan, Osaka Prefecture has decided to lay off a fair share of its own characters for poor job performance.
Known as “yuru kyara,” a combination of “yurui,” meaning lax, and character, they are created by municipalities, other public bodies and citizens to promote local attractions. These whimsical mascots are often designed with misshapen bodies and cute features that appeal to the public.
But so far, none of the 45 mascots introduced by 21 departments of the Osaka prefectural government has had any success, according to officials, including Parky-kun, Osaka Prefectural Park Association’s yellow bird-like character born in 1991...
... Keiko Oe, the director of Osaka Prefecture’s cultural department in charge of mascot promotion...recommended Moppie, a mascot created for the 1997 National Athletic Meet held in Osaka, as the prefecture’s core character. The brown mascot is a bullheaded shrike...more...

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[IparryU]

How about you just stop blowing money on this? Saves time and money... and makes Keiko Oe find her self a more productive role at teh office.

[Mike Oxlong]

Funasshi could just shag Kumamon...

[Taro Toporific]

Funasshi could just shag Kumamon...

Not gonna happen.
Kumamon hates Funasshii every since he discovered one special night in a love hotel last November* that Funasshii is a 38-year-old man.

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[Samurai_Jerk]

misshapen bodies ... that appeal to the public

Great description

I always knew the "yuru" came from "yurui" but never thought about it much. Can anyone explain why yurui is a good thing for a character?

[Mike Oxlong]

How a hyperactive, dancing, talking pear became a Japanese obsession

He may be diminutive in stature as he appears under the shadow of the Tokyo Skytree, Japan's tallest structure at 634 meters. But as he twists and screams "I'm so pretty!" onstage, it becomes clear that his star is rising.

The crowd of thousands goes wild, screaming his name and snapping as many photos as they can.

"Funassyi" is a superstar in a pear costume.

In the world of cute, cuddly, and sometimes bizarre mascots, these "yuru-kyara" (meaning gentle or laid back characters), have been a ubiquitous presence in advertising in Japan for decades. But Funassyi is a hyperactive talking and dancing pear who has distinguished himself from the pack.

In fact, Funassyi is a household name.

Coming from the northwestern city of Funabashi, known for its delicious pears, Funassyi's origins lie in his YouTube channel created two years ago. The fact that he spoke, jumped, and had a distinctively flamboyant personality made him different from typically quiet and cuddly Japanese mascots.

Since then, his popularity has exploded, boasting an impressive resume that includes television appearances, commercials and ad campaigns, and even his own novelty single released under Universal Music Japan.

But what makes Funassyi so different from his countless cohorts of colorful characters?

THISisCNN

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

misshapen bodies ... that appeal to the public

Great description

I always knew the "yuru" came from "yurui" but never thought about it much. Can anyone explain why yurui is a good thing for a character?

It originated with author Jun Miura. Yurui in this context means something like wishy washy. He wrote up the lesser-known characters as being a bit dodgy and the term spread with the popularity of the shoddy characters.
That's my understanding, at least.

[wagyl]

misshapen bodies ... that appeal to the public

Great description

I always knew the "yuru" came from "yurui" but never thought about it much. Can anyone explain why yurui is a good thing for a character?

Before I researched it was just a guess but I had always thought it related to the Tare Panda thing: non-threatening and inspiring empathy or the maternal instinct. Apparently the yuru character thing predates Tare Panda but the thinking may be the same.

Edit to defer to my learned friend SDH. Jun Muira's hand is confirmed by wikipedia.

[Samurai_Jerk]

misshapen bodies ... that appeal to the public

Great description

I always knew the "yuru" came from "yurui" but never thought about it much. Can anyone explain why yurui is a good thing for a character?

It originated with author Jun Miura. Yurui in this context means something like wishy washy. He wrote up the lesser-known characters as being a bit dodgy and the term spread with the popularity of the shoddy characters.
That's my understanding, at least.

So it wasn't a good thing to begin with. They co-opted a derogatory term like the fags did with "queer."

[Samurai_Jerk]

Hundreds of mascots face chop with finance ministry budget cuts

Hundreds of cuddly mascots are facing the chop after Japan’s finance ministry ordered local authorities nationwide to cut back in their use, saying many of them are a waste of public money.

The clampdown comes months after officials in one region ordered a cull of its life-size “yuru-kyara” (“laid-back characters”), after finding that the public has no idea who—or what—many of them are.

The ministry investigated 105 tax-funded organizations that had created their own yuru-kyara, and discovered “most of them had no clear purpose”, a finance ministry report said.

“A majority of them were created for vague ‘public relations purposes’ and some of them were created just ‘because others have introduced mascots,’” it said.

[matsuki]

Don't you just love when newbs move here and come to that realization that the pink and light blue "mascots" don't stop with just the children's play areas. Still, they must be hurtin' when they've been forced into investigating all the "mascot" waste going on.

[Taro Toporific]

Ororon-Robo-Mebius.jpg

Japan mascots face cull or combination
YahooNews (AFP) 2015-Apr-06
Japan's swollen ranks of cuddly mascots, once de rigueur for every local government and commercial brand, are coming under increasing threat, with some being culled and others combined.
The move comes after the finance ministry last year ordered authorities nationwide to cut back on the use of life-size "yuru-kyara" ("laid-back characters"), saying many of them are a waste of public money...
... in the remote district of Rumoi, on northernmost Hokkaido, a patchwork character made up of different elements of eight extant mascots was being rolled out.
"Ororon Robo Mebius", which resembles the gigantic humanoid robot from the "Mobile Suit Gundam" animation franchise, has legs, arms, a face and a body that all came from different yuru-kyara representing different communities.
"We have concluded that it's better to join forces rather than each of them working individually," said Rumoi official Mayuko Miyaji.
With a population of just 53,000, Rumoi had one mascot for every 6,500 people.
More...

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