Funassyi


Funassyi is a Japanese mascot character, unofficially representing the city of Funabashi, Chiba. It was created by a citizen of Funabashi with the objective of cheering up local residents and to help promote its hometown. It has subsequently appeared at events and festivals, as well as on numerous TV programs and commercials, gaining popularity around Japan. It has also issued 4 CD albums and 6 singles, DVDs, starred in its own anime series and live action drama special, headlined its own concert at Budokan and opened its own character goods store. While it remains an unofficial character, Funassyi is used frequently in official events for Chiba prefecture, the city of Funabashi and Japan itself due to its popularity and high name recognition.

Profile

Funassyi is neither a boy nor a girl, but a pear fairy. Its parents are ordinary pear trees. Funassyi is the fourth of their 274 children. Its birthday is July 4, and it is 1,881 years old as of 2019. Its full name is Funadius IV, and its favorite food is peaches. The character is fond of heavy metal music, revealing that it bought Deep Purple's Machine Head as its first album, and is also fond of Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne.

Behavior

Generally, Japanese local mascot characters, known as Yuru-kyara or, move slowly and do not speak. Instead, they are usually accompanied by an attendant who speaks for them. Funassyi, however, always speaks for itself. It also often shrieks, jumps, dances and makes violent movements like headbanging. When it speaks, it usually ends its sentences with "nassyi" which sounds like the Japanese word for "pear".
The number 274 appears in a lot of Funassyi's material. Under the rules of Japanese number puns, one possible reading of this number is "fu-na-shi".

History

The character was first created by a Funabashi citizen involved in retail trade in November 2011 as an illustration to advertise his business. A Twitter account was opened for it on November 21st. At first, the creator didn't intend to make Funassyi a physical reality, however, the number of followers on Twitter increased far more than he expected and Funassyi became very popular. He then decided to create the suit of Funassyi.
From April 7, 2012, videos were uploaded on YouTube.
In July 2012, Funassyi visited the Funabashi City Office to have it authorized and supported officially, but this was rejected. On October 30, 2013, Funassyi was awarded a certificate for its contributions in promoting Funabashi all over Japan. However, the Funabashi Municipal Government, with the mutual consent of Funassyi, did not formally approve Funassyi as an official mascot of the city, since doing so might restrict Funassyi's activities.
On November 27, 2013, Funassyi released its first CD single, "Funa Funa Funassyi♪" collaborating with Toshihiko "Takamiy" Takamizawa of The Alfee, on the Far Eastern Tribe Records label.
In June 2014, Funassyi was interviewed by CNN. In August 2014, Funassyi was taught how to pitch by Billy the Marlin, the official mascot of the American Miami Marlins baseball team.
On December 17, 2014, Funassyi released a full CD Album, "Uki Uki Funassyi♪ Official Funassyi Album Pear Juice Bushaa!" on Universal Music Japan's Universal Sigma label.
On March 5, 2015, Funassyi held a press conference for the overseas media at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
On March 6, 2015 Funassyi opened its flagship store, Funassyiland, in the Lalaport Tokyo Bay shopping center in its hometown, Funabashi. A 2nd Funassyiland store opened in Umeda, Osaka in July 2015, and a 3rd store named Funassyiland Select opened in December 2015 in Harajuku, Tokyo inside the Kiddy Land store. A 4th store opened in April 2016 in Nagoya. An online Funassyiland store opened in November 2015.
From March to September 2015, an animated version of Funassyi starred in its own short-anime series, "Funassyi's Funafunafu Days", which aired every weekday during the Sukkiri! morning news and variety show on Nippon TV. The series has been released on DVD.
On January 7, 2016, a life-action 2 hour drama starring Funassyi titled "Detective Funassyi" aired on Fuji TV.
On August 23, 2016, Funassyi headlined a concert called Nassyi Fes at Budokan in Tokyo, drawing 12,000 fans. Nassyi Fes was also held on the 29th of the same month at Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka.

Offshoot characters and imitations

Funassyi's "brother", was introduced on October 15, 2014. Funagoro is the 56th brother of Funassyi. Funagoro is half-pear, half-caterpillar. The major difference between Funagoro and Funassyi is that Funagoro has a caterpillar tail that squirts silk thread. When Funagoro speaks, it usually ends the sentences with "nappi".
Funassyi appears on the Tamagotchi 4U officially released by Bandai as a promotional touch spot character named "Funassyitchi". Along with the character, the package also includes a golden pear and an electric guitar.
A number of characters "inspired" by Funassyi, some sanctioned and some not, have appeared on the past. Sanctioned characters include Funyassyi, created to promote the Shironeko Project game, and Akanassyi, a red version of the usually yellow Funassyi character that was created to promote a Gundam movie in 2015.
As of 2016, Funagoro and Funyassyi appear frequently at Funassyiland stores and other events, with or without Funassyi.

Speculation regarding income and revenue generated by the character

There has been frequent speculation in the Japanese media regarding Funassyi's personal income, as well as the revenue he helps to generate for the city of Funabashi and Chiba prefecture. However, due to its unofficial status, it is a private enterprise and is not required to disclose any such figures. Funassyi has given various off-the-cuff answers to the question of how much it earns over the years, ranging from "274 yen per hour" to "1000 pears per hour".