#funassyiland select

Video of the second session on Sunday in Harajuku (the first session is here). Funassyi came out with a pale pink woolly hat, probably made by a fan, and quipped that he was imitating actor Kunie Tanaka from the classic 1980s drama Kita no Kuni Kara. 

The content of this session was a bit different from the first session; the most interesting tidbit may have been when Funassyi revealed that he has been invited to appear on Tetsuko no Heya, a long-running talk-interview show hosted by Japanese TV legend Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, but he had to turn it down because of a scheduling conflict. (Funassyi got in her way during Kohaku Utagassen, annoying the lady a little.) It’s considered quite an honor to be a guest on Tetsuko no Heya, so hopefully Funassyi will be invited again and be able to make it some day. 

Funassyi also mentioned that an event is scheduled for May, details to be revealed, and that his goal this year is to actually do some kind of event at Budokan - something that he’s been saying is an ultimate goal of his for some time.

Here’s a video of the first session today of the event to celebrate the opening of Funassyiland Select inside Kiddy Land in Harajuku, Tokyo. (The video is from the always reliable EMI274.) In the first half Funassyi chats with regular MC Aicchy about her recent marriage, his appearance on Kohaku Utagassen, and Detective Funassyi. Being the always frank Pear that he is, he even talks about the fact that Detective Funassyi didn’t get very good ratings, and getting bashed for that (although only a couple of low-level gossip rags had anything bad to say about it). He mentioned that it did well with kids, getting around 14% ratings, but didn’t do well with older people - and that’s the main audience for network television these days in Japan. He also talked a bit about Funanomics 3 and how much fun that was, and how he wants to make Funanomics - going around Japan, visiting and bringing publicity to various regions - his ‘life work’.

Although the Funassyiland Select store within Kiddy Land Harajuku opened on December 5th, the Funassyi live event to commemorate the opening will be held in February - and they’ve added an extra layer of complication to obtaining tickets. Details as follows: 

Date and time: February 7, 2016 at 12:00 and 16:00 (2 ‘mini talk shows’, 400 seats per show, 800 total) 

Place: Laforet Harajuku (English site)  - it’s across the street and around the corner from Kiddy Land 

How to enter the drawing for seats: You must purchase more than 1,000 yen worth of Funassyi merchandise at Funassyiland Select during January 2 - 15. You’ll receive an entry sticker, which must then be stuck onto a standard kansei hagaki - a postage prepaid postcard that’s sold by the Japan Post, and sent to the address that you’ll receive with the entry sticker. A blind drawing will be held to determine who will receive tickets. 

The extra step of requiring people to enter by mail for the drawing may be to ensure that the drawing for seats is absolutely fair. There have been accusations by a small yet vocal minority that some people, who may be best described as Funassyi groupies, manage to get good seats to just about every Funassyi event regardless of where it’s held, and therefore must have some kind of preferred treatment (aka “they must be cheating”). It’s one of the unfortunate side effects of the popularity of The Pear. 

This Pink Bear Funassyi is the newest addition to the Funacolle lineup of Funassyiland exclusive Funassyis. It will be available only at the new Funassyiland Select Store inside Kiddy Land Harajuku, which is opening on Saturday, December 5th. The Big Pear in the bottom photo doesn’t come with it, unfortunately.