Three rival Nara mascots meet in friendship
As you may know from the previous coverage on Japan Probe, the city of Nara will be celebrating the 1300th anniversary of its establishment as a capital of Japan, and three organizations have created three separate mascots to mark the anniversary.
First there was Sento-kun, the new official city mascot, who was widely criticized for being freakish and uncute. The second mascot, Manto-kun, was a cuter alternative chosen by internet voters. The third mascot, Namu-kun, was created by a Buddhist organization that didn’t like the antlered Buddha look of Sento-kun and wanted a cute and respectable mascot.
A few weeks ago, Sento-kun and Namu-kun met for the first time, shaking hands and pledging to work together to help Nara. The press, which loves the mascot rivalry, was on hand to cover the event. Unfortunately, Manto-kun was not there.
All three mascots appeared together for the first time yesterday. They shook hands, danced around, and expressed feelings of friendship.
Here’s a video of them dancing around and doing mascot stuff:
Your current view on the best Nara mascot:
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