A land of contrasts.

一個充滿反差的國度。

A land where ancient customs and rituals coincide with-

在這片土地上，古老的習俗和儀式與... ...

oh my god, is that a bear with a melon for a head?!

哦，我的上帝，這是一個熊與瓜的頭？

What's that panda doing with that tongue?

那隻熊貓的舌頭在幹什麼？

And what the devil is that!? Jesus!

那是什麼鬼東西！？天啊！

What, with Halloween fast approaching I wanted to make a video

什麼，萬聖節快到了，我想做一個視頻。

on something truly shocking and disturbing.

在一些真正令人震驚和不安的事情上。

And whilst my face alone would usually fit that description,

雖然我的臉通常符合這個描述。

this year, time and again, I've come across Japanese mascot characters

今年以來，屢屢遇到日本的吉祥物。

that look like they've been ripped out of Stephen King's imagination.

看起來就像從斯蒂芬-金的想象中撕扯出來的。

So, today, I want to show you just how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

所以，今天，我想告訴你，兔子洞到底有多深。

I've assembled ten of the most obscene and disturbing characters

我收集了十位最淫穢、最令人不安的人物。

that I've found on my travels around the country.

我在全國各地旅行時發現的。

But the first thing you need to know is Japanese mascots, known as 'Yurukyara',

但你首先要知道的是日本的吉祥物，也就是所謂的 "優衣庫"。

are big business in Japan.

在日本是大生意。

Not that long ago, I was passing through Kyushu in the south

不久前，我路過南方的九州。

when I came face-to-face with the richest mascot in the country:

當我和全國最有錢的吉祥物面對面的時候。

Kumamon the bear, who is said to be worth a billion dollars to the local economy,

熊熊熊，據說他對當地的經濟價值達10億美元。

originally conceived to promote Kumamoto Prefecture when a new bullet train line opened in 2010.

最初的設想是在2010年新的子彈列車線路開通時，促進熊本縣的發展。

In 2011, he was ranked as the number one yurukyara in all of Japan,

2011年，他被評為全日本第一的優伶。

with his newfound fans snapping up every manner of Kumamon-branded paraphernalia

與他的新粉絲們一起搶購各種公文品牌的用具。

they could get their hands on.

他們可以得到他們的手。

Meanwhile, Kumamon the superstar traveled the country on horseback,

與此同時，熊蒙這位超級大明星騎著馬遊歷了全國各地。

and mingling with the rich and famous.

並與富豪們打成一片。

At first, I couldn't understand how a simple mascot, designed to promote a public initiative,

一開始，我不明白，一個簡單的吉祥物，怎麼會被設計成宣傳公益活動。

had gone on to become so ubiquitous and popular around the country.

曾走到了全國各地，如此無處不在，深受歡迎。

And it wasn't until I spoke to a Japanese mascot expert that it all became a lot clearer.

而直到我和日本的吉祥物專家交流後，一切才豁然開朗。

[Ryotaro-- I mean, Roger Takeshi speaking Japanese with a heavy accent.]

[良太郎... 我的意思是，羅傑武說日語，口音很重。]

After Kumamon's raging success, the game had changed

在Kumamon洶湧的成功之後，遊戲規則發生了變化

and now you can scarcely walk down the street in Japan without bumping into a character

現在在日本走在大街上，幾乎沒有不被撞見的人物。

who's become the sentient manifestation of a product, a place, or a public initiative.

誰成為一個產品、一個地方或一個公共舉措的有情表現。

Case in point: trying to promote Bollywood movies to a Japanese audience?

案例：想向日本觀眾推廣寶萊塢電影？

Try Naanko-chan, a walking talking piece of naan bread.

嚐嚐會說話的饢餅吧。

Running an anti-drugs campaign, but want to make it fun?

開展反毒品運動，但又想讓它變得有趣？

Meet 'No Dora-kun', a knotted blue syringe with an awkward slogan on the front:

遇到了 "No Dora君"，它是一個結結實實的藍色注射器，正面有一個尷尬的口號。

'No drug,

'沒有第二個。

know drug.'

'知道藥物。

Hell, even Amazon has its own character:

見鬼，連亞馬遜都有自己的特色。

'Pochi the dog', which is a dog made out of cardboard boxes.

'狗寶奇'，這是一隻用紙箱做的狗。

... I quite like that one.

...我很喜歡那一個。

Some places have gone the extra mile and actually turned real life animals into their mascot.

有的地方還特意把現實生活中的動物變成了吉祥物。

A few years ago I presented a documentary about Japan's cats obsession,

幾年前，我曾介紹過一部關於日本貓咪迷戀的紀錄片。

and for one segment we went to the prefecture of Wakayama, just outside of Osaka,

而有一段我們去了大阪郊外的和歌山縣。

to feature an astounding story about a cat called 'Tama-chan'.

報道了一隻叫 "Tama-chan "的貓的驚人故事。

A struggling railway station had adopted a stray cat,

一個舉步維艱的火車站收養了一隻流浪貓。

put it in a hat and turned it into a stationmaster to greet arriving passengers.

把它裝在帽子裡，變成站長迎接到站的旅客。

It sounds really quite clever, but all they've done was put a cat in a hat and stick it on a pedestal by the entrance.

這聽起來真的很聰明，但他們所做的只是把一隻貓放在帽子裡，然後貼在入口處的底座上。

55,000 people in the first year came to see the cat,

第一年就有5.5萬人來看貓。

and it generated 10 million dollars for the local economy, all to see a slightly bemused cat in a hat.

併為當地經濟創造了1000萬元的收入，都是為了看一隻戴著帽子的略帶迷茫的貓。

It begs the question: why the fuck didn't I think of that myself?

這就引出了一個問題：我他媽為什麼自己沒有想到呢？

In fact, so inspired was I by the story of Tama-chan, I went out and bought my very own cat mascot:

事實上，我被多摩仔的故事所啟發，於是我買了自己的貓咪吉祥物。

Mr Snuggles.

依偎先生。

...whose subsequent appearances led to an increase in views, subscribers, likes and comments.

...其隨後的出現導致了瀏覽量、訂閱量、點贊量和評論量的增加。

It seemed like the good times were never gonna end.

好像美好的時光永遠不會結束。

... And then lots of viewers pointed out that Mr Snuggles looked a little bit like Hitler.

...然後很多觀眾指出，Snuggles先生看起來有點像希特勒。

And, begrudgingly, I had to fire him before viewers thought I had some sort of... malicious, hidden agenda.

而且，勉強的，我不得不解僱他 在觀眾認為我有某種... 惡意的，隱藏的議程。

Though, this afternoon, I do think I might have found...

雖然，今天下午，我想我可能已經發現... ...

I think I might've found an alternative.

我想我可能已經找到了一個替代品。

I was wandering aimlessly through a shopping mall

我在商場裡漫無目的地閒逛著。

when I came face-to-face with a cheeky looking toy called 'DJ Bear'.

當我面對著一個看起來很滑稽的玩具 "DJ熊"。

I'm not sure what it was that drew me to the character.

我不知道是什麼原因吸引了我，這個角色。

Maybe it was the cumbersome expression on the front saying,

也許是前面說的繁瑣的表情。

"I copy what you said!"

"我抄你說的！"

... or perhaps it was simply his deeply unnerving expression.

........也可能只是他那令人深感不安的表情。

Either way, here he is - DJ Bear!

不管怎麼樣，他就是--DJ熊!

What I like about this is, unlike Mr Snuggles, who was just, in effect, an inanimate object,

我喜歡的是，不像依偎先生，他實際上只是一個沒有生命的物體。

DJ Bear can actually move and do something.

DJ熊居然會動，會做事。

So he can potentially provide an invaluable contribution.

所以他有可能提供寶貴的貢獻。

[To DJ Bear] 'Hello'

[致DJ熊] "你好

[An amazingly awful remix with Chris' 'hello'.]

[一個驚人的可怕的混音 與克里斯 "你好"。 ]

Chris: *breathes*--- [DJ Bear plays the same remix music again]

[and it continues...]

[並繼續...]

... What a twat.

...什麼是娘們。

[This time, an enlightening remix with just the word 'twat'.]

[這一次，一個開明的混音 只有 "twat "一詞。]

On the island of Hokkaido, there's a town called Yubari,

在北海道的島上，有一個叫夕張的小鎮。

famous for having the most obscenely expensive melons on the planet:

以擁有世界上最昂貴的甜瓜而聞名。

Yubari King melon.

渝巴里王瓜。

But how expensive can a melon really be, you ask?

但你問，一個瓜子到底能有多貴？

Well, this year, two Yubari King melons went for $45,000!

好吧，今年，兩隻渝北王瓜就賣到了4.5萬元!

5 million yen for some fruit! Two melons!

五百萬日元買些水果！兩個瓜！

I don't get it, and whilst I'd like to tell you the real horror in this story is the melons going to $45,000,

我不明白，雖然我很想告訴你這個故事真正的恐怖之處在於瓜子要賣到4萬5千元。

the town of Yubari cashed in on this melon craze by creating a fun-loving, cute, cuddly mascot,

夕張鎮利用這股瓜子熱潮，創造了一個有趣、可愛、可親的吉祥物。

know only as: Melon Bear.

只知道作為。Melon Bear.

Half melon, half bear, and half children's nightmare.

一半是瓜子，一半是熊，一半是孩子的噩夢。

I first came across Melon Bear on a trip to Sapporo two years ago,

我第一次見到瓜子熊是在兩年前的札幌之行。

when he caught my friend Natsuki's attention for his unusual teeth.

當他因為他那不尋常的牙齒而引起我朋友夏樹的注意時。

[CB]: Oh my god.

哦，我的上帝。

[Natsuki]: Dental.

[夏樹]。牙科。

[Natsuki trying to sort his thoughts out on Melon Bear's teeth.]

[夏樹試圖在瓜熊的牙齒上理清思路]。

Hokkaido is actually home to quite a lot of bears,

北海道其實有不少的熊。

and the story of his genesis goes that, a bear sunk its teeth into a juicy Yubari melon.

他的起源故事是這樣的：一隻熊用牙齒咬住了一個多汁的尤巴里瓜。

And since then, Melon Bear's gone on to sink his teeth into the competition.

而從那時起，瓜子熊就開始沉下心來參加比賽了。

[CB]: Take that, Kumamon! Try meeting Keanu Reeves with your head ripped off.

[CB]:嚐嚐這個，Kumamon!試著去見基努・裡維斯吧 你的頭被擰下來了。

But Melon Bear is just one of many terrifying mascots to come out of Hokkaido.

但瓜子熊只是北海道眾多恐怖吉祥物中的一個。

One of Sapporo's most iconic buildings is the old Clock Tower building in the heart of the city.

札幌市的標誌性建築之一是位於市中心的老鐘樓建築。

It actually became an issue that tourists were going to see the Clock Tower and were left feeling underwhelmed by its appearance - myself admittedly included.

實際上，遊客們去看鐘樓，卻被它的外觀所折服--當然包括我自己在內，這成了一個問題。

And so, a local video game company came up with a solution to appease the hordes of ungrateful tourists who failed to appreciate the 19th century architecture.

於是，當地一家電子遊戲公司想出了一個辦法，來安撫那些未能欣賞19世紀建築的大批忘恩負義的遊客。

They created 'Haunted Clock Guy'.

他們創造了 "鬧鐘男"。

Modeled on the Clock Tower, he is the literal representation of the horrors of traveling all the way to Sapporo to see the famous clock tower

以鐘樓為原型，他是遠道而來的札幌看著名鐘樓的恐怖的文字代表。

only to be horribly disappointed by its appearance.

卻被它的外表嚇壞了。

Apparently, its creator's objective was to, and I quote, 'create an impact that tourists will never forget'.

顯然，它的創造者的目標是，我引用一句話，"創造一個遊客永遠不會忘記的影響"。

And it certainly is no easy task wiping the image of Haunted Tokei (Clock) Guy attempting to dine on a woman's head out of your memory.

而要把鬼東慶(鍾)男試圖在女人頭上吃飯的形象從記憶中抹去，當然不是一件容易的事。

Still, not all the mascots on this list involve a character trying to rip someone's head off.

不過，並不是所有上榜的吉祥物都涉及到一個角色要把別人的頭擰下來。

... Um, although the next one-- well, I suppose the next one kind of does...

...嗯，雖然下一個... 嗯，我想下一個有點... ...

Earlier on we saw No Dora-kun, an anti-drug campaign with a noble aim to inspire children to 'no drug' and also to 'know drug'.

早前我們看到了 "無朵拉君"，這是一場禁毒運動，目的很高，就是要激勵孩子們'不吸毒'，也要'識毒'。

And it's important to point out that this character was a rejected idea for an anti-drugs campaign in Kyoto.

而需要指出的是，這個角色是京都反毒品運動的一個被否決的創意。

And, uh... I'm not really sure why to be honest...

老實說，我也不知道為什麼...

Oh, wait...

哦，等等...

To be fair, if a vampire-dinosaur-skeleton with half a dozen syringes for teeth doesn't stop you from taking drugs,

平心而論，如果一個吸血鬼恐龍骷髏用半打注射器做牙齒，也不能阻止你吸毒。

nothing will.

沒有什麼會。

I can't help but think this was an opportunity to do something really, really quite special.

我不禁覺得這是個機會，可以做一些非常非常特別的事情。

And it boggles the mind that whilst this one didn't get commissioned, the next one did.

令人費解的是，雖然這幅畫沒有得到委託，但下一幅畫卻得到了。

This is Takapou-kun. A sentient runway who is the mascot for Takumatsu Airport.

這就是高朋君。作為高松機場吉祥物的有情跑道。

And there is a sense from his glazed expression that not even he really knows why he exists.

而且從他那琉璃般的表情中可以感覺到，連他自己都沒有真正知道自己為什麼存在。

I mean, that is a face of a sentient runway having an existential crisis about its own existence

我的意思是，那是一張有意識的跑道的臉，對自己的存在產生了生存危機。

... which is not sentence I ever hope to say out loud again.

......這句話我再也不想大聲說出來了。

But there's a sense that, in all seriousness, they could have chosen something a little bit better.

但有一種感覺，認真說起來，他們可以選擇更好一點的東西。

At least pick something that has movement!

至少要選一些有運動的東西吧!

... Well.

...好吧 Well.

Within reason, anyway.

無論如何，在合理的範圍內。

Meanwhile, in the nearby prefecture of Kochi,

同時，在附近的高知縣。

the region is famous for having amongst the highest consumption of alcohol in all of Japan,

該地區的酒類消費量在日本全國名列前茅。

and as a result, the locals have a god-like mascot to comfort the inebriated townsfolk.

是以，當地人有一個神一樣的吉祥物來安慰醉酒的鄉親們。

'Bero-Bero no Kamisama'.

"上山的貝羅貝羅。

Literally the 'God of Drunk'.

字面意思是'醉神'。

He's a nude pink, spiral-eyed figure who is said to protect you on a night out.

他是一個裸粉色的螺旋眼人物，據說他能在夜晚保護你。

Close inspection of his marketing materials reveals that he, number one: protects you from having a hangover,

仔細查看他的營銷資料，發現他，第一：保護你不宿醉。

number two: gives you more sexual power,

第二：給你更多的性能力。

and above all, number three: he protects you from falling down the stairs.

最重要的是，第三條：他保護你不從樓梯上摔下來。

Perfect! Finally. A mascot we can all believe in.

完美！終於有了一個我們都能相信的吉祥物。

...unlike the next one.

...... 不像下一個。

Oh, god, no... Really?

哦，上帝，不...真的嗎？

This is Ojinyan. Literally a large, yellow cat with the face of an old man.

這就是大金燕。字面意思是一隻大黃貓，長著一張老人的臉。

Created by a Tokyo-based talent agency, apparently Ojinyan likes to sing and dance for the children.

由東京的一家藝人經紀公司打造，顯然大金燕喜歡給孩子們唱歌跳舞。

... That is, the children that haven't run out of the room screaming in terror.

...就是說，孩子們還沒有從房間裡跑出來 驚恐地尖叫。

As somebody who has seen a cat at least once,

作為一個至少見過一次貓的人。

I think I can say with a degree of certainty that this character is stretching the definition of what a cat is.

我想我可以很肯定的說，這個角色是在延伸貓的定義。

And it's definitely not something I want to leave in a room with children.

而且我絕對不想把它留在有孩子的房間裡。

Then again, the same could be said for the next character on our list:

話說回來，我們名單上的下一個角色也可以說是如此。

Tagopan. A panda with a not at all unpleasantly lengthy tongue,

Tagopan。一隻熊貓，舌頭長的一點都不難看。

who travels around Hokkaido tasting the local gourmet foods.

巡迴北海道品嚐當地美食的人。

And while he's not stuffing himself with the regional dishes of Hokkaido, he's off licking faces of other mascots,

而當他不把北海道的地方菜塞給自己的時候，他就會去舔其他吉祥物的臉。

like a family-friendly version of the Licker monster from Resident Evil.

就像《生化危機》中的家庭版舔食者怪物。

The Chiba Lotte Marines Baseball Team of an ever-changing mascot

千葉樂天海軍陸戰隊棒球隊的吉祥物不斷變化。

known as 'Nazo no Sakana', literally 'The Mysterious Fish'.

被稱為 "Nazo no Sakana"，字面意思是 "神祕的魚"。

And like an evolving Pokemon,

而像一隻進化中的小精靈。

what started out as a simple mysterious fish eventually gave birth to a mysterious... skeleton... fish... thing.

一開始只是一條簡單的神祕魚 最終誕生了一條神祕的... 骨架... 魚....

The skeleton creature itself evolved into a giant fish head.

骷髏生物本身進化成了一個巨大的魚頭。

The only question remains: what comes next in Nazo no Sakana's evolution?

唯一的問題是：Nazo no Sakana的下一步進化是什麼？

We've seen an awful lot of bears today from Hokkaido,

今天我們從北海道看到了很多熊。

and this one is by far my favorite.

而這個是迄今為止我最喜歡的。

Say hello to 'Zombear'.

跟'Zombear'打個招呼吧。

A zombie bear from Otaru town who has his own appetizing brand of blue curry.

來自小樽鎮的殭屍熊，他有自己開胃的藍咖喱品牌。

Ooh, delicious(!)! Yeah(!)!

哦，好吃(!)!耶(!)!

The story goes that Zombear has been wandering the streets of Hokkaido for 70 years in search of his owner,

據說，為了尋找主人，佐姆熊在北海道的街頭流浪了70年。

like some sort of undead Winnie the Pooh.

像某種不死的小熊維尼。

Turns out, Zombear has his own website with his own backstory.

原來，Zombear有自己的網站，有自己的背景故事。

It seems part of the reason he's failed to find his owner

看來他找不到主人也是有原因的。

is because he has, and I quote, 'No sense of direction of extreme.'

是因為他有，我引用一下，"沒有極端的方向感"。

'The number of times to get lost in many cases'

'在很多情況下，迷路的次數

'But luck is very good.'

'但運氣非常好。

And after looking at Zombear's merchandise in range, it does actually seem that luck is very good.

而在看了Zombear的商品範圍後，其實看起來運氣確實很好。

Uh, I mean, the Zombear's pants are completely sold out.

呃，我是說，Zombear的褲子已經完全賣完了。

Perhaps surprisingly, Zombear isn't the only character with his own brand of curry.

也許令人驚訝的是，Zombear並不是唯一一個擁有自己品牌的咖喱的角色。

Down in Hyogo prefecture in the town of Fukusaki,

在兵庫縣的福崎鎮。

they've created what many people believe to be the most terrifying mascot yet.

他們創造了許多人認為是最可怕的吉祥物。

Say hello to 'Gajiro', a demon from Japanese folklore said to lure people into rivers and drown them.

向日本民間傳說中的妖怪 "伽治郎 "問好，據說它能把人引到河裡淹死。

Yehey- what?

什麼？

Fukusaki town was actually the birthplace of a famous folklore expert: Kunio Yanagita.

福崎鎮其實是一位著名的民俗專家的出生地，他就是柳田國夫。

Gajiro takes advantage of his reputation, not only turning the mythical creature into reality,

伽吉羅利用自己的名聲，不僅將神話中的生物變成了現實。

but even installing a mechanical version in the local town pond that pops out and scares passers-by.

但即便是在當地的小鎮池塘裡安裝一個機械版，彈出來嚇唬路人。

Although thankfully, unlike the folklore, it doesn't drag you in, kicking and screaming to your death.

雖然值得慶幸的是，不像民間傳說的那樣，它不會把你拖進去，踢著踢著就死了。

And whilst he might look utterly terrifying at first glance,

雖然他第一眼看上去很可怕

and indeed, second and third glance,

而事實上，第二眼和第三眼。

his long, flowing black hair gives him something of a rockstar-like appearance that the locals have been quick to capitalize on.

他那一頭飄逸的黑色長髮讓他擁有了搖滾明星般的外表，而當地人也迅速地利用了這一點。

But Fukasaki town knows exactly what it's doing.

但深崎鎮很清楚自己在做什麼。

To quote the creator of the character in the local government,

引用地方政府中人物的創造者的話。

'There are already plenty of cute characters around the nation.'

'全國各地已經有很多可愛的人物了'。

Exactly! There are hundreds of cute, cuddly mascots around the country that are ultimately dull and easily forgettable.

沒錯!全國各地有上百個可愛、萌萌噠的吉祥物，但終究是呆板的，容易被人遺忘。

The race is on to keep the bar high, and to keep producing mascot characters that'll inspire nightmares in children for generations to come.

競爭是為了保持高標準，並繼續生產吉祥物角色，以激發孩子們世世代代的噩夢。

So there you have it guys! Some of the weirdest and creepiest mascots out there in Japan today.

所以你們有了!今天日本最怪異、最恐怖的吉祥物。

But which was your favorite? Go ahead and let me know in the comments below.

但是，你最喜歡哪個呢？來吧，讓我在下面的評論中知道。

There is an amazing Twitter account called Mondo Mascots - probably my favorite Twitter account that I follow - posting new characters daily from around the country.

有一個叫Mondo Mascots的驚人的Twitter賬戶--可能是我最喜歡關注的Twitter賬戶--每天發佈來自全國各地的新角色。

And, if you liked what you saw today and you want to see more mascots, I highly recommend checking it out.

而且，如果你喜歡今天看到的東西，想看更多的吉祥物，我強烈建議你去看看。

And I have to say a big thanks to Chris at Mondo Mascots for helping me in my research for the mascots in this video.

在此，我必須要感謝Mondo吉祥物公司的Chris幫助我研究這段視頻中的吉祥物。

Without him - without Mondo Mascots, this video would not have been possible, so huge thanks.

如果沒有他--沒有Mondo Mascots，這個視頻就不可能實現，所以非常感謝。

But for now though guys, as always, many thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.

不過現在各位，還是一如既往的感謝大家的觀看，我們下次再見。

I'm off to, uh... well, to find a new mascot character.

我要去，呃... ... 嗯，找一個新的吉祥物角色。

I don't think this guy here - don't think he's gonna make the final cut.

我不認為這個傢伙--不認為他能進入最後的選拔。