The Fuccons (), known as in Japan, is a Japanese sketch comedy series created by Yoshimasa Ishibashi. It features the Fuccons, a family of American expatriates living in Japan, with characters played by mannequins filmed at various locations in real-time.
The Fuccons first aired as recurring sketches titled on the Japanese sketch comedy series Vermilion Pleasure Night in 2000, which was also produced by Ishibashi. In January 2002, the series moved to its own late-night time slot and was broadcast until 2005 for a total of eight seasons. Throughout its broadcast, a 2003 film titled Wah! Mikey Returns was released in theaters. Following its release, four more series was released direct-to-video as well as the 2007 theatrical film Oh! Mikey Fever.
Both The Fuccon Family and The Fuccons were screened at various film festivals overseas, where news of the series was spread on the Internet through word-of-mouth, gaining a cult following. ADV Films licensed the first four seasons for North American distribution with an English dub, which was later broadcast on Anime Network and G4 as part of G4's Late Night Peepshow.
Overview The Fuccons is centered on Mikey Fuccon, an American expatriate who has moved to Japan after his father's job transfer. All the characters are depicted as mannequins filmed in various locations in real-time, while dressed up in post-World War II fashion. The mannequins' movements are minimal, limiting movement to uncomplicated actions, and their poses change off-camera. Voice acting and camera angles are used to convey the story.
The episodes feature non sequitur dialogue and occasionally include surreal humor, with every episode ending with all characters laughing. The characters usually face conflict in bizarre, outlandish situations in non-continuous storylines. The original Fuccon Family sketches on Vermilion Pleasure Night were described as James and Barbara constantly arguing and threatening to kill each other with "giant smiles" on their faces, while bonding over sex and tormenting Mikey. Mikey encounters problems of his own such as being neglected by his parents, being kidnapped, or being possessed by a demon, to varying degrees of absurdity. Each episode is approximately 3 minutes.
Characters
Main characters Michael "Mikey" Fuccon
Mikey is a 3rd-grade elementary school student with an innocent and naive personality. He is 8 years old. He attends an international school in Japan, and while he enjoys soccer, he cannot swim. Mikey often ends up in bizarre situations, to where he is mostly portrayed as a comedic victim to various plots in the show, in part due to his gullible nature. He has a cheerful personality, which makes him popular with his friends. James Fuccon
James is Mikey's father and a salaryman whose job transfer to Tokyo caused the family to relocate. He is 40 years old. James is very supportive of Mikey but often suggests outlandish ideas for the family, and he has taken a 50-year loan on his house. He has a cheerful, carefree personality and laughs to evade situations. While James is happily married to Barbara, he is not above having extramarital affairs, one notably being with a Japanese secretary. In the original Fuccon Family sketches, James often argues with Barbara but bonds with her over sex and neglecting Mikey. Barbara Fuccon
Barbara is Mikey's mother. She is 34 or 36 years old. Most of her dialogue consists of her bossing Mikey around, though she is more practical than James. She believes the world is centered on her and laughs to evade situations. While Barbara is happily married to James, she is not above having extramarital affairs and has done so twice. In the original Fuccon Family sketches, Barbara often argues with James but bonds with him over sex and neglecting Mikey.
Recurring characters Laura
Laura is Mikey's manipulative cousin from the United States who is approaching her "rebellious period." She is never pleased with the events around her and often amuses herself at someone's expense to sate her own boredom, She often plays pranks on Mikey, but she later realizes she is in love with him and refuses to leave Japan in order to stay by his side. Whenever she is upset with him, she often threatens to return to the United States. Despite only being 12 years old, Laura speaks maturely and is also up-to-date on new cafes opening. Her mother is James' sister, Mary. Emily
Emily is Mikey's girlfriend. She has a strong sense of justice and is the most popular girl in Mikey's class. Emily is also the class president and is known to be the prettiest girl in his class. While Emily is friendly to Mikey, their relationship is always disrupted. She also manipulates Mikey out of her own selfishness at times, just to test his feelings for her. She is 8 years old. Tony and Charles
Tony and Charles are British identical twin brothers and Mikey's classmates. At 8 years old, Tony is the older twin, while Charles is the younger twin. Tony and Charles repeat each other's words, until one of them contradicts the other, which results in an argument between them. Tony and Charles' mother, Elena, has a twin sister named Helena, and they also communicate in the same ways as Tony and Charles. Teacher Bob
Teacher Bob is Mikey's 28-year-old homeroom teacher, who is so shy he often communicates by whispering in his mother's ears and having her interpret for him. Because of his close relationship with his mother, he is a mama's boy. Teacher Bob enjoys Chinese noodles and is unwilling to compromise on them. Bob-Mama
Bob-Mama is Teacher Bob's mother, who always accompanies him to interpret his speech, even when she is having a conversation with him. Brown
Brown is Emily's older brother and is 15 years old, who plans on becoming a film director when he gets older. Because of his close relationship with Emily, he often participates in her schemes to manipulate Mikey. Tracy
Tracy (also spelled "Tracey" in ADV Films' releases) is Mikey's 25-year-old private tutor, who is sexually attractive and draws attention from others with her appearance. Her dialogue is suggestive and seductive. Throughout the series, Tracy gives Mikey life lessons in love.
Satoru is an 8-year-old boy from Kyoto whose family relocated to Mikey's town. His family is poor, and while they cannot afford the toys he wants, he has a forward and honest personality. His parents are often neglectful of him, and his family holds nihilistic views.
Mamoru is Satoru's 40-year-old father. Mamoru is a skilled chef, but he is currently unemployed because he is addicted to alcohol.
Nobuyo is Satoru's 34-year-old mother. Prior to marriage, she worked at an as a signboard girl to attract customers. Because the Kawakitas are poor, she tries to manage their budget.
Minor characters Christina
Christina is a 40-year-old woman who attended Virginia High School in South Carolina with James. Both of them have known each other since they were children and consider each other their childhood sweethearts. She is Emily's mother. The Blueberry King
The Blueberry King is the reigning sovereign of the Blueberry Kingdom, a wealthy country that produces oil and has a gold mountain range. He offers to betroth Mikey to his daughter, Isabella, and make him the prince of the Blueberry Kingdom for helping him. Isabella
Isabella is the princess of the Blueberry Kingdom and the Blueberry King's daughter, who is featured in a story arc in which Mikey becomes engaged to marry her. She later breaks off their engagement under the impression Mikey is cheating on her.
Time Boy is a transfer student in Mikey's class who is obsessed with following a schedule. His father runs a clock shop and his mother was a former timekeeper.
Why, whose real name is , is a transfer student in Mikey's class who keeps asking questions about everything. Grandpa and Grandma
Grandpa and Grandma are Mikey's paternal grandparents. The two are forgetful and have been that way since James was born, making it difficult to hold conversations with them. Romeo
Romeo is Emily and Brown's little brother who is studying abroad in Italy. He is hostile towards women but loves men and is aggressive in his romantic pursuits. As a result, he falls in love with Mikey and James. Clare
Clare is a transfer student in Mikey's class. While she has a quiet and unassuming demeanor, she has a habit of stalking others. She falls in love with Mikey and fiercely pursues him in spite of him having Emily as his girlfriend. Nick
Nick is a transfer student in Mikey's class who views him as a rival and competes against him in everything. His competitive behavior also extends to his parents, who compete against James and Barbara in everything as well.
Shut-in is Emily and Brown's cousin. Since his birth, he has never shown his face in public. To travel outside, he rides in a car.
Saori is a woman who offers Mikey a ride when he hitchhikes. She is still heartbroken over her break-up with her ex-lover, Mitsuo. Mikey the Starmen
The Starmen are seven alien brothers who have come to Earth to explore human life, and they have all taken on Mikey's appearance. They speak in unintelligible babbles.
Production
Yoshimasa Ishibashi was inspired to create The Fuccons after seeing an advertisement where guests at a party had frozen facial expressions, recalling that they were "so fake they made [him] laugh." Ishibashi opted to use mannequins because he did not want audiences to dismiss the series as a "TV parody" and because the series' content would feel "too grotesque" if real actors were used. In addition, he did not want the actors' personalities to influence how the characters were portrayed and wanted the characters to be "completely depersonalized."
Recreating a retro family setting similar to Bewitched, Ishibashi sourced the mannequins from a friend's warehouse, which originated from Yoshichu Mannequin. He picked fair-skinned, blue-eyed mannequins because the Japanese-looking mannequins had facial expressions that seemed too serious. Before filming, the mannequins would be styled by Ishibashi's make-up and hairstylist teams while he chose the outfits himself. He claimed that working with mannequins was "weird at first" but later decided that they were "not all that different from live actors."
Ishibashi chose the name "Fuccons" because he thought it sounded funny and said that the name did not mean anything in Japanese. He also denied claims of The Fuccons being a Japanese commentary on Americans and their stereotypes, insisting that the show was meant to be "art." Keishiro Tamura, a colleague of Ishibashi's from Kyoto Computer Gakuin, assisted him in filming the series. The series was filmed in full screen format, and it was shot in various locations in Kyoto, Japan. The story's script consists of repetitive lines, which Ishibashi intended to show that they were manufactured conversations instead of real ones.
Release and distribution