TV Tokyo is airing a new animation series based on its official mascot Nanana. Created by up-and-coming animator Satoshi Fumihara, the series is titled "Terebi yaro Nana-na" (Wacky TV Nana-na), adopting a slightly different name from the mascot's. Each episode airs for only three minutes from 9:54 p.m. on Fridays. How has the unique animation come to life?
The animation is set at financially struggling TV broadcaster TV Nana-na. The setting of the broadcaster, which has made up for insufficient production costs with the wisdom and physical strength of its crew, reminds viewers of TV Tokyo.
The animation centers on characters director Nanaoka (voiced by Bibiru Oki), camera operator Nanamori (voiced by Yoichi Nukumizu) and assistant director Nanayama (voiced by Tsubuyaki Shiro).
The characters head for South America to shoot footage of a mythical animal, with the anthropomorphic banana characters created based on the Nanana mascot.
"This is a project that has let Mr. Fumihara play around with Nanana," the animation's producer Fuminori Kobayashi said.
Fumihara is known for the TV commercial series "Teinenpi Shojo Haiji" (fuel efficiency girl Heidi), a parody of TV anime "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," in which a girl with big round eyes and a square-shaped mouth shouts, "fuel efficiency." His strength is creating surreal humor by drawing deformed characters. Fascinated by such talent, TV Tokyo approached him with an offer to work together.
The initial plan was to create a 15-minute animation program to be aired late at night. "As there are many late-night animation programs, our program would have been buried, so we ended up making a short prime-time program to expose it to as many people as possible," Kobayashi said.
Fumihara recalled, "As it was changed to a three-minute anime in the middle of work, it was hard to omit explanations and simplify expressions to fit the program within the alloted time."
The story and name of the animation's lead character are associated with the "Fujioka Hiroshi exploration series," a TV show that was popular in the past. The animation series is a collection of parodies of TV shows, including "Shutsubotsu! Admatic Tengogku," "TV Champion" and many other TV Tokyo programs. The highlight of this animation is its addictive humor created by interactions of the three characters.
The Nanana mascot was created in 2013 when TV Tokyo marked the 50th anniversary of its establishment. Nanana is cast as a "banana employee" working at the TV station. The mascot's popularity has led to the release of DVDs featuring its theme song and exercises.
Fumihara found it difficult to animate Nanana as it was because its image has been already established, so he changed Nanana into a deformed, scary-looking character, Nanaoka, and created an adventure comedy that incorporated his own experiences in the TV industry.
In addition to TV broadcasting, the animation has been distributed online and is scheduled to be sold in a DVD format. Products and LINE stickers featuring the characters have been also put on sale. As a short program aired between regular programs, this animation series has offered a new concept in the TV industry by earning advertising revenue with a high viewer rating.
"This is a challenging animation. It is also greatly challenging as a business model," Kobayashi said.
TV stations showcase official mascots
Major official mascots of other broadcasters include TV Asahi's Go-chan. In the motif of a panda, it was jointly created by TV Asahi and Sanrio Co. in 2011. Go-chan often appears on information programs and events, and an animation featuring the mascot was turned into movies in 2017 and 2018.
Nippon TV's "Da Bear," TBS' "BooBo" and Fuji TV's "Laugh" became each broadcaster's official mascot in the 2000s. The relatively new mascot characters introduced in the 2010s have been used more actively and proved popular.
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