It's not that uncommon for video games to seek inspiration from a variety of places. But the usual suspects are other visual mediums like movies, art and photos. But Japanese comedians? Now that's unusual.
Magical girl anime Yuki Yuna Is a Hero got a PS Vita game late last month in Japan. As Twitter user Woochan0701 pointed out, the game apparently seems to feature traces of a Japanese comedy group known as Cool Poko. Here is their official headshot:
While the group has made major TV appearances, Cool Poko isn't exactly the biggest comedy duo in Japan—never has been.
[Photos: Woochan0701]
However, photos of member Sen-chan and Majime Ono seem to match up perfectly with the in-game images. But the characters have names like "Youth Leader"— that's right, while the photos seem to match up, the characters have different names, because, well, they're school aged, not men in their late 30s. It's not clear what Cool Poko thinks as the group's official blog hasn't been updated since 2013. Heh.
The reason, I'm assuming, the comedians were allegedly traced is that they dress in traditional garb, and there is a summer festival in the game. The comedians make a handy art reference.
[via Inside]
Might have been better to call this game Yuki Yuna Is a Fan of Japanese Comedy. Or at least, allegedly tracing comedians.
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.