Sometimes you wonder how other countries view America when they aren’t concerning themselves with politics or government. The media always holds a strong influence on the perception of outside cultures, if they don’t think we should be portrayed fairly we won’t be. Many shows like “24” portray Muslims as religious fanatics or you can switch to UPN and reflect on the life of a typical black family, full of wit and jabs about collared greens, watermelons, and chicken wings. There are a lot of things you can learn about a culture from they way they portray other cultures. In the world of The Fuccons (better known as Oh! Mikey in Japan) we learn one very important lesson in life; Sunday is the day Mikey gets watered.

Welcome to the bizarre world of an American mannequin family who recently moved to Japan. Originally aired on the Japanese television program “Vermillion Pleasure Night,” The Fuccons were a series of three minute shorts that originally aired as a “bumper” between programs that spun off into its own TV program. The Fuccons has spawned a dedicated following like no other and has inspired theme restaurants and several licenses in Asia and Europe.

The Fuccons cast of eclectic personalities with comments to match will not fail to entertain. Japanese humor at its finest, with unimportant life lessons from unhelpful parents, Mikey will have a difficult time struggling to be a normal child. In the first episode Mikey is excited about getting to school, and wonders whether or not there school is in open on Sunday. The only way to find out, according to the father, is to go to school and find out like a real man. Mikey returns dismayed and his mother laughs at him while watering him down with a hose. If this isn’t reminiscent of every day family life, it should be. Other life lessons learned? If you don’t adhere to a strict scheduling and rules, you will have inordinary bad breath. If you don’t like cake, go ahead and lie across the dining table to flaunt your disgust, it’s the American way!

Nozomi Online held a private screening for The Fuccons and no one could hold back their laughter, in fact so many people were rolling in the aisles that it caused a fire hazard. The only fault with the series was that the American voice actor cast, while extremely talented, lacked a certain innocent charm that seemed to be prevalent in the Japanese voice cast. The agreement was that there was something in the original that was lost in translation, but because the DVD contains both English and Japanese with English subtitles, we don’t want this to affect your decision.

The Fuccons is a guilty pleasure, and while some may feel the comedy is on the same level as fart joke, the twisted humor displayed in the series can’t come from any one BUT a genius. The overall consensus at the screening was that everyone wanted to pick up the series, and why shouldn’t they pick it up? With a set consisting of only 3 DVD’s priced at an extremely affordable $19.95 each it’s priced to own. The first DVD in the set won’t be available until February 22nd 2006, but it’s worth the wait, but you do have an option to satiate your curiosity. If you are still on the ropes, or maybe just curious about the series, ADV is going to release an introductory disc containing several shorts to help you decide on December 20th for only $5.98. The Fuccons is highly recommended and comes with our highest level of praise, to not buy this series should be a crime.