GOODBYE

Overview

After 25 years, Japan’s highly popular Suika Penguin (a widely seen mascot on transportation cards) is retiring. The stated reason is that JR East, the company behind the character, is undergoing a major rebrand and introducing new mascot options to replace it.

Replacement Character Options

JR East has revealed three potential replacement characters (names not yet confirmed), each with design logic and personality concepts:

Option A: Squirrel

• Design style: Friendly, soft-curved design
• Personality: Optimistic and steady despite daily struggles

Option B: Purple Rabbit

• Color symbolism:
  • Blue represents “smoothness/safety”
  • Red represents “excitement/inspiration”
• Behavior/animation: Wiggling ears and a quirky “likes to roll around” trait

Option C: Orange Creature with a Mole Companion

• Core concept: Designed as an inseparable pair
• Interaction detail: The mole mirrors the larger character’s movement, and both are meant to exist together
• Theme: Curiosity and exploration

Reactions and Commentary

The commentary then shifts to reactions, with the narrator claiming there is a general negative consensus—the designs feel disappointing compared to the Suika Penguin.

• Overall sentiment: Disappointing relative to Suika Penguin
• Option A criticism: Looks like generic clip art
• Option B criticism: Described as unique but scary
  • The narrator suggests it would fit better in an indie mascot horror setting
• Option C criticism: Called ugly
  • The narrator still says they’d personally prefer it over the others, partly because they want a stronger backstory

Conclusion

Despite the criticism, the narrator concludes that the original Suika Penguin remains superior, arguing it would “beat” the new options in charm and clever design. The replacement is framed as a bittersweet goodbye.

Presenters / Contributors

• Video narrator / host: No specific name provided; described as someone named “Watashiwani Tas”, likely an auto-generated or incorrect attribution