A set of two electronic foxes entitled "Donbei Original Kakeai Manzai Pets (どん兵衛 オリジナルかけあい漫才ペット)" were given out as a prize by Nissin in Japan during 1999. These electronic pets were based off a Furby's design.
The Two Foxes[]
The two foxes have names. The name of the pink fox is Kucha Bei (くちゃ兵衛), but the name of the orange one is Pecha Bei (ぺちゃ兵衛). Both wear aprons with Donbei's logo on them, and they have green cross-eyed eyes. Each fox also has a tail and a set of eyelids which move. Their bottom mouths move up and down as they speak. Unlike Pecha, Kucha has eyelashes. Pecha has eyelids that are a lighter shade of orange than his fur, and Kucha has eyelids which are a different shade of pink from her fur.
Features[]
Aside from having a tail, a bottom mouth, and a set of eyelids which move, not much is known about them. According to the manual, they can speak to each other, sing, and do fortune telling. It is unknown if their voices or phrases are the same as the voices used for their counterparts which were made in 2000.
Prototypes[]
The two toys were advertised as stickers on the seals of Donbei noodle containers and they had their own TV commercial. They were also advertised underneath of the seals of noodle containers themselves. However in the promos, prototypes of the toys were used rather than photos of the actual products.
The same photo of the prototypes, which appear on a set of postcards used to enter the contest for the toys, was used on promotional stickers for the seals of Donbei noodle bowls. The same photo of the prototype foxes was also used for the manual and box art for the toys.
However, the prototype version of Pecha and Kucha which appears in a TV commercial looks different from the other prototype version of themselves which was used in other promotional material.
Plushes[]
Plush versions of the Kakeai Manzai Pets are known to exist, but little information is known about them. It is not known if they can speak.
Keychain Versions[]
Keychain versions of Kucha and Pecha were also given out as a prize by Nissin, however, not much is known about them.
Trivia[]
- Though it is unknown how many Kakeai Manzai Pet sets were sold, a postcard for the campaign states that 10,000 people had the opportunity to win prizes. It's not known if this means 10,000 sets of the foxes were produced, or if this number also includes the keychains.
Gallery[]
