Nyango Star: The Heavy Metal Cat Mascot Saving A Japanese Farm (HBO)

Nyango Star is one of Japan’s most popular mascots, but you might know him best as a meme. He’s an apple that’s been inhabited by the spirit of a dead cat, and he absolutely shreds on the drums. Very cute but also very metal. Nyango Star is what’s known in Japan as a yuru-chara — which translates loosely to “chill mascot.” Japanese yuru-chara can represent everything from police departments to restaurants to government initiatives. Nyango Star represents Kuroishi City — a farming community in Japan’s n