Big-Hearted Mascot Lady Risks Her Life to Put Smiles on Children’s Faces
In Japanese, kawaii means cute. Japanese life is peppered with the kawaii factor. According to science, cuteness brings happiness.
That is how the Japanese black bear mascot wins the hearts of the Japanese people. He is Japan’s favorite mascot – Kumamon!
“I love his cheeky personality!”
“He always makes me laugh no matter how hard my day!”
“I can’t wait to meet Kumamon!” - Kumamon’s fans
But who is the face behind this cute and cuddly bear?
Lo and behold, the person behind Kumamon is actually a plus size woman with a big heart!
Meet Anne Tanaka – the humble face behind Kumamon since his birth in 2011.
“Kumamon is my best self.”
“I love seeing people’s faces light up when they see Kumamon.” - Anne
But before Anne took on the mascot, she had a difficult life. Her mother was from the US and died tragically during a childbirth complication. As a result, Anne was shunned by her father growing up.
Her loveless childhood made her develop an emotional connection to food. Food comforted her when she was upset. So, she kept eating until she became 360 lbs.
“It’s difficult to live in Japan when you’re fat.”
“Everyone is so thin here.”
“I’m only happy and confident when I hide behind my Kumamon costume.”
“I know I won’t be judged and will be loved.” - Anne
Hiding behind the costume
When Anne puts on Kumamon’s costume, she becomes a whole different person. She becomes cute and lovable. She could make people laugh and cry from pure joy. It was the only thing she was good at.
While Anne is happy during work, she feels lonely again back at home.
“I feel sad, I’m going to eat.”
“The emotional connection that I have with it.”
“I can’t seem to break up with it.” - Anne
One day, during a meet-and-greet parade with orphans. It was particularly hot, and Anne felt suffocated under the heavy weight of her costume.
Not wanting to disappoint the kids, Anne kept up her act even though she was dizzy and suffocating underneath the costume.
Suddenly, she just collapsed…
News spread immediately on social media
#Kumamon started to trend on twitter with headlines reading – “Lady behind Kumamon has heart attack!”
An outpour of sympathy and well-wishes flooded Kumamon’s twitter account:
“Ru ok kumamon?” - Yuki Ito
“Is Kumamon safe?” - Ryusei Takahashi
“Pray for Kumamon.” - Tomo Osaki
“Get well soon, Kumamon, we <3 you!!” - Hina Nagata
In the hospital, Anne woke up to these messages and broke down. Fans had also gathered outside her hospital and left flowers and get-well-soon messages.
It was a wakeup call for Anne. Never in her life would she guess that her fans would love her for who she was.
“I can’t disappoint my fans.” - Anne
So, Anne set her mind to losing weight and becoming fit. She switched to a strict Japanese diet and even tried Western diets like Atkins, Zone, Paleo, and Keto. She even spent a fortune signing up for fitness programs like HIIT, Aerobics, and CrossFit.
But nothing worked!
Liposuction and gastric bypass surgery were way beyond her budget. Running out of options, Anne was heartbroken.
When her stress level hit a new high, Anne went back to binge eating. Until she was weighing her heaviest at 370lbs.
“I couldn’t fit into my Kumamon costume anymore!”
“It was a disaster.” - Anne
Kumamon’s Birthday Party was in two months and Anne needed to slim down fast!
Saved by the bell
One day, Anne got a call from Dr. Kando’s secretary inviting her into his office.
Apparently, Dr. Kando was a renowned endocrinologist specializing in obesity treatments.
He had heard about Anne’s heart attack from the news and decided to let her in on his recent breakthrough.
When they met, Dr. Kando took out a box and handed it to Anne.
“This is ShisoX™.”
“ShisoX™ has been an ongoing experiment created by my team for 4 years now.”
“We were trying to discover why Japan has the lowest obesity rate.” - Dr. Kando
According to Dr. Kando’s research, they found that the wild Japanese herb, shiso, had amazing weight-loss properties. Japanese people in the countryside have been eating shiso for centuries to speed up metabolism rate, suppress appetite, and burn fat.
Dr. Kando’s team developed a patch using a special technology to extract shiso microparticles for 5x the results!
“By putting the patch on your problem areas.”
“It will release the herb extracts into the skin through a transdermal process.”
“The natural fat-burning particles from the herb will penetrate the underlying fat cells.”
“This will break down the fat cells and boost metabolic activity.”
“Effectively cleansing your body of toxins.” - Dr. Kando
Kumamon returns!
At first, Anne was sceptical – could it really decrease her double-digit waistline? But amazingly, the pounds soon started to shed. In just a week, she dropped around 17 lbs. Within a month, she was down 57 lbs.
In less than 2 months, she successfully lost a total of 120 lbs!
It was more than she hoped for!
Anne slipped into her Kumamon costume with ease. And, Kumamon was back and better!
At Kumamon’s Birthday Party, Anne sang and danced with thousands of fans gathered there without breaking a sweat!
“It was the happiest day of my life!”
“I couldn’t have changed my life without the love and support of my fans.”
“Thanks to ShisoX™, we can celebrate Kumamon’s birthday together for many years to come.”
“Happiness is not out there, it’s in you!” - Anne
Anne Tanaka is just one of the many success stories of ShisoX™.
We know that ShisoX™ will help many people who are struggling with weight loss worldwide so for a limited time only, we will offer ShisoX™ at 50% off!
Don’t miss out on your chance for a happier and healthier life!