A note from the Kumamoto International Weird Japanese Desk (we know we’re in trouble when katakan and hiragana are combined): 「ゆるキャラ」is apparently a reduction of「ゆるいキャラクター」. The “character” part is pretty easy; “yurui” is a bit more difficult: it can mean loose or slack, either physical or mental, but in this case, I guess the best translation is “chill” - you can’t imagine Mickey Mouse punching a child (unless you’ve actually worked at Disneyland).
Pretty much everything in Japan has a ゆるキャラ, Kumamon being one of the most famous. However, there are no laws restricting private citizens from creating their own ゆるキャラ, resulting in a vast rangeland for rogue ゆるキャラ to roam. My favorite is at this must-watch video of the decidedly unchill Chiitan from Susaki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4fVdf4pNEc
A new ゆるキャラ is きくちくん, who purports to represent Kikuchi. As you can see, he has a melon head, onsen eyebrows, cow legs, and the rest are open for interpretation. He kinda reminds me of those “Mars Attacks!” characters, but a bit more scary. This has rightfully put the city counsel on alert, with one member questioning, “Is this safe?” Answer: not until someone loses an eye (or is that a lotus root thing?)
So, as a whippet owner, I created my own ゆるキャラ called “Whippet Good” to represent my house. If you can conceive of ゆるキャラ to represent your life, please share. - William