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Horror Icons Sadako and Kayako Compete in Cup no Fuchico Horse Racing Web Game
posted on by Eric Stimson
The upcoming film Sadako vs. Kayako pits two iconic ghosts, Sadako from Ring and Kayako from Juon: The Grudge, against each other for the first time. On May 29, the Japan Derby horse race will be held. What better way for these vengeful spirits to exercise their animosities than by racing horses?
The face-off, organized by the Japanese entertainment site KAI-YOU, was conducted on a promotional website, O-uma no Fuchico to Nihon Derby (Fuchico on a Horse and the Japan Derby). It uses the popular Cup no Fuchico line of figurines, which are designed for clinging onto cup rims, as horse racing jockeys, so the event effectively promoted three different brands.
Sadako was able to take advantage of options added to the game that let her recreate herself as a Cup no Fuchico figure. Kayako doesn't have these options, but she was able to choose a creepy pose.
This creepy pose proved to be a disadvantage, however, when KAI-YOU demanded that the ghosts compete while perched on top of "horses" (actually KAI-YOU staff wearing masks) and striking their avatars' poses. Despite her blinding barrier of hair, Sadako did better, finishing the course in 59.8 seconds to Kayako's 64.6 seconds. (The game is not multiplayer, so the women competed for better finish times.) The average finishing time is 50 seconds, however, and they did badly against the CPU (Sadako got 7th place, Kayako 9th).
Cup no Fuchico fans will find a new lineup of Fuchico figures along with horses to place them on beginning on May 28 at the Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchū. A Fuchico/horse set costs 500 yen ($4.50).
A line of Cup no Fuchico figures have already proven that Sadako and Kayako's poses work well on glass rims. SMAP idol Tsuyoshi Kusanagi tried to recreate some of Fuchico's poses, with some success. Sadako and Kayako have also clashed over popcorn varieties.
Sources: Kai-You and Oricon Style; Images from O-uma no Fuchico to Nihon Derby
