Sumo Showdown: Duolingo Owl Battles Sonic, Pac-Man and Other Mascots

The wrestling tournament we didn't know we needed

The Duolingo Owl got all buff and challenged a bunch of other brand mascots to sumo fights in Japan. Nothing absurd about that.

“We threw Duo into the ring to see what chaos he could create,” says Bunrei Yamane, the brand’s local social media manager. “What happened next wasn’t scripted,” Yamane says. “This was a real match, with real competition. And we didn’t know who would win. That raw unpredictability was part of the magic. The reactions, the UGC and even trending on X proved how much it resonated with people.”

When one mascot’s head flew off during combat, “the lights were turned off and staff ran on-stage to cover the scene, so as to not reveal that there’s a lady inside the costume,” recalls Francois Claverie, ECD at UltraSuperNew, which staged the event. “We all know there’s someone inside—but we’re in denial. We don’t want to break the magic.”

In the end, Ponta, a furry freak that hypes rewards cards in Asia, took home the tournament trophy. Guess Duo got lost in translation.