It features the Fuccons, a family of American expatriates living in Japan, with characters played by mannequins filmed at various locations in real-time.

ADV Films licensed the first four seasons for North American distribution with an English dub, which was later broadcast on Anime Network and G4 as part of G4's Late Night Peepshow.

All the characters are depicted as mannequins filmed in various locations in real-time,[3] while dressed up in post-World War II fashion.

[4] The original Fuccon Family sketches on Vermilion Pleasure Night were described as James and Barbara constantly arguing and threatening to kill each other with "giant smiles" on their faces,[1] while bonding over sex and tormenting Mikey.

[1][3] Yoshimasa Ishibashi was inspired to create The Fuccons after seeing an advertisement where guests at a party had frozen facial expressions, recalling that they were "so fake they made [him] laugh.

[1] He also denied claims of The Fuccons being a Japanese commentary on Americans and their stereotypes, insisting that the show was meant to be "art.

[29] The story's script consists of repetitive lines, which Ishibashi intended to show that they were manufactured conversations instead of real ones.

[5] The series first appeared as a recurring segment titled The Fuccon Family (フーコン・ファミリー) in the 2000 sketch comedy show Vermilion Pleasure Night, which aired on TV Tokyo and was also produced by Ishibashi.

[30] A film titled The Color of Life compiling skits from Vermilion Pleasure Night was released in 2001, which also contained alternate cuts and endings to The Fuccon Family.

[31] In the same year, The Fuccon Family premiered in the United States at the New Directors/New Films Festival, where news was rapidly spread on the Internet through word-of-mouth, with viewers discussing the "manga-like freeze frames" and the morbid storylines.

[13] In 2011, TV Tokyo began distributing all eight televised seasons through their online streaming service, AniTele Theater (currently known as Animeteleto), as well as Nicovideo, for domestic Japanese residents only.

[54] After the closure of ADV Films, The Fuccons is being distributed by Sentai Filmworks through the online streaming service Hidive.

Mikey Fever, a film containing new original sketches, held limited theater screenings in Tokyo and Osaka on December 1, 2007.

[73] The Fuccons have also appeared in commercials for Vodafone,[74] LG Telecom,[75] Furniture Dome,[76] Ettusais,[77] NTT Docomo,[78] Sapporo Beer,[79] and Mouse Computer.

[28][85] The Fuccons were also compared to "Summer Holidays", a series of photos of mannequins created by photographer Bernard Faucon in 1978.

[86] Several critics explored the possibility of The Fuccons as being a Japanese commentary on Americans and their stereotypes in Japan, though the majority expressed otherwise.

[4] At the same time, Don Houston from DVD Talk described the series as a "wacky, weird ride" but warned that "not everyone thinks this is funny or creative.

"[87] Bamboo Dong from Anime News Network called the humor "quirky", but also noted that viewers who were not ready to overlook the mannequin concept were less likely to enjoy the series.

[88] Writing for Amazon's editorial, Charles Solomon described the vocal performance as "over-the-top", claiming that while the show may bring up discussions about Japanese attitudes towards Americans and the series' "we're-so-dumb-we're-hip charms", he considered it a "pointless waste of time.

"[83] On the other hand, Kaori Shoji from The New York Times' International Herald Tribune credited Ishibashi's art style to his Kyoto upbringing, and described The Fuccon Family segments as "darkly funny" with an "over-the-top caricatured view.

"[5] Gail Nakada from Wired describes the series as "perverse and riotous", with "adultery, childhood antics, and a mother's perfectionism.

"[3] The Austin Chronicle describes The Fuccons as having "witty" dialogue that was "filled with non-sequiturs and static humor", praising the series for parodying the sitcom genre with its "absurdity.

"[22][21] Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk stated that the humor of the series is better accepted through its absurdity and not through its depiction of stereotypes, expressing that, while the introductory episodes fell flat, the increasingly outlandish situations the Fuccons are placed in draw hilarity.

[28] Film Threat expressed that in spite of The Fuccons having an "unusual format and hallucinatory subject matter", it provides as many "good laughs" as confusing moments.