Shota Mori is a man with a dream – a dream many young males have fantasized about: making a gun pop out of your sleeve. Known as a sleeve gun, these cool yet largely impractical devices have been featured in the many badass movies such as Taxi Driver, Desperado, and Alien Resurrection.

However, with a nationwide ban on guns, Mr. Mori opted for everyday items like his iPhone, train pass, and toy drums.  What began as a simple DIY project, however, had grown into something much bigger.  Documented in a series of videos titled Sleeve iPhone it became a journey of self-realization for the man and a lesson for all of us to follow our dreams.

First a little background on Mr. Mori. Here is his English profile on his webpage.

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Okay, now that we have a clear understanding of who Shota Mori is; his journey began with a simple arm brace and slider and a holder attached for Mr. Mori’s iPhone.  Here he is trying out his prototype.

http://youtu.be/TGJL8YlQg8M

Still in its infancy, this device had no springs and required the momentum of his arm to move.  Nevertheless, with the first stage successful, it was time to upgrade.  “Unit 2” was more powerful so he substituted his delicate iPhone with a commuter pass for testing.

However, with his new spring loaded model Mr. Mori’s mind appeared to be growing more fragile slipping ever more into Travis Bickle territory. After assembly he went out to the mean streets among the fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal.

http://youtu.be/OLC9C5A0u-8

With Units 1 & 2 finalized production on Unit 3 was underway. This device proved a smoother motion that seemed to suit Mr. Mori’s style best.  He was so satisfied that he seemed to have adopted Bickle’s drive for physical purity.

He also seems to be picking up Scorsese’s filming techniques.

Unit 3 was a success.  After a failed attempt at building an iPad version of his machine, Mr. Mori got to work on his fourth and final iPhone sleeve gun. His videos have also reach a production value worthy of thousands of YouTube thumbs up.

http://youtu.be/WuP78X6H5JU

Shota Mori had finally developed what he needed in Unit 4. This device allowed him to slaughter a row of balloons and still answer his phone in record time. It was 80% effective and 20% hilarious.

And with the valuable filming and acting experience he acquired, he could now focus on his career as a performer. So if you happen to have a Japanese sketch comedy group you may want to consider Shota Mori – if he’s not too busy making placards.

Source: Shota Mori Homepage via Kotaro Blog (Japanese)

▼ A trailer for Sleeve iPhone

http://youtu.be/gcIYcinOsbY

▼ Sleeve iPhone intro theme with biography on Shota Mori

http://youtu.be/ZYxWPcBMjdo