
Apple has officially announced the iPhone 6, and also its big-screen sibling, the iPhone 6 Plus. This is great news for technophiles who’d already started lining up for the new device before it was officially unveiled, but there’s one slice of the Japanese population that’s completely unimpressed: hard-core fans of idol singer video game and anime franchise Aikatsu! The otaku subset has compiled a list of seven reasons why, compared to one piece of Aikatsu! merchandise, the iPhone 6 is a piece of junk.
The device the Aikatsu! faithful are holding up in opposition is the 9,500-yen (US$94) Aikatsu Phone Smart from toymaker Bandai. Ostensibly, the target market for Aikatsu! is young girls, and since little kids have a natural tendency to imitate their parents, the Aikatsu Phone Smart is styled after the smartphones Mom and Dad use, but with several kid friendly tweaks that replace the ability to make phone calls and freely send email.
As we’ve talked about before, though, Aikatsu! has also won over the hearts of a large number of obsessive adult men, and they’ve pinpointed a number of ways in which the Aikatsu Phone Smart (yes, that’s how it’s written) is superior to Apple’s device.
1. Supports Aikatsu! cards?
Only Bandai’s device is compatible with the collectible cards used to play the Aikatsu! arcade game.
2. Supports Idol Lessons?
Feel like practicing your Aikatsu! dance routines, or chance your virtual idol’s nail art? Can’t do that with an iPhone 6.
3. Compatible with Kira Kira Letter system?
Want to use the girlish kira kira (sparkly) decorations of the Kira Kira Letter messaging protocol? Better get an Aikatsu Phone Smart.
4. Includes fashion accessories that can be worn by virtual idols?
The Aikatsu Phone Smart comes with hundreds of digital tops, bottoms, shoes, and fashion accessories to dress up your computer-generated idol in. The iPhone 6 doesn’t even have a single outfit preloaded.
5. Do early adopters get a special Aikatsu! IC card?
As part of a promotion, the first batch of Aikatsu Phone Smarts include vouchers for prepaid IC cards that can be redeemed at convenience stores and other retailers. Even better, the cards feature the idol singing cast of the series. Now ask yourself, when was the last time Apple bought you a snack or can of beer at 7-Eleven?
6. Can be updated with new Dress Data?
Since Apple is too lazy to preload any virtual idol costumes, it’s no surprise they haven’t built in the infrastructure to upgrade them, either.
7. Is it designed for fashionable girls?
We’re not exactly sure how this is a positive for the adult men who came up with this list. If we had to hazard a guess, we’d speculate that having a 2-D crush is a hindrance in finding a real-world girlfriend, so at least owning something designed for girls is some sort of warped consolation.
Come to think of it, you could probably say that about every item on the list.
Source: Hamster Sokuho, Twitter
Top image: Bandai/Apple (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Aikatsu, Bandai/Apple (edited by RocketNews24), Aikatsu (2, 3), FC2






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