
I remember one time I had a pet frog (I named it Cyrax because Mortal Kombat was big at the time. Also, robots are cool), and I went to great lengths to pamper it even though I knew, even in my tiny child brain, that my frog was a barely sentient creature that was only vaguely aware at best of some otherworldly giant hand reaching out to annoy it from time to time.
I’m able to relate this story to people without shame because a) I was a kid, and b) the frog was at least a real, tangible creature of some measurable amount of intelligence.
These super committed anime geeks, however, have no such excuse.
It was apparently rock star Ranmaru Kurosaki’s birthday the other day, which would be cause for celebration among Ranmaru’s friends, family and fans, if Ranmaru wasn’t a totally fictitious cartoon character.
But that didn’t stop some fans from going overboard with the birthday presents, which included home-made birthday cakes nestled among creepy Ranmaru photographic shrines.
One fan even put together some delicious-looking fried chicken for the non-existent Ranmaru, which leaves us a little conflicted. If the fan went through all the trouble to home cook a meal for Ranmaru only to throw it away when he didn’t show up, that’s a level of dedication that’s worth at least a little respect. On the other hand, if they just shrugged half-heartedly and ate it all themselves… Well, that’s sort of getting into The Simpsons Comic Book Guy territory.
Far be it for me to judge, though. We all have our quirks, and while my own personal quirks have never included cooking for a non-existent person, they have included trading Lego’s with people well into my 20s, so I guess that’s kind of on the same level.
Check out more pics of people overdoing it for Ranmaru’s birthday at the Ranmaru Kurosaki’s Birthday Celebration hashtag.
Photos: pecotan_u




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