“Gosh darn it, Hanako, is that the Kamehameha or the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki they’re practicing this time?”
Are all those pesky neighborhood cosplayers on the roof keeping you up at night? We didn’t even know that was a thing, but there is indeed a service you can call for free advice about any and all of your roof troubles–especially if you happen to be the unlucky victim of yet another sunrise photography session on your roof.
Roof renovation contracting firm Mori Kenchiku Bankin Kogyo (“Moribankin“), located in Yamatotakada City, Nara Prefecture, is offering “Cosplayers on the Roof Countermeasure Services” for grievances based in Tokyo, Osaka, and Hyogo Prefectures. The company excels at any kind of roof repair work, including general maintenance and simple measures to prevent leaking. The free “cosplayers on the roof consultations” came to fruition as part of the company’s goal to provide the general public with easily accessible knowledge about roof care without anyone having to feel like they were asking dumb questions. In other words: You’ve got a question about roofs, and they’ll happily answer it–no matter how outlandish it may seem.
But still, there’s that nagging question–why cosplayers on the roof?!
As detailed on the company’s website, it all started on that fateful (mythical?) day when Moribankin Company President Ryosuke Mori received a phone call from a client saying, “There’s a strange noise coming from my roof! Could you please check it out?” Not one to be deterred from the unknown, Mori immediately hightailed his way over to the house in question. While climbing his ladder, he indeed heard some strange noises, and curiously peered over the top…
▼ President Mori couldn’t digest the full situation right away…
Mori: “Could it be…?”
…to be met by two ardent cosplayers in the middle of a rooftop duel!
▼ “It’s cosplayers, just as I thought! And there are two of them…”
After grabbing their attention, he yelled out to them that they should not be cosplaying on the roof. They didn’t take very kindly to this order, however, and challenged him to a duel of his own.
▼ “You’re cosplaying with a helmet yourself, aren’tcha!”
“Just try and beat me, Mr. Helmet.”
And so Mori whipped out his ultimate technique and sent it flying in the direction of his foes…
…only to have them stare back at him with looks of incredulity.
Actually, they thought that his attack was so lame that they conceded defeat out of sheer pity for him. They all then had a civil conversation in which he explained why their little stunt was so damaging to the roof, and even showed them some basic roof maintenance pointers. They were eventually impressed enough by his professional knowledge that they agreed to find a different place to enact their hobby, undoubtedly to the delight of both the homeowners and the roof itself.
Thus ends the immortal tale of the cosplayers on the roof. Moribankin saved the day once, and to commemorate Roof Day on September 8 (anything is possible in Japan, folks), the company also offered specially crafted copper animal statues to the first ten people who requested a free roof diagnosis up until September 15.
As a whole, net users responded to the cosplayers-on-a-roof story in a mix of disbelief and skepticism:
“Wait, that’s actually a problem?”
“It seems that roofs have become quite infested with cosplayers recently.”
“Yeah, they’ll go to great lengths to take pictures in strange places.”
“Ponyo on the Roof!”
“I think the company workers just want to use it as an excuse to cosplay themselves.”
While it’s unclear how much of Mori’s story lies in actual fact, the Cosplayers on the Roof Countermeasure Service is a great way to drum up interest in the company and get the public interested in what goes on above their houses. Now, if only another company would tackle some other decidedly more serious scourges on society–such as diners who refuse to say thank you after their meal.
Source: Niconico News via My Game News Flash
Images: Moribankin