Three hours of resistance will get you five credits, and claiming you’re 21 gives you a free round on the punching machine!

In the past we have written a lot on the differences of Christmas in Japan, most notably the romantic aspect of it. As a result there is a fair bit of animosity to the holiday among single people who prefer not having it rubbed in their face. That’s why certain anti-Christmas events can be found scattered around the country.

One such event was found at a game center in Saga Prefecture which invites one and all to resist Christmas… with your fists!

▼ “My local game center resisted…with fists lol”

The sign in the picture standing outside of the game center reads as follows:

This Christmas?
Of course we resist?
With fists
12/24 Christmas Eve Only
Just by staying in this arcade for three hours, you get a ticket for 5 credits as a present!!
And if you are 21 years old and stay for an hour, you get to use the punching machine once for free!!

Although there are a few games that involve punching and it doesn’t say specifically, the “punching machine” is likely Sonic Blast Heroes in which you must defeat enemies by punching them as hard as you can.

Further down the poster it is explained how to properly resist Christmas:

  1. If you visit, please ask at the main counter, “Can I have a time card?”
  2. After confirming your grade, we hand over the time card. Please stamp the arrival time using the time recorder provided.
  3. Please wander around the game center for three hours holding both fists together against your chest. Punching moderately and making sounds by hitting your fists together is recommended but not required.
  4. Please do not throw away bicycles in the field. Staff cannot go get them.
  5. After three hours of this, your work is finished. Please go to the time recorder and clock out.
  6. After confirming the time, please hand over the proof of your resistance to the counter.
  7. Those who actually resist the staff with their fists will be banned from the premises.

This might all sound a little strange, until you learn the true meaning of Christmas resistance.

A long, long time ago…around September, a group of young boys got into an altercation with another pair of young men regarding a ball.

The young boys then threatened to throw the pair’s bikes into the field, to which one young man replied, “Of course we’d resist?”

The boy then asked, “How are you gonna resist?” Suddenly the young man rushed up and declared proudly the now-infamous line: “With fists.”

The boys acquiesced, but just before fleeing one asked, “What grade are you in?” to which the young man roared, “21 years old!”

▼ The video is in Japanese, but you can probably easily figure out when the key lines are delivered.

And in doing this, that young man had become something of an internet celebrity, but not simply to mock his embarrassing behavior. Like with the Chocolate Rain Guy or Star Wars Kid, people saw a little of themselves in With Fists Guy in those times when they tried to act hard but just didn’t quite have it in them.

In that way, we all felt a little better about our own embarrassments and the somewhat endearing With Fists Guy ascended to the kingdom of Internet heaven, sanctified alongside Piko Taro and the nice-smelling turtle.

And that, boys and girls, is where Christmas resistance comes from, so don’t forget to spend some time this Sunday and Monday walking around hitting your fists together in remembrance that With Fists Guy became notorious to absolve you of your embarrassments.

Event information
This Christmas? Of course we resist? With fists / 今年のクリスマス？もちろん俺らは抵抗するで？拳で
Asobi Doraku / 遊道楽
Saga Prefecture, Saga, Kasemachi Oaza Nakabaru 2488-1
佐賀県佐賀市嘉瀬町大字中原2488-1
24 December (tickets earned on the 24th can be used on the 25th as well)

Source: Twitter/@nico_moto, Hachima Kiko
Top image: YouTube/Purotan Nikki