Police arrest 50-something anime fan on a Sunday afternoon.
If you’re in your 50s, you’re past the age where you parents can tell you to turn off the TV and stop watching anime, and if you’re unemployed, it’s not like you have a boss to cramp your viewing style either. So on September 1, a 57-year-old man in Hyogo Prefecture’s Toyooka City decided to spend the afternoon watching some Japanese animation in his home.
Whether because of his enthusiasm for the art form or the age-diminished capabilities of his ears, the anime fan decided to crank the volume on his speakers. However, even though we’ve flipped the calendars over to September, the weather remains summer-sultry, hot and humid in Japan, and so the man also had his window open.
Unfortunately for the rest of the neighborhood, that didn’t just let in fresh air, but also let out the booming sounds of his anime. It’s one thing to share your passion for Japanese animation with other fans at a convention or club screening, but in general broadcasting the audio of whatever episode you’re currently watching to everyone in the general vicinity is a poor way to go about enjoying the hobby. Eventually, a 50-year-old man who lives diagonally across the street from the anime fan came over to complain about the noise, which is when, according to the younger 50-something Toyooka resident, the anime fan became even more inconsiderate, grabbing a katana with a 46-centimeter (18.1-inch) blade and shouting “I’ll kill you!”
The sudden transition from annoying otaku to violent maniac meant it wasn’t long before the police were summoned. The katana was discovered to be a replica, not a legitimate samurai sword, and although the older man said “I did not wave a replica sword around and threaten [the other man],” police still felt there was enough evidence to place him under arrest, so hopefully for his sake whatever anime he was watching was a recording or online stream, so that he can finish it when he’s finally released from custody.
Source: Kobe Shinbun Next via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
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