SoraNews24: Where amazing ideas are horribly executed, and horrible ideas are amazingly executed.

If one were to look back at the year 2019, few things would stand out quite as much as the “tapioca” wave that took Japan by storm. The milky tea filled with balls of tapioca goes by many names and is nothing new, but for some reason it has suddenly become the big thing here for both young and old.

So, it was a no-brainer that the SoraNews24 team decided to dress up as the drink for this year’s gathering in Shibuya. In fact, the decision had been made months ago. However, no one did anything about it until 31 October.

Tasked with slapping together some sort of tapioca-themed costume for that same evening, Mr. Sato first bought some cheap soccer ball hats.

However, as they exist in the wild, tapioca balls don’t have pentagons, so Mr. Sato spray painted them black. Time was of the essence, however, so he could only give each one a quick, single coat.

Meanwhile, the others painted their faces black to complete the tapioca ball look. Luckily, mother nature provided the tea portion of the costume with each writer’s natural creamy skin tone.

When completed, everything came together rather poorly. It somehow registered below even a half-assed attempt. It was like a solid sixteenth-assed job at best.

▼ “Totally not tapioca”

At the very least, our five-man Halloween crew of Yoshio, P.K., Ahiruneko, Seiji, and Mr. Sato ended up looking slightly more like tapioca than soccer balls, so hopefully there wouldn’t be too much confusion.

On the street, everyone felt a little uneasier than usual. This wasn’t the first time they’ve gone out in shoddy outfits, but this one was especially poorly thought out and each member was constantly wondering if anyone would “get it.”

They then decided to stop by one of Tokyo’s roughly two-gagillion tapioca vendors to buy some and really drive the costume’s concept home. It would also give them something to do with their hands rather than fidget nervously in their pockets, which is not a good look for a shirtless guy.

Luckily, this particular shop didn’t have a no-shoes-no-shirt-no-service rule so they equipped our half-naked reporters with their bubble teas.

With renewed confidence, the five tapiocas set off for Shibuya. They even walked by the local police box with a bold swagger.

▼ Nothing to see here officer, just a bunch of guys who like really sweet tea.

Their self-confidence peaked at the station and as they walked through the corridor, they no longer felt like old men wearing crudely spray painted soccer balls on their heads. They were tapioca.

Shibuya wasn’t going to know what hit it…either literally or figuratively.

The guys didn’t really know what to expect this year. After the notorious truck-flipping of last year’s event, the city clamped down on alcohol consumption. It was quite possible that this regulation would have turned most people off.

However, when they emerged from the station…

In the sea of people there were many dressed up, but it seemed like the crowd was made up largely of foreign tourists and people with cameras looking to take pictures of costumed party-goers.

Every few meters our boys walked, someone shouted out asking to take a picture, and when they did other people with cameras swarmed around.

There were a few confused remarks of “Wha?” but once people saw the milk tea in our writers’ hands it was soon followed by, “Oooohhhh, tapioca!”

Thankfully people were getting it. More than that though, people were loving it. The guys could barely move without getting stopped and asked for photos.

This year’s gathering was a little different though. Rather than crowds of people lingering here and there, the numerous police officers were keeping everyone moving. In this way each impromptu photoshoot had to be brief before a cop would tell everyone to get going.

As for our raggedy costumes, they were a smash hit. Despite the inherent terribleness of them, our guys had tapped into the zeitgeist of this Halloween and reaped the fame and adoration that came with it.

Eventually, the team was exhausted from sucking in their guts for all those pictures and decided to call it a night. Back at the office, everyone helped each other remove their spots.

This Halloween had been a rousing success, but next year was to be an Olympic year, promising an even bigger celebration. We will be ready though, and vow to prepare costumes at least a few days in advance…probably.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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