Police have arrested a man for kidnapping a 9-year-old girl after he was reported as a suspect by the public “for having shoujo manga” and “looking like an otaku” – finding both a shoujo and as many as 4 volumes of shoujo manga in his possession.
The 9-year-old girl told her mother she was going to a shop near her Sapporo home to buy some notebooks one afternoon, but by nightfall had not returned.
Her parents became concerned and reported the matter, and police had soon launched a search fearing she had perhaps gotten lost in the snow or fell in a river.
However after two days had elapsed she had still not been found and police requested assistance from the public, and it emerged she had bought her notebooks and was last seen on her way back talking to a schoolmate.
Police had no further inkling of her location until a local taxi driver reported that “there’s a suspicious man who has shoujo manga.”
He further cemented their suspicions by saying he “looked sort of like an otaku.”
Acting on this extremely suspicious information police called on the neigbourhood apartment of a 26-year-old unemployed man, finding him to match the description of their suspect.
He told them the girl “was not here,” but on checking officers found the little girl sat in his room – she had been crying, but was otherwise unharmed.
It emerged he had accosted the little girl in a convenience store car park, telling her to “come over here a little while” and then tying her up with tape and taking her home.
She was returned to her family unharmed whilst he has been charged with kidnapping.
In addition to the abducted shoujo, they found a total of 4 volumes of shoujo manga in his possession, a fact which media wasted no time in highlighting as evidence of his deviance, with reports calling it “strange.”
Online whilst there is no sympathy for the criminal antics of a rorikon kidnapper there is much distaste at the media’s insistence on highlighting him being so perverted as to have as many as 4 volumes of shoujo manga in his possession:
“Just being an otaku is to be a suspect nowadays?”
“Come on guys, he did actually abduct a little girl didn’t he?”
“How can you even be an otaku with only 4 volumes?”
“Discrimination.”
“Amazing how the TV always manages to pin it on manga whilst ignoring all their own programmes.”
“I have 30 volumes so what does that make me…”
“What about women who have One Piece or Kyojin then?”
“Great, it is officially OK to report someone to the police for having 4 volumes of shoujo manga.”
“Creepy. Expect to get reported you lot!”
“Total discrimination. Men read shoujo manga and they are suspect sex criminals, women read shonen manga and they are fine?”
“Who would buy manga at a local bookshop now?”
“Clearly a ban on shoujo manga is needed.”
“See what happens when you finger someone for looking like a yakuza…
“What’s so bad about this is that they did actually get their man based on a tip-off about him having 4 shoujo manga…”
Whats an otaku doing outside the house? Must be a fake otaku.
I own the same TV as in the pictures to bad Plasma will be no more soon
Plot twist. The 9-year-old is his daughter, and they’re both horrible confused.
I don’t think the first comment’s poster understands that in Japan, “otaku” is a very serious insult.
Otaku ain’t just some mainstream title for manga/anime fans. It’s a serious Japanese insult like “loser”, “nobody”, and “good-for-nothing”…
what this guy did was horrible and he should be punished,but this crime has nothing to do with anime or manga,the media are doing all they can to slander otakus and portraying them as dangerous monsters,this is really appalling,is like saying that people who play violent videogames with lots of deaths,blood and gore are serial killers in the making.
you guys remember the old videogame witch hunts they used to do some years ago right?
a guy murders someone,the police finds violent videogames in it’s home and the media goes into a frenzy telling everyone that people who play violent videogames are psychopaths in the making.
i’m seriously worried that this will cause more bullshit censorship legislation against manga and anime to be drafted in japan and that this mediatic pressure will in stifle the creativity of japanese artists who have always been blessed by an originality unique in the entire world,there’s a reason if japan is considered the sorce of the most weird stuff around the world.