On June 9, police in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, arrested Hirokazu Honma, a 37-year-old construction worker, on suspicion of burglary. The score from his alleged caper? A bunch of collectible cards featuring the characters from anime franchise "Dragon Ball."
According to the authorities, sometime between 3:30 in the afternoon and 5 in the evening on June 6, Honma (a resident of Kisaratzu, two cities over) broke into the Futtsu home of a 38-year-old fisherman, where he pilfered some 300 cards which can be used with the "Dragon Ball Heroes" arcade game. The retail sale price for a bundle of cards that size would be roughly 16,000 yen, but their actual value was likely higher still, since the cards are dispensed at random and rare examples can fetch over 10,000 yen each.
Honma’s trial is still to come, but in the meantime, if you too have a stockpile of precious anime cards, let this incident serve as a reminder of the importance of keeping them hidden when you go out.
Source: Sankei News via Jin
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© Japan Today
12 Comments
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Gobshite
Public enemy number 1 right there
Lockke
timtak
Are these cards popular anywhere else? In fiction: Satoshi collects dragon balls, Luffy collects pieces, various Kamen (masked) riders collect cards, medals, icons (eyecons) In religion: Shintoists go to places go collect cards stamped with the names of gods (particularly e.g. Ise's shrine amulets) and Japanese "Buddhists" go on pilgrimage collecting stamps upon pads hung around their necks or upon their person In popular culture people like the victim and the accused collected cards, children and even adults go on "stamp rallies," and in general go to named places (meisho) to collected named things (meibutsu). Elsewhere: North American, Australian and Africans collected "totem badges" of their totem, ancestor, god, which vectored its life force. It seems to me that one aspect of the "cards" may that they are "symbols that can read themselves" which is why so many of them make noises (e.g. Gaiai memories and totem tribes "bull roarers") or can be voiced by swiping them on a reader device.
DaDude
Nerd on nerd crime.
Hategobo
Smack his ass and send him to bed without his supper, stupid man-child
bones
Only in Japan!
ChaosWyvern
timtak: I think collecting crap is a pretty universal thing and today is encouraged more by consumerism than tradition.
This story made me laugh, though. I wonder how this otaku wannabe master thief got caught :p
Spanki
Sooo he only stole the cards??? Not a computer or stereo or anything ? Really???
nath
I don't appreciate the way Japan Today seems to be making fun of older anime fans. That is a really shifty headline title.
As far as the two men included in the dispute about the stolen cards... they should become friends. It's really hard to find someone older who appreciates anime cards. "Cards" are just "stuff". They could have a wonderful friendship together... sort of like, "Stepbrothers".
Talk it over with one another... don't press charges.
Oh, Pie!
I'll never forget the day a boy stole my holographic Raichu and Ancient Mew Pokemon cards. I'll live with that painful memory forever. Bastard.
nath
It is not just the loss of the cards, most likely many rare ones there.
My son had over 500 cards when he competed, we took them to a Card Shop and since most of his cards were mint he sold them for close to 10man(many rejects).
Kinda a financial loss replacing a collection. For his Best he wanted a specific Beyblade cost me 9000yen at a 2nd hand shop. More than 10 times the original price.
sir_bentley28
He stole some cards? Oh! What a heinous crime! They should execute him! This is Dragonball Heros we're talking about here! [sarcasm]