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A little over a month ago, two teenage boys set out on a lengthy journey, chasing their dream. One was a 17-year-old from the city of Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture, while the other was a 16-year-old from Tokyo’s Nerima Ward, and their destination was the coastal town of Numazu, in Shizuoka Prefecture.
That sounds like a touching tale of friendship, and it sort of is. Unfortunately, the dream they shared was a dream of vandalizing Numazu’s "Love Live!" anime-themed manhole covers.
For those unfamiliar with Japanese geography, it’s roughly 150 kilometers from Kasukabe to Numazu, requiring a train ride of more than three hours. Still, the boys were determined, and once they arrived in Numazu, the setting of the "Love Live!" second arc, "Love Live! Sunshine!!," they achieved their goal by scratching an undisclosed number of the nine manhole covers (each of which features the face of a different anime schoolgirl) with a metal tool. The crime occurred on May 27, less than 10 days after the covers, which were paid for through a crowdfunding project, had been initially installed.
The boys decided to film themselves in the act, with one holding the camera while the other did the damage, later uploading the video to a Japanese social media service. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t just fans of the "Love Live!" rival series "The Idolmaster" who watched the video, though. Among its viewers were investigators from the Shizuoka Prefectural Police’s juvenile and cyber crime sections, who were able to determine the boys’ identities and arrested them both on July 2.
The boys have been described by the authorities as fans of "Love Live!", which suggests that they targeted manhole covers with specific characters they dislike or feel are inferior to their favorites. The pair stands accused of property damage, though an exact date of arraignment is yet to be set, as the police are still investigating whether the boys had additional accomplices. No comment has been made regarding whether or not they are also suspected of being behind the painting over of a number of the anime manhole covers, which occurred on June 6.
Following the various cases of vandalism, Numazu has replaced the "Love Live! Sunshine!!" covers with regular, plain versions. The city says it hopes to reinstall the anime covers as soon as possible, but currently has no timeframe for doing so.
As for the two boys, taking a 300-kilometer round trip just to get arrested for anime vandalism is a special combination of stupid and immature, and sort of makes one wonder if they’d be ready to become legal adults at 18 under Japan’s new law.
Source: Yahoo! Japan News/Shizuoka Shimbun via Otakomu
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Fun’s over—Japanese city removes anime girl manhole covers after repeated vandalism
-- Otaku dating service says some of its female members specifically refuse to date Love Live! fans
-- Love Live! warns fans once again to refrain from being jerks
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2018/07/04/two-teen-boys-in-japan-arrested-for-vandalizing-love-live-anime-manhole-cover/
8 Comments
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Cricky
Two boys joined by their love of vandalism of "Love Live" "manhole" covers...if that doesn't make you smile or write a script then check your pulse. Naughty, Naughty boys. A suspended spanking is in order.
ZENJI
Take them to meet the creator. Get them to explain why they wanted to damage his artwork.
Make a short tv program about this incident, involve the boys, their patents and the artist.
Pro-active way to deal with the cause and effect of such a silly act.
dmc27
As I recall from an earlier article, the city of Numazu decided to remove all of the themed manhole covers due to the vandalism. The cost of the destroyed covers and all of the labor involved in removal should be billed to the parents.
gelendestrasse
Teenage boys and vandalism. Guess this will never end either.
Disillusioned
You could say the same for every 17 year old kid in Japan.
Cochise
Theyll be ready to vote for the LDP in a couple of years.
Ganbare Japan!
I am really angry about this. Throw the book at them, and put them in the Reformatory for juvenile criminals.