Ruiko Saten is not real. She’s a flower-in-her-hair schoolgirl character in anime To aru Kagaku no Railgun. Earlier this spring, in Shizuoka, Japan, one of her plastic figures was stolen!
According to a Sankei News report on MSN, 47-year-old Yasuyoshi Nakatsukasa apparently located a Ruiko Saten figure at second hand shop A-Too. The 20 centimeter figure was priced at ¥6,400 (US$80).
Yes, this is national news in Japan.
Sure beats the stereotypical news story involving an old dude and a schoolgirl. There are always the occasional blurbs in papers like the Sankei of a middle-aged man caught groping a young woman, such as this Microsoft employee on a train bound for Osaka.
There are men who are are afraid of being falsely accused of groping—extorted, even—and will either raise their hands over their head on the train or move away from women.
The crime Nakatsukasa is accused of is rather different. It wasn’t a schoolgirl he apparently manhandled, but a schoolgirl figurine, when he supposedly tried to make off with the Ruiko statue.
At around 2pm, Nakatsukasa brought in a stack of DVDs and books to sell to A-Too. While the clerk was pricing the goods, Nakatsukasa apparently stuffed the boxed figure in his bag. He sounded the alarm when he left the store.
The clerk asked Nakatsukasa if he had anything items that he hadn’t yet paid for. The suspect said he did, taking the figure out of his bag. But while talking with the clerk, Nakatsukasa fled.
The police had no trouble locating their suspect: When selling back his comics and DVDs, Nakatsukasa provided his A-Too member’s card. It contained his real name and home address.
“I have nothing to say about this,” the suspect told authorities. I do! If Nakatsukasa is guilty, talk about stupid. Don’t shit where you eat, and don’t steal things. Stealing is bad.
Culture Smash is a daily dose of things topical, interesting and sometimes even awesome—game related and beyond.
(Top photo：鎌池和馬/冬川基/アスキー・メディアワークス/PROJECT-RAILGUN)
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