Forum - View topicNEWS: Gintama Cited for G8 Visitors Buying Wooden Swords
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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You know how this gets started, right? They got decent sales that day, some random gaijin shopping there name-drops Gin Tama, and the store owner makes a huge generalization.
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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Yeah, that seems pretty silly. Especially if this is a result of the G8 summit which wouldn't particularilly attract anime and manga fans in anyway.
Isn't is so much more likely that it is just because a wooden sword is a great souvenir to bring back from Japan? |
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fokkusuhaundo
 Posts: 346 Location: San Diego ♥ ☼ ▓ |
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That they could take back on a plane? That's what I would have thought as well. I'd probably be one of those foreigners buying a wooden sword just because of Gintama if I was ever in Hokkaido myself, but of course I wouldn't be there for a G8 Summit. There has to be some basis for the FNN's claim.  Maybe Gintama was aired on TV the night before the meeting or something.
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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Honestly,besides practicing and hanging this sword on the wall, what is the point of buying one?
Also, how could they bring them back with them? If TSRI is that serious with mouthwash and toothpaste what makes one them sure they accept a sword? Traveling is much more strict in current times as opposed twenty years ago. |
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melonbread
Posts: 317 Location: UK (London) |
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The Gintama connection seems to just be a connection for the sake of it... I mean you might as well just say that all the 'gaijin' who bought bread in Hokkaido during the G8 summit were all massive Yakitate Japan fans...........
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Brand
 Posts: 1028 |
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If you had a large enough suitcase that was to be checked, you probably could get away with putting the swords in there. More likely you would go to a post office and have them mailed back home.
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MetatronM
Posts: 281 |
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Mikuru
 Posts: 124 |
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G8+Gintama=Wut
All part of the Gintama marketing scheme! |
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domino
 Posts: 373 |
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The sword in Gintama is specifically from a lake in Hokkaido. The main character's sword is a souvenir from Hokkaido's Lake Toya. So there is a connection, but I still doubt that G8 summit attendees were all scrambling for Gintama swords. Has Gintama even reached that level of popularity overseas? I doubt even a piece of Naruto merchandise would attract a significant number of foreign buyers from the G8 summit. |
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ikillchicken
Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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I think the issue there is that they may be used to smuggle some kinds of explosives or something like that. A real metal sword would be a problem but a wooden sword is essentially not much different than any blunt object. I doubt they'd let you carry it on but you might be able to check it. |
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Zoe
 Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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Depends on exactly who. Gintama is very popular in other Asian countries, so if the foreigners buying them were Asian, there's a good possibility they knew what they were buying. |
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abynormal
 Posts: 427 Location: Louisiana |
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Why go all the way to Japan for a wooden sword? I have two or three lying around the house from my martial arts days I bought right here in the USA. Maybe they're not made from some special wood, but they still hurt like hell when you hit someone with them.
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Zoe
Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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Here's the website for the (a?) store that sells the swords:
http://www.toyako-bokutou.com/ Gintama is definitely credited for making it popular in the first place. If you actually watch the video though, the ones that people were buying were engraved with text about the summit. |
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