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Company Offers Deodorant at SKE48 Handshake Event After B.O. Complaint

Unpleasant smells wafting from attendees can be a common occurrence at some otaku-related conventions. In their excitement, it seems that fans sometimes forget to maintain personal hygiene. The problem is not limited to North America, and a deodorant maker is capitalizing on it as a marketing opportunity in Japan.

Mandom, a Japanese body product maker, decided to give away some of its Gatsby men's body products at an SKE48 handshake event at Nagoya International Exhibition Hall on Friday. The event marked the release of SKE48's 21st single, "Igai ni Mango," which shipped on July 19. Mandom offered deodorant body sheets and sprays at the event. Fans attending the event could take the items for their personal use for free.

It appears that Mandom offered the deodorants in response to Twitter posts by SKE48 member Kaori Matsumura. She had reported that a female fan complained about the "unbearable" body odor of fellow fans as she stood in line at a previous handshake event. Due to the complaint, Matsumura recommended products to combat body odor, including one of Gatsby's powder body sheets.

The giveaway may have been too late to prevent body odor problems at the idol group's most recent handshake events, but hopefully fans will take precautions to avoid bothering people around them in the future.

Fans of Kuroko's Basketball can also try out the series' own deodorant water that went on sale last year.

[Via Hachima Kikō (link 2)]