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Gundam Designer's New Police Mascot Resembles Iron Leaguer Characters
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Tokyo police revealed the new mascot character Stoppo-kun on Monday. Mobile Suit Gundam mechanical designer Kunio Okawara designed the character that will aid police efforts to eliminate special fraud.
The character's name combines the English words "stop" and "police." Okawara said at the event that he wanted to design a character that people could have affection for but can fight fraud at the same time.
The character will be used at events in Japan to teach people to identify and counter special fraud tactics through activities such as plays and quizzes. The term "special fraud" refers to various types of fraud such as identity theft, false billing, loan deposit fraud, and refund fraud.
After the character's announcement, Internet users noticed that the design resembles characters from the Iron Leaguer anime, which originally aired in Japan from 1993 to 1994. One commenter said, "No matter how you look at Stoppo-kun, the origin is Iron Leaguer." Although he is better known for his Gundam designs, Okawara also provided mechanical designs for Iron Leaguer. However, he did not officially announce that he utilized his designs from the anime to create Stoppo-kun.
Police departments around Japan have used anime-style mascots to fight crime. Tokyo police also recently collaborated with ēlDLIVE to fight illegal employment and Final Fantasy to prevent traffic accidents.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun via Hachima Kikō
