Interest

Local Tokyo Superhero, Chibatman, Interrogated By Police

Following on the heels of fellow costumed heroes Kamen Rider and Mangetsu Man, Batman has recently been seen cruising on the highways and back streets of Chiba Prefecture, a suburban area adjacent to Tokyo. He seems to take his cues from the Christopher Nolan series' version of Batman, right down to his three-wheeled motorcycle, the Batpod. Accordingly, netizens have dubbed the caped crusader "Chibatman."

On August 28, the TV Asahi show Good! Morning managed to snag an interview with Chibatman when he pulled over on the side of the road. He invited the reporter to his "secret base" and answered some basic questions about his true identity. Turns out he's a single 41-year-old shipping container repairman at a local port. When asked why he cosplayed, he replied that he wants "to see everyone's smiling faces." He claims to have been doing it for three years. Impressively, the Batpod is his own creation; aside from the engine, all parts were imported and assembled by himself. When parts weren't available, he hammered iron sheets into the right shape. And his estimate of the total cost? 600,000 yen (that's $5,632).

Given all the attention Chibatman has received (one of the tweets of him zooming along was retweeted at least 34,289 times), it wasn't long before he was summoned to the local police station. He had misgivings, noting that he was led to an interrogation room and surrounded by policemen — "It looked like a katsudon would appear," he commented. (Pork cutlets on rice are supposedly served during Japanese police interrogations.) But any intimidating atmosphere was soon dispelled as the police, joined by officers from the Land Transport Bureau, focused on his motorcycle. They asked detailed questions about its width, how it was made, how long it took, and how Chibatman's cape was attached. "It was fun," he reported. At the end, he apologized for causing a disturbance, while the police reassured him that they had no problems and asked him to get in touch if he needed anything.

Since the story broke, Chibatman has received countless offers from magazine and TV shows, but he's rebuffed them. "I do this to get smiles when I'm seen on the street," he reminds us.

[Via Livedoor News, Hachima Kikou and Cinema Today]