Otaku do good.
The city of Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture isn’t exactly a hot spot destination for your average, garden-variety international tourist unlike big metropolitan cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. To otaku around the world, however, it’s a blessed spot that deserves to be healthy and happy due to it being the setting for the hit series Love Live! Sunshine!! Unfortunately, this happiness was recently being threatened by the worldwide virus crisis and a severe shortage of protective masks in Japan. That’s when a group of Love Livers (the preferred name for fans of the Love Live! franchise) stepped in.
Back on April 13th, the mayor of Numazu Shuichi Yorishige received an email from a group of fans in Shanghai which essentially said that they heard about the mask shortage in the city and wanted to donate to the cause. Soon afterward, a shipment of 10,000 protective masks arrived in the city along with the message:
“Our hopes are one
Wherever you are
We believe in the same tomorrow”
– From your friends in China
If those words sound vaguely familiar, you have a good ear because they come from the song “Omoi wa Hitotsu ni Nare.” If you want proof that the Love Livers made good on their promise, here are pics of the shipment along with Mayor Yorishige holding up a thank you message.
５月７日(木)、中国の『ラブライブ！サンシャイン!!』のファンの皆様から「僕達はいつも沼津の皆さんから愛を受け取り、いつもお世話になっているので、感謝の気持ちを伝えたかった。」と、マスク１万枚が寄付されました。
『山川異域 風月同天 』
沼津市民を代表し、心より感謝申し上げます‼️ pic.twitter.com/HQI0iBqarB
— よりしげ秀一 (@YorishigeNumazu) May 7, 2020
The best part about this story though is that when the city offered to send the fans some Love Live! Sunshine!! merch, the fans refused the compensation saying that they just wanted to help.
Otaku around the world can sometimes get a bad reputation for whatever reason but it’s times like these that remind us that yeah, otaku are generally good people who just want to do what they can to support those who have provided us all with so many hours of entertainment.
Source: SoraNews24
