Christmas gift review #4: The Hard Gay Kiki Ippatsu game

AsiaPundit is torn on what sort of review he should give this toy, in which players poke plastic swords into a plastic barrel containing a doll of Japanese television celebrity Hard Gay (aka Razor Ramon, neither of which seem like his real name).

For starters, as was the case with Wok ‘n Roll, AP is hesitant to endorse any game that may be offensive to minority groups, and this one has raised some ire.:

A sexual minority network has sent complaints to toy giant Tomy and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) over a new version of Tomy’s Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu game that uses a character based on television personality Razor Ramon HG, alternatively known as Hard Gay.

The Kyoto-based sexual minority teacher’s network is demanding that Tomy halt sales of a version of the game titled “Kurohi-gei Kiki Ippatsu.”

In the game, which is scheduled to go on sale on Dec. 30, plastic swords are inserted into holes in a barrel until the character inside jumps out.

The game was planned by TBS, the channel on which Razor Ramon frequently appears, and Tomy is marketing it.

The complaints claim that selling a toy in which a gay or similarly associated person is put in a barrel and people ‘enjoy’ poking swords into it discriminates against homosexuals. They also raise fears that the game instills the impression in children that discrimination against gays is fine.

Surely as someone who is very sympathetic to the hard time gays get in much of the region, where many countries still outlaw homosexuality, AsiaPundit should take this complaint seriously. But as someone who appreciates kitsch, AP says this is brilliant!

Besides, Hard Gay has been know for doing hip thrusts behind , being crucified as a Yahoo! publicity stunt and thrusting his PVC-wrapped crotch at captive motorists. Essentially, it strikes AP as odd that the group’s complaint isn’t that the character portrays a ridiculous stereotype of gays.

That said, AP does not endorse this as a Christmas gift, if only because it isn’t released until five days after Christmas.

(via Tokyo Times)

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