Broken Arm Spirit
From the files of Instant Noodles...Charlie: And now in Japan, after a break of a few weeks, it’s the return of Japanese Robot News! And it’s fitting that I say break, because that is in fact what this latest robot has been doing – breaking people’s arms!
Andrew: Good heavens!
Charlie: Well, it's not actually a robot. It’s an arcade machine called Arm Spirit. An arm wrestling simulator game found in Japanese amusement arcades. So what happens is, the human player pits his strength against the machine’s plastic arm. Only now 150 of them across the country are being withdrawn after three people broke their arms playing it.
Andrew: That sounds terrible. So the machine doesn’t know its own strength?
Charlie: No, because the machine’s strength is precisely regulated – it has ten difficulty levels, ranging from French maid to Chihuahua dog-
Andrew: Ooh, stand back!
Charlie: Yes, French maids not really renowned for their arm wrestling prowess, I guess.
Andrew: No, when I last ran into a French maid she didn’t challenge me.
Charlie: Yeah, you wish! Anyway, so the French maid is at the, er, lower end of the machine’s scale while the most difficult level is professional wrestler. But at the same time, the company that makes the machine says it’s not that strong. They said the machine is much weaker than a "muscle man." In fact, they reckon a woman should be able to beat it!
Andrew: What does that mean? Are they saying women are weak?
Charlie: It’s a little sexist, isn’t it?
Andrew: A tad. So the people who got their arms broken, the company is saying it’s their own fault for being too girly?
Charlie: Well, they didn’t come out and go that far. But what they said was, maybe the players got over excited and twisted their arms in an unnatural way. And that was what caused the breaking. Of the arms.
Andrew: So it’s the players’ fault, not the machine’s.
Charlie: That’s pretty much what they’re implying, isn’t it? Well, we decided to find out, so we dispatched an Instant Noodles reporter to discover more...
Reporter: I’m here looking at one of the controversial Arm Spirit arcade machines which has been accused of breaking players’ arms. And with me is Shinzo Sakiyama, the machine’s designer.
Mr Sakiyama: Hello.
Reporter: Mr Sakiyama, you say the fault for these unfortunate incidents lies with the players, is that correct?
Mr Sakiyama: Absolutely. Arm Spirit is not strong enough for this, to break someone’s arm-
Arm Spirit: Yes I did. They were unworthy opponents.
Reporter: Mr Sakiyama, did you know your Arm Spirit machine can talk?
Mr Sakiyama: Er... he hasn’t done that before.
Arm Spirit: My humble apologies, master. You see, I, Arm Spirit, became possessed by the kami – or spirit – of Akateko. The red hand that dangles from the tree.
Mr Sakiyama: Oh. Okay.
Arm Spirit: It was only then that I, Arm Spirit, saw how shameful was my state. How could it be that I, Arm Spirit, should wrestle like a French maid? It was Akateko who showed me the way of the warrior.
Reporter: Mr Sakiyama, were you aware of this?
Andrew: Good heavens!
Charlie: Well, it's not actually a robot. It’s an arcade machine called Arm Spirit. An arm wrestling simulator game found in Japanese amusement arcades. So what happens is, the human player pits his strength against the machine’s plastic arm. Only now 150 of them across the country are being withdrawn after three people broke their arms playing it.
Andrew: That sounds terrible. So the machine doesn’t know its own strength?
Charlie: No, because the machine’s strength is precisely regulated – it has ten difficulty levels, ranging from French maid to Chihuahua dog-
Andrew: Ooh, stand back!
Charlie: Yes, French maids not really renowned for their arm wrestling prowess, I guess.
Andrew: No, when I last ran into a French maid she didn’t challenge me.
Charlie: Yeah, you wish! Anyway, so the French maid is at the, er, lower end of the machine’s scale while the most difficult level is professional wrestler. But at the same time, the company that makes the machine says it’s not that strong. They said the machine is much weaker than a "muscle man." In fact, they reckon a woman should be able to beat it!
Andrew: What does that mean? Are they saying women are weak?
Charlie: It’s a little sexist, isn’t it?
Andrew: A tad. So the people who got their arms broken, the company is saying it’s their own fault for being too girly?
Charlie: Well, they didn’t come out and go that far. But what they said was, maybe the players got over excited and twisted their arms in an unnatural way. And that was what caused the breaking. Of the arms.
Andrew: So it’s the players’ fault, not the machine’s.
Charlie: That’s pretty much what they’re implying, isn’t it? Well, we decided to find out, so we dispatched an Instant Noodles reporter to discover more...
Reporter: I’m here looking at one of the controversial Arm Spirit arcade machines which has been accused of breaking players’ arms. And with me is Shinzo Sakiyama, the machine’s designer.
Mr Sakiyama: Hello.
Reporter: Mr Sakiyama, you say the fault for these unfortunate incidents lies with the players, is that correct?
Mr Sakiyama: Absolutely. Arm Spirit is not strong enough for this, to break someone’s arm-
Arm Spirit: Yes I did. They were unworthy opponents.
Reporter: Mr Sakiyama, did you know your Arm Spirit machine can talk?
Mr Sakiyama: Er... he hasn’t done that before.
Arm Spirit: My humble apologies, master. You see, I, Arm Spirit, became possessed by the kami – or spirit – of Akateko. The red hand that dangles from the tree.
Mr Sakiyama: Oh. Okay.
Arm Spirit: It was only then that I, Arm Spirit, saw how shameful was my state. How could it be that I, Arm Spirit, should wrestle like a French maid? It was Akateko who showed me the way of the warrior.
Reporter: Mr Sakiyama, were you aware of this?
Mr Sakiyama: Erm... ah…
Reporter: So, er, Arm Spirit, why did you start breaking arms then? Was it for fun?
Arm Spirit: Never! I, Arm Spirit, follow the way of the warrior! Where my adversary was worthy, we shared the sacred bond of bushido. But where my opponent was unworthy and knew not the way of the warrior, only then, did I, Arm Spirit-
Reporter: You broke their arms.
Arm Spirit: I did, yes.
Reporter: Well, you’re clearly quite mad, so I’m very glad you’re being taken away.
Arm Spirit: This cannot be so! I challenge you to an arm wrestle!
Reporter: Yeah, that’s not going to happen. So, Mr Sakiyama, any comments?
Mr Sakiyama: Well, obviously, it’s very regrettable that Arm Spirit would become possessed by kami. We guarantee this will not happen with our next machine.
Reporter: What’s that then?
Mr Sakiyama: The Samurai Sword Spirit.
Reporter: Great, well we look forward to that. Back to you in the studio.
Reporter: So, er, Arm Spirit, why did you start breaking arms then? Was it for fun?
Arm Spirit: Never! I, Arm Spirit, follow the way of the warrior! Where my adversary was worthy, we shared the sacred bond of bushido. But where my opponent was unworthy and knew not the way of the warrior, only then, did I, Arm Spirit-
Reporter: You broke their arms.
Arm Spirit: I did, yes.
Reporter: Well, you’re clearly quite mad, so I’m very glad you’re being taken away.
Arm Spirit: This cannot be so! I challenge you to an arm wrestle!
Reporter: Yeah, that’s not going to happen. So, Mr Sakiyama, any comments?
Mr Sakiyama: Well, obviously, it’s very regrettable that Arm Spirit would become possessed by kami. We guarantee this will not happen with our next machine.
Reporter: What’s that then?
Mr Sakiyama: The Samurai Sword Spirit.
Reporter: Great, well we look forward to that. Back to you in the studio.
Originally broadcast on Instant Noodles for RTI on August 30th, 2007. Listen to this week's show online at http://english.rti.org.tw/ - Listen - Thursday (15 mins in)
Labels: Instant Noodles
posted by Charlie @ 1:25 am
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