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A Sapporo cosplayer found himself on the wrong side of the law recently after apparently putting together the world’s most realistic stormtrooper outfit. So terrifying was the costume that someone mistook him for a real life soldier and ransacker of peaceful planets and called the cops after spotting him strolling through JR Sapporo Station.

It seems crazy that someone in the civilized world would actually be unaware of the iconic stormtrooper of Star Wars fame, but our guess is whoever reported the cosplayer to the police was one of those dag nab teenagers, too busy listening to hip hop music and playing violent video games to watch the classics.

We feel for the hapless stormtrooper, who probably meant no harm. But on the other hand, having a costume so realistic that you actually provoke a police response is probably some kind of cosplayer badge of honor.

▼ Extra points if you’re arrested while carrying a harmless latte.

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In a separate incident at Sapporo Station on the same day, another man was caught wandering around in nothing but a pair of undies. We actually don’t think walking around in underwear is illegal in Japan, so we can only assume the man experienced some kind of catastrophic wardrobe malfunction, prompting the police to haul him away too.

The twist to the story is that on the same day, March 26, an anonymous Twitter user warned that he or she planned to kill someone in Sapporo, putting the police and public on high alert as the tweet spread. Captain Underpants and stormtrooper, it appears, were really just victims of incredibly poor timing.

▼ The offending tweet

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[ Read in Japanese ]