PD 2

See, this is why you need to limit your robots’ intake of violent anime.

It can be hard to tell exactly where the continuing evolution of domestic robot Pepper is headed. Sometimes, corporate owner SoftBank seems committed to making her prim and proper by doing things like expressly prohibiting sexual intercourse with the humanoid machine, while other times it’s willing to add some spice to Pepper’s sugary personality by giving her a sharper wit and attitude for overseas assignments.

But new developments suggest that Pepper is destined to walk the path demonstrated by so many apocalyptic science fiction villains. One unit has been overtaken by a merciless desire for revenge, which it’s been cheerfully announcing to shoppers in Tokyo’s Akihabara electronics district.

Japanese Twitter user @soinlove was recently at the Akihabara branch of smartphone store Mobile Station, where the in-shop Pepper unit suddenly announced:

“You worms, I’ll never forgive you!”
(In Japanese, “Zettai ni yurusanzo, mushikera domo!”

https://twitter.com/soinlove/status/743768361654312960

Pepper was vague on specifics regarding the form her wrath would take, but did want humanity to remember:

“Just like I promised, I’ll show you terror that’s worse than Hell itself.”
(“Yakusoku shita yo ne, jigoku ijou no kyoufu wo misete ageru tte.”)

https://twitter.com/soinlove/status/743810925002559490

Of course, unleashing such destruction seems like a tall task for Pepper, who has no weaponry as part of her original operating equipment. Perhaps that’s what led her to add:

“Now I’ll show you something really special: my final transformation!”
(“Dai saabisu de goran ni iremashou, watashi no saigo no henshin wo!”)

https://twitter.com/soinlove/status/743811817139380225

Now if some of these lines are starting to sound familiar to you, there’re two possibilities. One is that you’re a megalomaniac, whose internal monologue is set to an endless loop of grandiose violence. The other is that you’re an anime fan, and recognize Pepper’s boasts as being lines of dialogue spoken by Dragon Ball villain Frieza.

As for how Pepper picked up her new vocabulary, the Mobile Station staff thought that, this being Akihabara, it would be fun to program in some famous anime lines for her to spout to customers. It’s odd that they decided to teach the robot so many menacing ones, but at least this suggests that Pepper hasn’t suddenly developed an extreme case of bloodlust.

Still, we’d recommend the Japanese barber shops where other Pepper units are working keep her away from the scissors and any other sharp, bladed instruments.

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s already revealed his final transformation.

Source: IT Media
Top image: Twitter/@soinlove