We attend one of Japan’s most important press conferences this year, dressed as Vegeta【Photos】

21:14 cherishe 0 Comments

We send Dragon Ball’s anime prince to listen to important businessmen talk about important business stuff.

While our bread and butter here at SoraNews24 is reveling in Japan’s unexpected treasures, like delicious lunches out of tucked-away vending machines and hotels that live-stream your stay to the entire world, we also get invited to serious, mainstream events too. For example, this week Z Holdings, part of Japan’s massive SoftBank telecommunications conglomerate (which also runs the Japanese arm of Yahoo!), announced that it will be merging with Line Corp., administrators of the Line messaging app that’s become ubiquitous throughout Japan and much of Asia, and we got invited to the press conference.

We decided to send our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa, but that meant that Seiji then had to decide what to wear. Things are usually pretty casual at SoraNews24 headquarters, with much of our staff working in T-shirts and jeans. But Seiji felt he should dress up for this assignment, and even his go-to special outfit, dressing up like Sweedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, didn’t feel quite fancy enough. After all, this was an event hosted by Z Holdings, controlled by superstar businessman and CEO Masayoshi Son…

…wait a second. Z Holdings…Masayoshi Son…Z…Son…Dragon Ball Z…Son Goku…of course! The most appropriate way to dress for this gathering of distinguished captains of industry and respectable major media types would be some Dragon Ball cosplay! And since the press conference was being held at Tokyo’s luxurious Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, what better character to cosplay as than Dragon Ball’s grand prince himself: Vegeta!

▼ A rare example of Mr. Sato, seen diligently typing at his desk in the background, not being the weirdest-looking guy in a photo.

Since Uniqlo’s new Dragon Ball T-shirt line is light on Vegeta options, Seji changed into the full Vegeta outfit we always have on hand in the office (what, doesn’t your workplace have one?) and applied a liberal amount of styling product to his recently rejuvenated hair. Hopping on the subway, he could feel his physical transformation also altering his psyche, as he strode with the haughty confidence of the legendary anime martial artist.

He was a little disappointed that the united Earth government hadn’t prepared a welcome entourage for him, but he chalked this up to the feeble Earthlings being too intimidated by his presence to venture outside of the planet’s structures. There was, however, a sign pointing him towards the media check-in station outside the hotel’s Prince Room event hall.

▼ Rest assured that this young lady’s cheeks were flushed with color at the honor of not only gazing upon, but speaking directly to, Saiyan royalty.

Once inside the hall, Seiji looked over the mass of commoners. As he’d expected, not a single other intergalactic pugilist had dared to show up. Obviously they’d heard heralds singing of his plans to grace the press conference with his presence, and had wisely chosen not to attend, so as to show him due deference.

▼ Seiji, claiming territory (a seat) through his divine right to rule

Before long, the conference began. Seiji was on the edge of his seat, wondering if Son had been thinking on the same wavelength as our reporter had, and would take the stage dressed as Son Goku. After all, if Seiji could deduce that Dragon Ball cosplay was the best way to dress for this event, surely a man of Son’s intelligence would have come to the same conclusion, right?

But despite Seiji’s fighting spirit calling out for a challenger, all of the presenters were dressed in suits and ties. Son himself didn’t even appear in-person, even when Seiji pulled out all the stops and unleashed Vegeta’s Final Flash finishing strike.

▼ Well, he used his camera flash, anyway.

With no one to oppose him, Seiji waited quietly until the end of the conference, then proceeded to assert his dominance over the hotel’s decorative hedges…