Here’s why you should never shine a black light on a used anime character figure

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With the unrelenting flow of new animated series produced in Japan, the country’s hyper-otaku could always use some extra cash to pay for the latest and greatest anime goodies. To raise those funds, many superfans eventually cycle out the stuff they’re tired of by selling it online or to a retailer specializing in used items. On the other side of that equations, if you’re an anime fan, but not the hardest of the hardcore, you can pick up used Blu-rays and DVDs at attractive discounts from their original prices.

You can even find anime character figures for sale in the second-hand market, but there are a couple of things you’ll want to investigate before buying a used statuette. First, you’ll want to make sure it’s in good, scratch-free condition. Double-checking that it’s not a cheaply made knockoff is also a good idea.

But while doing your homework in important, there’s also one thing to remember after the deal is done and you’ve got your used figure sitting on your shelf: Whatever you do, don’t shine a black light on it.

If you’re reading this at work, be advised that things are going to get pretty gross from here on!

This cautionary public service announcement was brought to the attention of collectors by Japanese Twitter user SR Cobra P, who recently sent out the following tweet.

中古で買ったフィギュアにブラックライトは絶対当てるなよ！いいか、絶対だぞ！ http://t.co/DGoyEawAD5
—
SRコブラP (@mobamasuP) July 27, 2015

The included screen capture seems to be a comment section or forum from a website for figure fans, with the first post being from someone who recently sold a figure of his, but felt the need to add the following disclaimer:

“About the [Busou] Shinki figure I sold. If you shine a black light on it, some patches on its surface should light up, but I cut my hand with a craft knife. That’s all it is, so don’t make any strange assumptions.”

Some of the other users thought the figure reseller doth protest too much, though, as his comment triggered responses such as “Like anyone would believe that!” and “If someone licked the figure, the parts where he did will light up right away under a black light. The only problem with that method is you won’t be able to tell if it’s saliva or bukkake.”

Sort of like how having a waiter tell you not to touch a hot plate makes you want to touch it all the more, some of the other users found their curiosity irresistibly piqued, and began posting pictures of figures in the middle of a black light test. “My figure looks like this…no good?” asked the uploader of the following photo.

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“No! No good at all!” came the vehement reply. Seriously, that looks way too fresh…”

But things were about to get grosser still, as the next image was accompanied with the description “By the way, this is how a figure that’s been bukkaked on looks like under a black light.”

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