Marcel Winatschek

The Swiss Man Japan Respects and Fears

Japan invented the taxonomy of obsession, so when the Japanese internet community 2chan collectively decides that the greatest otaku in the world is not Japanese but Swiss, that means something. The man’s name online is Melon Pan. He jumps out of planes clutching his dakimakura—an anime body pillow. He licks the plastic chest of a mediocre Hatsune Miku cosplayer with the focused reverence of someone completing a sacrament. He films all of it.

The 2chan comments on him form a perfect cross-section of human response: yes, he is a pervert, he must have a very fun life, and the inevitable the fuck? All three are accurate simultaneously.

What genuinely interests me is the transnational recognition—a Swiss guy out-otakuing the Japanese at their own thing, accepted and catalogued by the community he’s adoring. There’s something almost admirable about that level of sincere dedication to something this particular. He found his lane and he is flooring it off a runway. Most people spend their whole lives never committing to anything that completely.