14 Year Old Boy Commits Suicide over Anime Character
Chris L November 2, 2012I’ve heard of getting into the show and relating to the characters, but this is just something I can’t wrap my head around. Recently, a 14-year old Russian boy was driven to commit suicide after witnessing the death of the fictional character Itachi in the anime Naruto: Shippuden. Yes, you just read that. Before leaping over 100 feet to his death, the boy left the message “planning an ending” on a social network. His body was discovered two days later. Oddly enough, the death of this character has been well known since 2008 through the show’s manga (Japanese comic) equivalent.
“I always told him he spent too much time watching the TV—he didn’t know what was reality and what was fiction anymore,” said his father, Ivan.
You can’t help but to have a bit of sympathy for the kid. Clearly there were a lot of other things going on in his head; by no means is suicide a rational or logical action in mourning a fictional character’s death. Doesn’t really help that Russia has the third highest teen suicide rate in the world. Our condolences go out to the boy’s family and loved ones.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know!
Chris L
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