Japanese alien squid invasion takes odd turn

Giant robots let down their guard; invaders swarm through movie trailer

Published October 23, 2009 8:39PM (EDT)

You may or may not be aware that since March giant robots have been defending the port city of Hakodate, Japan from an invasion of alien squids. At least, that's what informational videos produced by the Hakodate tourism board claim.

It is not as shocking as you might think. Giant robots, as everyone knows, are a staple of Japanese life. Furthermore, says the introduction to one video, "According to a survey of 100 aliens, Hakodate is the number one city they would most like to invade."

The essential Pink Tentacle has been reporting every development in this important ongoing story. The latest news: alien squids have invaded the trailer of a new movie, which just happens to be set in Hakodate.

Why, you may ask, are the alien squid so intent on reducing Hakodate to rubble -- a city that, despite serving as one of Japan's major ports, mostly managed to avoid the destruction wrought elsewhere in Japan during World War II? One theory is that they are merely defending their brethren. Hakodate's official "fish" is the squid, and the residents apparently eat quite a bit of it. Squids adorn manhole covers on the streets of Hakodate! Hakodate's Wikipedia page even claims that a special "wiggly" squid dance is featured at the annual Hakodate Squid Festival.

If you would like to see an alien squid mocking the Hakodate squid dance, please click on the next video. And ask yourself: Where have all the giant robots gone?

As the man from Pink Tentacle says:

Hakodate appears to be under full-scale alien attack and its survival is in question. Visit Hakodate soon... before it's too late.


By Andrew Leonard

Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21.

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