Shin Chan
Image: Neos Corporation

Recently, a speedrunning event known as 'RTA in Japan Summer 2022' was held in Japan. Much like charitable events like 'Games Done Quick', it tasks players to race through games as quickly as possible while governed by certain rules and regulations. As mentioned by Automaton, the event's name is derived from the Japanese term for speed runs: Real Time Attack or RTA for short - makes sense!

One game showcased during the event was the recently released Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey, an adorable and beautifully presented adventure title in which you follow the main character Shinnosuke as he whittles away his free time in a small farming village in Kumamoto. In our review of the game, we stated that while the gameplay is undoubtedly simplistic, there's an undeniable charm to the chill nature of the setting combined with a rather wacky narrative.

One such task presented to Shinnosuke during the game is a daily ritual of gymnastics, which he performs with a group of villagers. This is a mandatory task and, as such, may prove to be a tad irritating for those wishing to speedrun through the game, but as the stream during RTA in Japan has demonstrated, it also makes for some rather wholesome scenes.

According to Automaton, a commentator known as Runasoru urged viewers to join in with the gymnastics whenever the scene would crop up. As you can see in the below tweet, the audience members were more than happy to oblige!

Although the audience in the video seems rather sparse, it's also been noted that many people watching online also joined in, with lyrics from the gymnastics song repeatedly cropping up in the Twitch steam's comments section and on Twitter. Indeed, the signature line “One! Two! Three!” is even reported to have trended in Japan during the stream.

What helps with this, of course, is that the stream itself took place in the morning at 6:30am Japan time, lasting until roughly 8am. This is generally the time that a lot of folks would carry out their daily exercises, so the timing here is certainly fortuitous. Perhaps Joe Wicks could branch out into a new demographic!

We reckon this is a rather lovely, wholesome story, but what do you think? Have you played Shin Chan yet? Let us know in the comments!

[source automaton-media.com]