We all love ‘The Legend of Zelda’. Well, almost everyone. It’s a fantastic video-game saga that shows us the best of Nintendo, its thirst for adventure, its carefully crafted mechanics, its innovative designs… It’s impossible not to fall in love with the finesse and perfection of each official title in the saga. The problem is that some people take it too far… to the point of going to court and even to jail. And there’s no boomerang that can save you there.
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This is the story of Anthony Bray, a man from Nuneaton, a municipality in northern Warwickshire, England, who was arrested for carrying a 15-centimeter replica of the Master Sword of Link. It sounds like a joke, but he was sentenced to four months in prison and fined 154 pounds (which is 182 euros). Perhaps the decision was influenced by the fact that the replica was not made of Goma Eva, but had a sharp edge and could actually cut. And this is where it gets complicated.
It’s also the fact that Bray approached the police officers with the weapon in his hand, claiming that he bought it as a simple fidget, that is, something to entertain himself and keep his hands busy. Like the spinner, but sharp. What the man thought was a simple toy he had bought online was actually a weapon that he was carrying openly through the streets of downtown Nuneaton.
The police, who couldn’t believe what was happening, clarified that “it is possible to find toys to hold in your hand that are not fifteen centimeter blades. It is possible to not walk down the street holding it in front of you”. And although the sentence may seem disproportionate to us, the truth is that this man had already been arrested before and had been in jail numerous times for theft. In fact, he spent four years in prison between the 80s and 90s.
So yes, okay, it’s funny– a man has been arrested for being a fan of ‘Zelda’. But most ridiculous headlines have a story behind them. And in this case, it wasn’t about a fan who found his own Ganon in the police, but about a man with a criminal record carrying a blade on the street. That being said, I’m sure the replica is now decorating the house of some member of the Nuneaton police. Fans are everywhere.
