Otaku Sent Human Bones After TV Station Delayed Inukami Anime

Based on a light novel written by Mamizu Arisawa, the anime Inukami premiered on TV Tokyo on April 6, 2006, airing weekly at 1:00 AM. The series continued until September 28 of the same year. Inukami tells the story of Kawahira Keita, a young man from a family of Inukami tamers, supernatural beings. However, he is rejected due to his lack of ability. His life changes when an Inukami named Youko forms a contract with him.

Youko is a rebellious Inukami that no one had been able to control, and Keita soon finds himself involved in various chaotic situations. With a mix of romantic comedy and ecchi elements, the anime achieved moderate success during its original broadcast.

However, what was supposed to be just a light anime became part of one of Japan’s strangest real-life incidents.

Otaku Sent Human Bones After TV Station Delayed Inukami Anime

In 2006, the World Table Tennis Championships were held in Germany. As is common with major sporting events, TV Tokyo adjusted its schedule to broadcast the match featuring Ai Fukuhara, who won a bronze medal for Japan.

Due to the extended duration of the match, the Inukami episode that was scheduled for 1:00 AM was delayed until 1:30 AM. This caused frustration among fans, especially because streaming services were not common in 2006. Many Japanese viewers relied on TV recorders to schedule recordings of their favorite anime, since most aired late at night.

Because of the delay, many fans missed the episode, as their recordings were set for the original time slot. One fan, however, took his frustration to an extreme level.

One week after the delay, TV Tokyo received a package in the mail. When staff opened it, they found a bag and, on top of it, a letter that read:

“Due to the World Table Tennis Championships broadcast on April 26, I was unable to watch the anime that airs at 1:00 AM.”

Although the letter initially appeared to be a simple complaint, when the package was opened, the staff discovered ten small fragments of cremated human bones.

TV Tokyo immediately contacted the police, who confirmed the bones were human. When authorities attempted to trace the sender, they found that the package contained a fake address, making identification difficult. The only clue was the shipping stamp, which indicated it was sent from Yokohama. To this day, both the sender’s identity and the identity of the person whose bones were sent remain unknown.

The case became known on the Japanese internet as the “Inukami Human Bone Incident.” Several theories emerged, ranging from the possibility that the angry otaku stole the bones from somewhere, to darker speculation that he may have murdered someone, cremated the body, and sent the remains to the TV station.