The stereotype of the card player who shies
away from soap and deodorant is a running joke in the otaku community, but when
the problem gets to the point of ruining the experience of others, the joke
stops being laughable. Going to a duel and ending up dizzy from the aroma of
the opponent is something that no store is willing to tolerate.
The Chronos Games & Gifts store,
located in Beaverton, Oregon, announced through its official Discord server the
total suspension of its local Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments for an
entire week. The real reason? A recent wave of complaints and negative reviews
pointing out the terrible personal hygiene of several attendees, added to the
constant mistreatment of the bathroom facilities. The venue's management
decided to put a temporary halt to deal with the problem, reminding duelists to
report anyone who does not meet basic standards of conduct.
Although the establishment maintains a fairly
positive rating on review platforms, they had already dealt with sporadic
comments about bad smells in the past. In June, the store had to publicly
apologize to a similar complaint, recalling that procedures are already in
place to address such incidents directly with those involved.
The official regulations are unforgiving
For those who think that this is a simple
tantrum from the store, it is worth remembering that the official guidelines of
the organizers of the card game are quite clear on the matter. The regulations
strictly require competitors to maintain an acceptable level of cleanliness
when showing up to events. In fact, if a player's personal carelessness is so
serious that it negatively affects the development of the tournament, the
judges have all the authority to require him to solve the problem at that
moment in order to continue participating.
These types of olfactory incidents are
unfortunately not exclusive to the West. Just in April 2024, the Japanese
community of the franchise experienced a very similar scandal when a player
decided to completely abandon an official competition in Japan when she could
not stand the unpleasant aromas emanating from the other participants.
Suspending events for an entire week seems like
a drastic measure, but necessary to protect the business and the rest of the
community.
