{"id":75442,"date":"2013-05-09T14:13:45","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T05:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fukuoka-now.com\/?p=36656"},"modified":"2016-04-01T01:33:11","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T16:33:11","slug":"local-ultra-hero-grass-sider-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/local-ultra-hero-grass-sider-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Ultra Hero “Grass Sider” – Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview with Grass-Sider, Ultra Local Hero<\/strong>
\nby reporter Joel Dechant for Fukuoka Now<\/em><\/p>\n

In this age of uncertainty, we can all use a little extra peace of mind, especially regarding the safety of our children. That\u2019s why I was pleased to learn that my kids\u2019 school, Kusagae Elementary School (Kusagae, Chuo-ku), has its own superhero: Grass-Sider. I met with Grass-Sider and his interlocutor, Oyaji-Gumi (Dad\u2019s Club) chairman Nagai-san, to learn a little more about this mysterious green hero.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Joel Dechant: Grass-Sider, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.<\/strong><\/strong>
\nGrass-Sider: \u2026
\nNagai:\tActually, Grass-Sider doesn\u2019t talk, but I think we can make an exception for this interview.
\nJD: \tThanks. My kids told me he doesn\u2019t talk.<\/strong> Can you tell us what the name \u201cGrass-Sider\u201d means?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tFirst of all, \u201cGrass\u201d is from kusa in Kusagae. \u201cSider\u201d comes from the fact that the school is located on a riverside.
\nJD: \tGrass-Sider, when did you start your superhero work?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tGrass-Sider arose spontaneously in October 2012, but the idea for a school hero had been floating around for about five years.
\nJD: \tWhat is your mission?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tTo make children smile.
\nJD: \tWhat kind of duties do you perform?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tI make appearances at school events, like graduation and entrance ceremonies, and serve as a crossing guard on the first of every month.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

JD: \tWhere do you perform your duties?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tI only work within the Kusagae School District. In fact, I lose power if I leave the area, so you\u2019ll only find me at the elementary school and the local nursery schools.
\nJD: \tDo you have any special powers?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tI am working on something I call the Grass Relax Beam. I also have a special pose. If you look closely, the design on my gloves is a child\u2019s smile, and my belt is a handshake.
\nJD: \tWhere do you get your powers?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tFrom the kids and the community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

JD: \tWho are your enemies?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tI never fight in front of the children, but I have one enemy, Skullman from the Mad Empire. His only appearance was at an adults\u2019 gathering, though.
\nJD: \tWe\u2019ve never seen Grass-Sider in a manga. Why?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tAs I said, I arose spontaneously. But I am thinking of starting a YouTube channel.
\nJD: \tAre you married, or do you have a girlfriend?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tNo comment.
\nJD: \tWhat\u2019s your favorite food?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tI am not a picky eater, but I have to make sure I can fit in my superhero suit.
\nJD: \tYou\u2019ve gained a lot of media attention lately. Is it hard to be a superhero in Fukuoka?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tNot really because I only work in the Kusagae School District. I am not gunning for the big time like Kumamon. I really just want all of the people in the school district to be happy. That being said, I\u2019m a little concerned about doing crossing guard duties in the summer heat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

JD: \tDo you have any superhero friends?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tNot in the school district, but I recently made the acquaintance of Bohando Zed, the safety mascot of Minamikatae Elementary School. It would be nice to see more school district superheroes in the future.
\nJD: \tWhat kind of support does the school give you?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tThe school approves of Grass-Sider 100%. In fact, Principal Ogusu used to be a stuntman for Japan Action Club. He played bad guys on shows like Masked Rider and Android Kikaider.
\nJD: \tWill the Hawks win this year?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tAs I superhero, I cannot align myself with any one team, but I hope they do well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

JD: \tCan you give one final comment for our readers?<\/strong>
\nGS: \tIf you\u2019re ever in the Kusagae area, please come and visit me. You can also follow me on Facebook (http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/grasssaider<\/a>).
\n \tMy next appearance will be at the Gokoku Shrine Flea Market on 5\/19, 14:00 \u2013 15:00.<\/p>\n

****
\nInterviewing a superhero is hard work, so after I parted ways with Grass-Sider, I stopped by Chrono Caf\u00e9 (2-13-5 Ropponmatsu, Chuo-ku, Tel: 092-713-3599) to sample the Grass-Sider Cocktail. Chrono is one of several local restaurants that have shown their support for Grass-Sider by creating special menu items.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013
\nInterview and text by Joel Dechant for Fukuoka Now (May 2013).<\/em>
\nPhotos used with permission from http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/grasssaider<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with Grass-Sider, Ultra Local Hero by reporter Joel Dechant for Fukuoka Now In this age of uncertainty, we can all use a little extra peace of mind, especially regarding the safety of our children. That\u2019s why I was pleased to learn that my kids\u2019 school, Kusagae Elementary School (Kusagae, Chuo-ku), has its own superhero: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6391,"featured_media":36667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"36656","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4914],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","location-fukuoka-city","en-US"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/482558_146975148796414_636117333_n-e1368071810310.jpg?fit=639%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84956,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75442\/revisions\/84956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}