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Smash Bros. director Sakurai’s couch appears in video, has Internet searching for where to buy it

Casey Baseel Jun 23, 2020
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Sakurai’s sofa joins the fight, and we join the hunt!

Over a year and a half since its initial release, the excitement surrounding Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hasn’t lost much momentum at all. Part of that is due to the crowd-pleasing play mechanics of the Nintendo-published Switch crossover fighting game, but just as important is the steady stream of new fighters and stages added as DLC.

As has become tradition when a new fighter is added to the cast, director Masahiro Sakurai made a video presentation introducing the character and their abilities. And unlike last time, when there was some pretty loud groaning about the addition of yet another Fire Emblem character, this time the fanbase seems pretty content with the arrival of Min Min from Nintendo’s quirky Arms.

But while this was supposed to be Min Min’s moment to shine, the spotlight was quickly stolen…by Sakurai’s couch.

I LOVE YOUR RECLINING COUCH, MR. SAKURAI pic.twitter.com/1Ueif3f56D

— Finnley S. (Splatoon 3: Lovekov #1287) (@FinnleySt) June 22, 2020

https://twitter.com/strife_xiii/status/1275111212947320835

See, due to the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Sakurai made the presentation not from his office or a recording studio, but from the comfort of his own home.

That wasn’t at all a problem aesthetically speaking, though. The director’s living room is bright and uncluttered, with a welcoming atmosphere and two TVs, since sometimes Sakurai likes to watch TV and play games at the same time, or have two games going simultaneously when he’s got friends over.

▼ The guy’s also got a seriously extensive array of video game consoles tucked away underneath those screens.

But viewers’ favorite part of Sakurai’s interior design sense is his sofa.

https://twitter.com/CaptainSnoop/status/1275169986894606339

As a matter of fact, the video has generated so much couch-centered curiosity that one fan in Japan, Twitter user @Dragon_lily, posted side-by-side images of a screen capture of Sakurai’s video and a photo from Japanese interior store Nitori, leading many to think that it’s the same one on which the Smash director sits during his gaming sessions.

https://twitter.com/Dragon_lily/status/1275066565264674823

▼ Nitori’s Three-Person Motorized Reclining Sofa, which is priced at 146,390 yen (US$1,370)

However, while the two sofas do look very similar, a closer inspection reveals that they’re probably not a match. Let’s take another look at Sakurai’s couch.

See how the backrest cushion is divided into three horizontal sections, with the one at the top wider/taller than the two below it? Now take another look at Nitori’s couch…

…and notice how all three sections of the backrest cushion are the same width.

Next, let’s look at the armrests. On Sakurai’s couch, they’re short, only appearing in front of the backrest, and relatively narrow, only about as wide as the couch’s back itself.

On the Nitori model, though, the armrests are longer, with the cushions mounted on sections that stick out farther than the back.

And then there’s perhaps the biggest issue, which is that Nitori says its sofa that’s shown in the tweet seats three people, but Sakurai, a slender guy even by Japanese standards, easily takes up half of his couch’s width when he sits down.

So in the end, it looks like Sakurai’s couch and the Nitori one shown in the side-by-side tweet are different. However, Nitori does also have a two-person version of that couch.

▼ You can find it by clicking on the dropdown menu and selecting 2人用両電動.

▼ The two-person Nitori sofa

This sofa looks a lot closer to the one in Sakurai’s home. Granted, the back cushions and armrests still look a little different, but it’s possible Sakurai’s is simply an older model, and that the updated version features a few cosmetic changes.

On the plus side, at 146,390 yen Nitori’s two-person sofa is also about a hundred bucks cheaper than the three-person one. Right now it’s probably the best option if you want your living room to cosplay as the Smash director’s, and can be ordered here through Nitori’s online shop (don’t forget to pick up any of their hallucination-worthy bedsheets or unofficial anime clear file frames you might need too).

Sources: YouTube/Nintendo, Twitter/sakurai couch, Twitter/@Dragon_lily via Jin, Nitori
Top image: YouTube/Nintendo
Insert images: YouTube/Nintendo, Nitori
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