Fugitives from the third dimension

A showcase of Zheng Rui's favorite garage kits, professionally manufactured model toys imported from Japan. Zheng spends more than 2,000 yuan a month collecting his favorite anime characters. A kit seldom costs less than 600 yuan. [Photo by Zheng Rui/China Daily]

"How dare you," one of the players shouts as his car is struck by lightning just before the finish line.

"Get out of my way," shouts another as he makes his rival crash by shooting out a red turtle shell.

The tournament winner is declared after a dozen races, and there are deflated egos all around whenever a computer-driven car is awarded the laurels. That fires up those sitting around the table all the more to fight for glory in a new round of races.

Sometimes the members take a break from the helter-skelter of the race track to play the board game Killers of the Three Kingdoms, in which they will randomly role-play either the king, the loyal servant, the rebel or the traitor who lived more than 1,700 years ago.

In between turns Zheng and his friends can talk about what is happening in the nijigen world, especially in games, and poke fun at each other on matters such as why some of them have no girlfriend.

Zheng has organized similar game events every week since 2008, when he was in second grade at high school. Members come and go, and at the moment there are 22, mostly young men. Among those who know anything about the nijigen world, a common conception seems to be that those who inhabit it are a bunch of sad, unsociable loners, but among these 22 people, 10 are not single.

Zheng's short hair is dyed crimson and permed, giving him little curls, and many of his nijigen friends are just as flamboyant in their appearance. He spends most of his time and money on games, anime and manga, he says, and feels detached from the third-dimension, the real world.

"I have been in the nijigen world for so long that I run the risk of completely losing contact with reality, so I need to come out and bask in the sunshine every now and then," Zheng says, grinning.

"Ever since I started working I realized I that I had very little to talk with my work mates about. I need to hang out with this group; we have the same interest."