The anime world is no stranger to scandals in Japan and this was demonstrated last week when the 2020 Olympics committee published a series of tweets that generated strong criticism.
If you’ve kept track of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, you know they were meant to be held in July last year, but due to coronavirus problems they were postponed until 23 this month.
This type of event usually moves the economy of a nation, something that the Japanese country urgently needs. However, there is a big problem with its celebration and that is that the virus is not yet contained in the capital.
With delays in the vaccination of the population and the continuous failure to comply with the State of Emergency, a group was created that is firmly opposed to the event occurring at a time they consider key to get out of the danger of the coronavirus.
Characters from the anime world enter the scene
With the tension in the air between the organization and the population, last week the event published a series of Tweets where characters from the anime world supported the event with their emblematic phrases.
This led those against the Olympics to criticize the use of characters like Sailor Moon, Naruto, Goku and even Astroboy to promote something against the convictions that heroes usually have.
After all, at the beginning of the pandemic videos and merchandise on how to take care of the coronavirus used their faces to reach the smallest of Japan.
Faced with criticism, the president of Tezuka Productions and daughter of Osamu Tezuka, Rumiko, provided a statement in which she affirmed that characters like Astroboy graduated before the start of the pandemic and that it made sense for the business to continue with what was agreed.
“The contract for the team was signed after the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were decided, at a time when no one could have imagined the threat of the coronavirus. At that time, everyone was looking forward to the Games. Right now, the situation has led to divided opinions on whether to continue or not, but from a business perspective, Astroboy is participating in the cheer squad as part of the role assigned to him. “
Companies’ responses are rarely confrontational with the public, so Rumiko’s Tweets only generated more criticism from those who opposed the event, to the point that the director offered an apology half hours later.
In it he assured that it was wrong to speak from “the business point of view” and that he would take everyone’s opinions into consideration for future licensing agreements.
What do you think of anime characters being used to promote the 2020 Olympics? Tell us in the comments.
