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Manga: How J-Pop inspired the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Olympic athletes are interestingly woven around various sporting activities to amplify the game along with the cartoony or artistic resemblance or figure of Manga.

By Arpita Biswas
Published Date - 21 July 2021, 05:04 PM
Manga: How J-Pop inspired the Tokyo Olympics 2020
(Source: Twitter)

With the Tokyo Olympics 2020 geared up for the week, one can definitely find how it has been infused to the theme of the Games.

Olympic athletes are interestingly woven around various sporting activities to amplify the game along with the cartoony or artistic resemblance or figure of Manga.

Various Mangaka (comic artist/cartoonist) have come up with the best of what they can offer. The artworks which are currently flooded all over the internet, definitely serve all the hype it has created.

For the uninitiated, Manga is a comic or graphic novel originally from Japan. It is loosely associated with the style of cartoon or comic, or drawings by Japanese Mangaka – comic artist/cartoonist. These graphic novels are often published in magazines or independently as comic books. Depending on the popularity of the Manga, collections or series are published to keep the readers hooked.

According to sources, Manga is believed to have started thousands of years ago, but it started to develop its full form after the work of Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849). Moreover, the actual boom is said to have started post World War II.

Being one of the most popular forms of entertainment, Manga has an extraordinarily huge fan following among both children and adults. These graphic novels are no longer just seen as a media form. It is an influential way to reach out to larger audiences, making its presence as one of the most dominant popular cultures (Pop culture) across the globe.

The widely accepted comics offer a range of genres and variety to readers. They are social, educational, political, inspirational, artistic and can be trashy as well. The not so mere entertainment which started as a children program boomed the idea of Japan for many. Also considered as a fancy literary form, Japanese Mangaka- comic artist/cartoonist are celebrated as popular figures.

The Japanese pop culture with its resemblance to every situation around has also found its way to sports. We all know how big a deal the Olympics are, and Japan has played seemingly well with its portrayal of its popular soft weapon (Manga).

Previously, the organising committee of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 announced its collaboration with the artists for the Games. Some of the renowned artists are, Naoki Urasawa, Hirohiko Araki, Eiichiro Oda, Noaki Takeuchi, Hajime Isayama and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. One will be enthralled as they will take a tour of their creativity through the artistic illustrations. The illustrations include the likes of skateboarding, surfing, karate, kickboxing, karate among many. The Olympics is said to limelight Japan’s contribution of the modern J-Pop (Japanese Pop Culture).

Apart from the upcoming Olympics, many sports persons had their share of uncanny resemblance to infamous Manga characters and how many Manga series evolved eventually from them. Let us show how Manga and sports are going hand in hand.


The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start from July 23, despite Japan being in a State of Emergency following strict COVID-19 restrictions.

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