The Tokyo Summer Olympics were forced to push back the legendary sporting event from 2020 to 2021 thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic, but despite this, a number of anime creators have joined forces to lend their talents to this Summer’s main event, including the creators of One Piece, Sailor Moon, Attack On Titan, and more. With the Summer Olympics originally set to launch a Gundam Satellite into space, and many fans referencing the events of the legendary movie Akira, it’s clear that the location of Tokyo has given a perfect entry point for the medium of anime to enter the Olympics.
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Twitter Users such as Manga Mogura, Attack On Fans, and WSJ_Manga shared the new art from legendary manga creators such as Eiichiro Oda, Hajime Isayama, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, and Naoku Takeuchi that will celebrate sports including the likes of karate, surfing, kickboxing, and skateboarding:
Illustration to celebrate the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Gundam the Origin) x Surfing.
Image © Kadokawa, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko pic.twitter.com/ZBVGSQUk2U
— Manga Mogura RE (@MangaMoguraRE) July 13, 2021
Eiichiro Oda’s (ONE PIECE) Special Illustration in collaboration with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. pic.twitter.com/WPs9BTR7Ea
— Shonen Jump News – Unofficial (@WSJ_manga) July 13, 2021
Illustration to celebrate the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Naoko Takeuchi (Sailormoon) x Skateboarding.
Image © Kadokawa, Naoko Takeuchi pic.twitter.com/Tk64u0bUYg
— Manga Mogura RE (@MangaMoguraRE) July 13, 2021
Hajime Isayama promotes Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with a new illustration of sport climbing! 🧗 pic.twitter.com/IgnWwICiMH
— Attack On Fans (@AttackOnFans) July 13, 2021
The world of anime was originally set to play a much larger role in the Olympics when it was taking place in 2020, with the likes of Kyoto Animation, Studio Ponoc, and others being brought in to create original animated segments. On top of these projects, various other tidbits linked the Olympics with the world of anime, as the event christened Goku of Dragon Ball fame as an official ambassador and created specific merchandise for characters from Gundam and Hello Kitty that has an Olympic aesthetic. While all of these projects might not come through in the same way as they would have has the 2020 games taken place, we’re sure anime will still have a big role in the games starting later this summer.
Which Olympics Poster Art do you like the best? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
