Japanese comic superhero drawn to Tokyo Olympic bid
Japanese comic strip football superhero Captain Tsubasa is facing the most challenging match of his storybook career by trying to capture the 2016 Olympic Games for Tokyo.
Bid rivals are Chicago, who have been backed by President Barack Obama, Brazilian football legend Pele has thrown his weight behind Rio while Real Madrid skipper Raul supports the Spanish capital in the race to be host city.
"I'm happy if this can help," said Yoichi Takahashi, the Captain Tsubasa creator, as he drew the comic's main characters in the centre of a huge flag of the Tokyo 2016 Olympic bid committee.
With more messages from top athletes and celebrities, the flag will be displayed in Copenhagen, where the International Olympic Committee will choose the 2016 host city on October 2.
"At the moment, I am drawing a story about an Olympic team and I feel personally attached to the bid," the 49-year-old Takahashi said.
Aside from their 1968 Olympic bronze medal, Japan have struggled in world football.
They debuted in the World Cup finals in 1998 and their best result was a last-16 spot in 2002 on home turf.
Captain Tsubasa was launched in a Japanese boys' weekly magazine in 1981.
It featured midfielder Tsubasa Oozora (whose name means "big-sky wings" in Japanese) and goalkeeper Genzo Wakabayashi.
It has spread around the world in cartoon books, animated films and video games, read and watched avidly by superstars like Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti and Fernando Torres.
AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso admitted that when he was a child he'd always stop a game of football with friends to be in front of his television in time to watch "Holy e Benji," the Italian title of Captain Tsubasa.
Japanese star Hidetoshi Nakata, who retired after the 2006 World Cup, used to mimic one of Tsubasa's trademark overhead kicks.
When Shunsuke Nakamura joined Espanyol from Celtic last month, the 31-year-old was asked if he had watched "Campeones: Oliver y Benji," the animated series' Spanish title.
"I was asked the same question often when I was in Italy. My favourite character was Benji," he replied.
Benji Price is the Anglicised name of goalkeeper Wakabayashi used in the Spanish version; Tsubasa is Oliver "Holly" Hutton.
Captain Tsubasa is "Captain Majed" in Arab countries, "Super Campeoes" in Portugal and Brazil, and "Supercampeones" in Spanish-speaking Latin America. North American viewers know him as "Flash Kicker."
Captain Tsubasa boasts a combined Japanese circulation of 900,000 copies; in book form, the stories have sold more than 70 million copies in the country.
Foreign sales are estimated at 10 million copies.
"We are aware there have been quite a few pirate editions circulating abroad," said Hidekazu Yokoi of Shueisha Co., Captain Tsubasa's publisher.
Takahashi, a former baseball fan who became hooked on football after watching the 1978 World Cup on television, admitted Captain Tsubasa had helped convert many in Japan to the game.
"I feel happy that it has been seen in Europe and other centres of football," he said.
"It has been Tsubasa's dream to see Japan win the World Cup. I wish I'll go that far in my manga but it may take quite a long time."
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source: yahoo news