Japan takes anime to Iraq

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
In a bid to introduce anime to countries less fortunate than itself, Japan is promoting it's popular wares around the world by pushing football anime Captain Tsubasa onto Iraqi TV. Following on from a recent press release, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to provide an Arabic dub of the show along with renaming the series itself into "Captain Majed".

To quote the official news, it is hoped that this will "... strengthen goodwill toward Japan on the Iraqi side. In particular, it may provide dreams and hopes for the children of Iraq, who will shoulder the future of the country."
 
This is great! Now all they need is a reliable power supply and a tele to watch it on. That is until the next suicide bomber ruins it all again. :roll:
 
It's a nice gesture but the thought of an anime show in such a war-torn place seems...odd. Or, rather, just a bit random. A nice gesture nonetheless. I doubt many Iraqi kids see much TV from the outside world.
 
Ryo Chan said:
i think with all thats going on in iraq atm people will have more things to worry about than when anime is on :s
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I think the purpose of it is to give these people the odd 20 minute break from worrying about the state of their country, no harm in that.
 
I remember Captain Tsubasa (AKA Captin Majid) was showing in Saudi from about 15 years ago. I used to watch it all the time. All the kids used to fight over who would "be" Captain Majid when playing football. :mrgreen:

Football is part of the culture in the Middle East (well, it's a part of the culture pretty much anywhere really), and that show fit in so perfectly it's only very recently that I realised that Captain Majid was actually Captain Tsubasa, an anime from Japan. They actually used to show quite a lot of anime on Saudi TV now that I think about it, though I can't remember any of the names. I remember that Robotech was on though. One of the shows that got me into anime before I even knew what anime was. :mrgreen:
 
I read a report a while ago about the emerging Iraq internet gaming scene, LAN cafe's the works. They had barely got the telephone system working and some guys were already CTFing. Can't keep a good clan down.

All PC gaming too - the local availability of cheap chinese PC parts in combination with off-duty soldiers gave rise to it. There was even a lot of women playing. Power outages and phone system crashes tended to spoil the fun a bit, but they were just odd blips.

At the end of the day people will unwind however they want to. Its not like they can go down the pub over there is it?

Back OT: I think Captain Tsubasa is a good choice. Its only in english that it is hard to get internationally. It was licensed and aired in many languages over the years.
 
It's good to see that the Iraqi people are now enjoying some anime. Though, all it is going to be is a nice distraction from the reality of suicide bombers and general unrest in the country.

This is what I would imagine:

Family: Hurry there's a tank coming towards us!
Boy: But I'm watching captain Tsubasa! 5 more mins to go..
Family: ... :shock:

Perhaps it's Japan's underhand way of 'dealing' with people. :wink:
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SC2 REPLAYS
 
All joking aside, the situation out there is pretty grim. If this does turn out to be a simple distraction or slight relief for some of the kids I'm all for it.

And I would really love to hear that Arabic dub at some point!
 
I think it's a fantastic idea, and while the cynic in me thinks this is Japan setting up future markets for it's pop culture, cartoons have always captured the imagination of kids (*looks around*, and adults too :|) and I'm sure they will enjoy this. Ecapism is vital for everyone.
 
subedii said:
I remember Captain Tsubasa (AKA Captin Majid) was showing in Saudi from about 15 years ago. I used to watch it all the time. All the kids used to fight over who would "be" Captain Majid when playing football. :mrgreen:

Football is part of the culture in the Middle East (well, it's a part of the culture pretty much anywhere really), and that show fit in so perfectly it's only very recently that I realised that Captain Majid was actually Captain Tsubasa, an anime from Japan. They actually used to show quite a lot of anime on Saudi TV now that I think about it, though I can't remember any of the names. I remember that Robotech was on though. One of the shows that got me into anime before I even knew what anime was. :mrgreen:
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WORD!
same here!
when i was a kid i used to live in Abu Dhabi (the captial of U.A.E Next to Dubai)
that was the anime i used to watch all the time, it was so friggin awsome aswell! this was the 1st anime i ever watched, and boy do i still wish for the manga to be licensed or the anime, just bring back those nostalgic feelings.
and its also good that Iraq Is getting something, i mean with all that is happening there.
 
Melainy said:
And I would really love to hear that Arabic dub at some point!
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You may regret saying that. :mrgreen:

That aside, I'm sure the kids will love it. And if it can make children smile in a warzone, then I'm glad.

Ninja Boy! said:
WORD!
same here!
when i was a kid i used to live in Abu Dhabi (the captial of U.A.E Next to Dubai)
that was the anime i used to watch all the time, it was so friggin awsome aswell! this was the 1st anime i ever watched, and boy do i still wish for the manga to be licensed or the anime, just bring back those nostalgic feelings.
and its also good that Iraq Is getting something, i mean with all that is happening there.
Click to expand...

Yeah I used to live in UAE as well for a while, although it was all the way up in Fujairah. It was weird going back there recently and seeing all the skyscrapers and stuff going up in a town that only really exists because of the port, and that you could probably drive across in about 20 minutes. :mrgreen:
 
subedii said:
Melainy said:
And I would really love to hear that Arabic dub at some point!
Click to expand...

You may regret saying that. :mrgreen:

That aside, I'm sure the kids will love it. And if it can make children smile in a warzone, then I'm glad.

Ninja Boy! said:
WORD!
same here!
when i was a kid i used to live in Abu Dhabi (the captial of U.A.E Next to Dubai)
that was the anime i used to watch all the time, it was so friggin awsome aswell! this was the 1st anime i ever watched, and boy do i still wish for the manga to be licensed or the anime, just bring back those nostalgic feelings.
and its also good that Iraq Is getting something, i mean with all that is happening there.
Click to expand...

Yeah I used to live in UAE as well for a while, although it was all the way up in Fujairah. It was weird going back there recently and seeing all the skyscrapers and stuff going up in a town that only really exists because of the port, and that you could probably drive across in about 20 minutes. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

nice to see another person from the UAE :)
cos i have hardly seen/met any recently, lol
 
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