Japan made their intentions very clear at the Rio 2016 closing ceremony that they are targeting the young audience at the global level for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They sounded the bugle by making sure that their Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, pop out of a green tunnel looking like Super Mario.
With so many pop culture icons coming from Japan, the country is all ready to cash in the chips!
On January 20, the Olympic Committee unveiled the list of characters that are popular worldwide as Olympics Ambassadors. The first of possibly many magnificent lineups include a few of the bigwigs.
Son Goku - Nerds don't need any more of introduction to this guy when you utter the words Dragon Ball Z.
Naruto - A Ninja protagonist of a Japanese manga and anime series
Yo Jibanyan - the most popular character from role-playing game Yo-kai Watch
Luffy - Street smart (rather sea smart) pirate protagonist of manga and anime series One Piece.
Pretty Cure - It's a Japanese anime series featuring the adventures of magical girls known as Pretty Cure who fight off evil forces.
Sailor Moon - The Manga/Anime series chronicles the journey of Usagi Tsukino. She transforms into Sailor Moon to search for a magical artifact called the 'Legendary Silver Crystal.'
Shin Chan - Another manga turned anime is a story of five-year-old Shinnosuke 'Shin' Nohara (Shin Chan). The TV series has been going on since 1992 and chronicles the fun times of the boy and his family.
Astro Boy - Japanese superhero android was the first one to get animated treatment which later became famous as anime genre. The series is the oldest running manga/anime creation now spanning into merch and gaming.
These ambassadors are part of Tokyo 2020 Olympics' official merchandise.
With three more years to go, there is a great possibility of many more characters will join in. To sway the vote in your favour , fans can start commenting on official Olympic Channel on Facebook and keep fingers crossed. Who knows, next batch will see Pikachu in the line up!
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 "2020 Olympics, Tokyo Olympics 2020, Goku, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Luffy, One Piece, Sailor Moon, Jibiyan, Astro Boy, Pretty Cure,")
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