Tokyo 2020 Olympics vid pokes good fun at Japan's gaming, anime culture

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By JC Torres/

As the Rio 2016 Olympics comes to a close, it was time for the baton to be passed to Japan, who will be hosting the next big international competition. And what better way to introduce the world to the new host than to show them just how wacky the Japanese can be. In a good way of course. In its pitch video for the 2020 Olympics, Japan made some lighthearted, tongue in cheek jokes about the countries perceived obsession with gaming and anime. They even got the highest political power in the country to jump in, almost literally.

The video started innocently enough, as a montage of the different Olympics sporting events, highlighting iconic locations in the Japan. But things head south quickly the moment you start seeing Captain Tsubasa, an anime about football (soccer, for some). This is followed by a Pac-Man and ghosts on a race track, a cheerleading Hello Kitty, and Doraemon and friends soaring the skies, just to name a few.

Even Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was game, again, almost literally. Supposedly running late for his appearance at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony, Abe did what any head of government would do: wear a cap that transforms him into one of the most iconic video game characters of all. With a little help from Doraemon's infinitely deep front pocket, Super Mario, the prime minister formerly known as Shinzo Abe, jumps into a green pipe to travel half-way around the world and pop up as Shinzo Abe in Rio, just in the nick of time.

The pitch video is an admittedly ingenious way of promoting the country's subtle yet profound influence in modern culture, though those in Rio hardly need a reminder considering how the Pokemon GO craze has already hit them hard. Still, it's an amusing nod to a sub-culture that has almost little to do with the Olympics.

VIA: Twitter

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