On an artistic level, the manga has followed the same path as many other sectors of pop culture: its characters, its color codes and its universe have penetrated other areas, such as rap, cinema or series. But, on a societal and strategic level, by becoming a key component of Asian soft power, this cultural industry has exerted an attraction and an influence that speaks volumes, too, on Japan’s place for forty years.
With Zizou’s blessing
So many successful albums and anime are set in basketball (Kuroko’s Basket de Tadatoshi Fujimaki), le volley (Haikyû! de Haruichi Furudate), le baseball (Ace of Diamond by Yûji Terajima) or even boxing (Ashita no Joe by Tetsuya Chiba and Asao Takamori, a cult comic since its pre-publication in Weekly Shônen Magazine between 1968 and 1973), football is the sport on which manga culture has had the widest and most spectacular.
However, in Japan, the round ball has only become popular since the 1980s. It owes it in large part to Captain Tsubasa (translated under the title Olive and Tom in France), created in 1981 by Yôichi Takahashi, as this saga contributed to popularizing this sport among boys… then among girls. A shame, when you know that its author initially worked on baseball.
In 1978, sitting in front of his television, the mangaka was passionate about the 1978 World Cup, which was taking place in Argentina – and from which Japan was absent: it was the trigger. From 1981 to 1988 and in 356 chapters, Captain Tsubasa told how his young hero would realize his dream and become a footballer.
We followed all the stages: a primary school championship, a college championship, and even an international tournament. In the end, the boy was going to play for a junior club in Brazil, in São Paulo. Yôichi Takahashi was inspired by former Japanese footballer Musashi Mizushima, who left to play in Brazil at the age of 10, in 1975.
A hero named Zedane
The original series had several sequels. Having become keen on the ball, the author took the opportunity to immerse his hero as well as new characters in major European clubs: Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, Juventus of Turin. They rubbed shoulders with teammates and opponents inspired by real players: Thoram (for Lilian Thuram), Buhon (for Gianluigi Buffon) and other Zedane (you will have recognized). The mangaka was happy to draw these stars. Especially since Zizou himself recognized his love for Olive and Tom, like Djibril Cissé in France, Fernando Torres in Spain, Alessandro Del Piero in Italy.
Yôichi Takahashi et son Captain Tsubasa were the Japanese catalysts of what, in the countries where the round ball is the king sport, is called the « culture foot ». It is with this culture that Japan could be designated as co-organizer (with South Korea) of the 2002 World Cup.
The popularization of football in the archipelago coincides with a global phenomenon: the gradual emergence of women’s football. As such, Japan is today one of the best organized countries in this field: a championship has existed since 1989, and the national team was world champion in 2011. Within this generation of female footballers, many were those who had discovered their vocation by reading Captain Tsubasa !
Because, even if the protagonists were boys, the girls were just as fond of it. They would be entitled to ” their “ premier manga in 2009: Sayonara Football (published in France in 2016), by Naoshi Arakawa, retraces the difficult journey of a young girl who fights to be accepted into her college team, while the boys and the coach refuse her. Because she’s a girl, and especially because she’s better than all of them put together…
The author had the click by watching a documentary on Homare Sawa, midfielder and captain of the national team, then one of the best players in the world. He had quite a flair: two years later, the footballer and her team won the World Cup…
From streetwear to bling-bling
If the devil wore Prada, fashion designers are now eyeing manga a lot. Until the 2010s, only Japanese designers were inspired by them: Bape, a pioneer of Japanese streetwear, had for some time had collections bearing the image of Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Naruto, Pokemon, Where Astroboy. But since then, Western brands have seized on the phenomenon.
In 2014, after having refused several times, Katsuhiro Ôtomo, the creator ofAkira, announced himself that he agreed to work with the New York streetwear brand Supreme, launching a collection of parkas, short and long-sleeved t-shirts, hoodies, various jerseys and caps.
Originally aimed at skateboarders, Supreme quickly took over the world of luxury: quickly sold out, the clothes created increased in value due to their rarity on the market. This is what happened in the case of « Supreme x Akira » in 2014. The brands Nike or Adidas have also created lines of shoes and clothing inspired by Dragon Ball, from One Piece or of Gundam.
Skateboards from the Akira collection by Supreme, a reference in the world of streetwear that now flirts with both Nike and Louis Vuitton. © KATSUHIRO OTOMO/AKIRA/SUPREME
If the link between manga and streetwear is clear (they are two children of pop culture), the one that is now woven with luxury fashion designers reveals the more “cultural industry” and more business.
Between 2013 and 2016, the Louis Vuitton brand reinterpreted characters from anime series (Ghost in the Shell) or video games (Final Fantasy) in fashion shows or advertising campaigns. Thus, football represents the pop side of manga, when fashion would embody its bling-bling dimension. Either the two sides of pop culture…
This article was originally published in January 2022. Find the full issue on the Literary Magazine Read shop.
