I keep coming across articles and sites discussing this new satirical anime/manga The Legend of Koizumi, in which real-life world leaders such as Junichiro Koizumi, former Prime Minister of Japan, Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea, President George W. Bush, and Pope Benedict XVI, among others, solve the world’s problems…on the mahjong table. This video showed up on YouTube to give fans a taste of what the anime production of the manga will look like:
This is just….wow. From seeing George W. Bush giggle and ride around on a motorized Segway and Kim Jong Il’s goofy facial expressions, this looks like it’s sure to offend some people…which is the point of satire, right? The Wikipedia page for the manga lists Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin among the rest of the real-life figures who appear in animated form in this manga. The whole thing, created by Hideki Ohwada, looks like a pretty well-done and thought out production that presents super-serious world figures solving problems in a heated game of mahjong, while being exaggerated caricatures of themselves.
The original manga sold out in numerous places in Japan when it was released in September, speaking to the popularity of Junichiro Koizumi and the irreverent nature of the manga itself, which in turn sparked more interest in it. Judging by this short six-minute clip previewing the anime, the final product will surely be quite the topic of discussion among many circles when it is released at the end of February. We’ll post more clips from the anime when they are available, as this is too strange/amusing to ignore.
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