A meeting with the creator of Captain Majid, the legendary hero who contributed to spreading football in Japan
“Captain Majid” is the famous cartoon program that was broadcast by several stations around the world. This character encouraged the spread of football in Japan and influenced many of its stars. Takahashi Yoichi, the author of this character, will talk about the story of Captain Majid's birth and the secret of the popularity of Japanese popular culture around the world.
“Takahashi Yōichi” is the author of the hugely popular manga and anime cartoon book beloved around the world, “Captain Tsubasa” or Captain Majid in Arabic.
The emergence of Captain Tsubasa contributed to the increased popularity of football in Japan and helped develop the sport. Not only that, but this character inspired many great international players, such as the Argentine player Messi, the Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, the Italian Alessandro Del Piero, and the Spaniard Fernando Torres. Takahishi recently added a girl named “Kaeda” to the characters, to express in his own way his support for the women’s national team, contributing to the women’s victory in the World Cup in Germany in 2011.
Takahashi was born in 1960. He began his career as a manga artist with a single episode of the manga “Captain Tobasa (Majid),” which was published in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1980. In 1981, he began publishing it in the same magazine in the form of a weekly series. The cartoon was broadcast in 1983 and led to the spread of football's popularity and the emergence of a number of young players in Japan. After that, the program was broadcast globally, affecting the hearts of fans around the world, and its influence even reached many foreign viewers who became stars of this sport. This series continues to show the growth and development of Majed's character.
In this article, Takahashi will talk about the secret behind the story of the birth of Captain Tsubasa, his opinion of football, and his joy at the women’s football team winning the World Cup title. It will provide a precise analysis of the reason for the spread of Japanese popular culture around the world.
The beginning of the World Cup in Argentina
Question: First, tell us why you wanted to become a manga artist?
Takahashi Yoichi: Since I was young, I loved drawing, but like other Japanese children, I dreamed of becoming a baseball player. But when I grew up, I felt that it was impossible to become a professional player, so I gave up this dream and thought of trying my luck with my other passion, which is drawing.
And so it began. Since I was young, I loved reading manga and in those days I used to read Kyojin no Hoshi and Ashita no Jo. In middle school, I was busy with Baseball manga like Dokaben and Captain because I was playing the game. As you notice, the manga titles I mentioned are sports manga, but I was also reading many works by Tezuka Osamu and Fujiko Fujio.
Question: Why did you choose soccer even though baseball was at the height of its popularity in Japan?
Takahashi: In the third year of high school in 1978, I watched the World Cup held in Argentina and discovered the joy of this sport. It aroused my curiosity, so I did some research on football. I learned that football in Europe is more popular than baseball and that the number of football players is much greater compared to baseball. I realized then that football is the number one game in the world. In fact, when I started writing manga I started with baseball-related topics but at that time there were a lot of baseball manga out there. So I chose football, the game that had not yet been discovered.
Question: Can it be said that there were not many Japanese people who knew about the status of international football?
Takahashi: No. The phrase “World Cup” wasn’t even a common phrase when I started the series. So I had to explain in the story that the World Cup is a global event and the most important tournament in the world that is held every four years.
Question: Last year was Captain Topasa's 30th anniversary. During this period, Japanese football made tremendous strides, although both football fans and enthusiasts admit that this progress would not have occurred without the existence of this chain. What do you say about this?
Takahashi: I think the sport's wide acceptance is due more to the appeal of soccer itself than to the influence of Captain Tsubasa. But I'm grateful for the people who say that and frankly I feel happy when I think that I had a role in raising the level of Japanese football.
Takahashi (front row) pays a cheerleading visit to the women's national team on July 17, 2011. The day before the World Cup final. Captain Sawa Homari, the best player and top scorer in the tournament, holds the flag from the left corner. (Photos: World Soccer King/Chiba Itaru).
Surprise! The character Tsubasa is closest to in reality is Sawa Homari.
Question: In July 2011, the women's national team known as Nadeshiko Japan won Germany's first Women's World Cup title. Your continued support for women's football is evident through your creation of the character Kaeda for the national team, for example. How did you feel attending the final match and witnessing Nadeshko's victory with your own eyes?
Takahashi: Before the tournament started, I didn't think Japan could win the cup. So the team reaching the final in itself was impressive. The stadium where the match was played was so packed with American fans that I thought the match was being played on their home turf. I was wondering how these girls could beat a team they had never beaten before. We had planned Kaeda's project further back in time and had our sights set on the London Olympics so, to be honest, I couldn't believe my eyes when the team won the tournament. That they won the tournament by beating the USA twice, playing a full 120 minutes, and winning on penalties is pretty amazing.
Question: Captain Sawa Homare, who inspired the character Kaeda, led the team in the tournament and won the title of best player and top scorer in the tournament. What are your feelings about Sawa’s performance in the World Cup?
Takahashi: When I was watching men's matches, I used to think, “This player looks like Topsasa,” “That player reminds me of Hyuga,” and so on. But this time, I feel that the player Sawa is the true embodiment of Tsubasa’s character. She is the team’s captain, carries the number ten, and led the team to win the World Cup. In addition, she won the title of best player and top scorer in the tournament. All these years I've been wondering if I'd ever see a player portray Captain Tsubasa in reality, but I never thought it would be a woman. Sawa likens Captain Tsubasa to her love for football and the happiness that appears on her face and features when she kicks the ball with her teammates.
Takahashi supports rebuilding efforts after the March 11, 2011 disaster. He donated the original book cover art to charity for a charity auction. It was sold at a high price. (Photo: We'll Never Walk Alone from From One Co
Takahashi Yōichi/Shūeisha)Question: The Japanese national team’s unyielding fighting spirit gave those afflicted by the great earthquake that struck eastern Japan hope and courage.
Takahashi: I completely agree with you. This was achieved through victory in the World Cup after a long struggle against the highest-ranked team. The team's performance following the disaster gave those affected in the affected areas hope. This victory deserved an honorary award.
The reason why manga and anime are universally loved
Question: Captain Tsubasa was able to cross borders and reach the hearts of people around the world. In the same way, there are many Japanese manga and anime that capture the hearts of audiences around the world. What do you think attracts people around the world to manga culture?
Takahashi: I believe that Japan's environment is one of the most important factors that leads to growth and development in creating high-quality manga. The world's first manga (manga of specific lengths and distinct stories that make up most manga published abroad) was the work of Tezuka Osamu, and this category of stories took huge steps to become a manga magazine. Initially published monthly, it soon became a weekly magazine, prompting authors to write about 20 pages each week. I believe that the emergence and popularity of a number of weekly magazines is what led to the dominance of Japanese manga culture. For example, the weekly magazine “Shonen Jump” was at the peak of its success, publishing more than 5 million copies. If there is this many readers, someone is bound to appear who wants to write a manga themselves. I believe that this system is unique and specific to Japan, and I believe that Japan’s ability to create quality manga and anime is thanks to this environment.
Question: This system has led to an increase in the number of competitors and an environment that gives them the opportunity to be the center of attention of the world, or in other words (a big game).
Takahashi: Yes, we can say that. I would add and say that the national understanding of manga culture has created an environment that gives aspiring manga artists an additional advantage because they were born in Japan and within the manga culture. As is the case in football today, Spaniards are lucky to be born in the country that hosts the Spanish La Liga, the strongest league in the world with a pioneering training system. Likewise, in Japan, there are a huge number of weekly manga, so if you think about making your own manga, you can start from the elementary level. These conditions cannot be met anywhere in the world. The same applies to anime. There is no doubt that Japan provides the best environment for anime.
Eager to see Captain Tsubasa win the World Cup
Question: In conclusion, can you tell us in which direction the Captain Tsubasa series is heading?
Takahashi: Captain Tsubasa's dream of winning the World Cup and becoming the best player in the world has not changed since he was young. We will see him working towards achieving this goal. Now, he is completing his first season with Barcelona. I'll finish this part and then I'll write about the Olympics, which is another plot point I was thinking about at the same time. In the end, I want to get him to the World Cup.
?Question: Do you still have a long way to go
Takahashi: Too long... I hope that Captain Tsubasa will achieve his goal of winning the World Cup while I am still alive and able to write. I will continue to do so as long as I have strength and vitality.
After many episodes, Tsubasa (Majid) is still on a journey to reach maturity. The current version is the fifth in this series and is entitled The Difficult Game That Captain Tsubasa Faces in a Foreign Land: In La Liga (Captain Tsubasa kaigai gekito hen: En La Liga.
Source: websites