U.S. President Donald Trump is facing growing backlash from Japan and fans of the country’s popular anime and manga characters over his use of them in his social media posts.
Discontent amongst fans began months ago once they noticed Trump using images of famous Japanese anime characters, including Naruto, Pikachu and Yu-Gi-Oh!, and launched a Change.org petition — which now has greater than 20,000 signatures — to guard the sanctity and cultural value of the imagery.
The petition was submitted to the Japanese government, in keeping with its creators, after the White House posted a video that spliced footage of U.S. strikes on Iran with anime scenes and cutaways from several other movies.
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“Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a request to the US Embassy in Japan regarding the unauthorized use of Yu-Gi-Oh!” the petition reads.
“For a few years, these works have inspired audiences all over the world by conveying values equivalent to courage, friendship, and perseverance. For this reason, many fans feel concerned when images from these works look like utilized in political or military contexts that will differ from the intentions of the unique creators or rights holders,” it continued.
“These concerns aren’t limited to Japan. Fans in international communities have also expressed the view that the context of those works and the intentions of their creators must be respected,” it added.
An official Yu-Gi-Oh! statement on the time addressed the post, saying, “The unique creators and anime staff weren’t involved in any way, and no permission was given for using the mental property in query.”
A picture shared on Truth Social as a part of an AI-generated video depicted Trump because the ninja Naruto Uzumaki from the Naruto franchise, once more angering fans over the weekend and reviving the petition on Tuesday.
A screengrab of DonaldTrump, where he’s depicted as Naruto.
Donald Trump/ Truth Social
Naruto Uzumaki is the protagonist and namesake of a preferred anime and manga series a couple of young ninja’s journey to develop into the village leader, created by Masashi Kishimoto.
A fan of anime and the manga franchise particularly, Nana Suzuki, told the BBC in an interview that she felt a responsibility to take motion on behalf of the creators of the Manga universe.
Suzuki, who began the petition, in keeping with the British outlet, said,”Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, passed away after attempting to rescue someone within the ocean. It deeply saddened me that his noble spirit, someone who tried to save lots of others and the message of his work, was utilized in a military context, and that he is not any longer alive to talk up himself.”
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