If there is a country who is a master of their public perception worldwide, it would be Japan. As the principal sponsors and host of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020, geeks, adults, and young children would have famous Japanese anime characters entertain them as "Dragonball Z's" "Son Goku", Sailor Moon, Naruto and others make the promotions memorable and exciting.
According to Geek.com, the complete list of representatives from Anime-dom include "One Piece's" adorable protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, "Maho Girls PreCure" Cure Miracle and Cure Magical, 80s animated cyber-technology icon Astro Boy, Crayon Shin-Chan and "Yo-Kai Watch" characters. Geek.com highlights the lack of videogame characters and even the world famous Pokemon.
All the characters look appealing. According to Tweak Town, Japan chose its characters carefully, likely because of their worldwide fame, attribution as classic Japanese icons and overall cuteness. Japan has also made merchandise showcasing these characters from drinking bottles, t-shirts, caps and even fans. Screenshots of these promotional merchandise are in Geek.com's website.
"Naruto", "DragonBall Z", "Sailor Moon" and "One Piece" are some of the country's longest-running anime that were met by international acclaim and had become characters popular in foreign cosplay conventions, making their characters perfect representatives. It is worth nothing that none of these characters have appeared in Japan's promotional video for Tokyo's 2020, which included game and anime characters Sonic, Mario and Pokemon.
Japan has been making improvements in Tokyo in preparation for the 2020 Olympics, one of which may include a smoking ban before the games--this would include all public areas from schools to hospitals to restaurants and bars. Japan's athletes are also preparing to "raise the bar" in the Tokyo Olympics as training in different sports continues for the country's athletes.
Anime characters are known for their extreme athleticism or spirituality that has made them great icons for Japan. Anime in Japan is not only oriented for children as there are young adult and adult to middle age fiction available in the country -- many of which has made the international mainstream media through the Internet.
