Para athletes meet manga creations in stunning new campaign

“We hope that many people will take an interest (in sports for people with disabilities), no matter whether they are in Japan or abroad and what generation they are in, and actually go to watch the Games.”

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has launched a stunning new action packed video featuring a number of Japanese Para athletes of the past, present and future meeting popular manga artists’ creations.

Featuring athletes from five sports, including world No.1 wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda, the “Be the Hero” campaign aims to raise awareness and appeal of Para sports ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The 140 second long video will be screened at events in Japan.

Kunieda appears with an illustration of a female player drawn by Naoki Urasawa, the creator of ‘Yawara!’, a popular judo girl manga series.

Yoichi Takahashi was the author of the illustration for blind football, whilst Eisaku Kubonouchi did the one for athlete Saki Takakuwa, Hiro Mashima for goalball players and Tetsuya Chiba for wheelchair rugby players.

“We decided on the collaboration with manga with the intention of creating images that are completely new, and everyone involved extended their full cooperation,” said a metropolitan government official.

“We hope that many people will take an interest (in sports for people with disabilities), no matter whether they are in Japan or abroad and what generation they are in, and actually go to watch the Games.”

In 2014, the metropolitan government conducted a survey in Tokyo to analyse the residents’ perception of the Olympics and Paralympics.

Nearly 90 percent of the 1,910 respondents said they knew of the Paralympics, but just two percent said they had watched Para sport live.

The video can be watched here.