Newly released documents have revealed that the opening ceremonies for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were originally planned to have many more references to Japanese video games and anime, including an appearance by video game icon Mario.
As reported by Anime News Network, the Olympics' opening ceremony was originally planned to kick off with a recreation of Kaneda's iconic red motorcycle from Akira racing into the stadium. Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo was reportedly on-board with creating a new illustration for the event. Famously, Akira - which was written in 1982 - features a 2020 Olympics held in Neo Tokyo as one of its plot points. Otomo's illustration is said to have been a subversion of the events of the manga and anime movie.
The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo were first announced by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who famously wore a Mario hat during the announcement. Consequently, many expected to see Nintendo's mascot represented in some way at the Olympics, but so far, the platforming hero has been absent from the games. According to the leaked original plan, Mario was indeed scheduled to be one of the stars of the opening ceremony, as the athletic stereotype was planned to be just one of many Japanese video game and anime characters to be featured at the event. The original event was also supposed to feature a performance from musician Daichi Miura, who performed the theme songs for Dragon Ball Super: BROLY and Kamen Rider Ex-Aid.
The pop-culture elements of the ceremony were reportedly heavily toned down or eliminated after the original planner of the opening ceremonies, Mikiko Mizuno, was replaced by advertising executive Hiroshi Sasaki. Sasaki later resigned from the event after he was criticized for publicly mocking the figure of female comedian Naomi Watanabe, who was also scheduled to participate in the event. Sasaki was just one of several high-ranking figures involved with the production of the Olympics' opening ceremony who were forced to resign due to their behavior: composer Keigo Oyamada, also known by the stage name Cornelius, resigned after an older interview, which featured the musician bragging about bullying kids with disabilities, resurfaced online. The opening ceremony's director, Kentaro Kobayashi, resigned just one day before the event after he was criticized for a comedy routine that reportedly featured jokes about the Holocaust.
While the final opening ceremony for the Olympics did feature a medley of music from Japanese video games such as Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star, fans can't help but miss the originally more elaborate and pop-culture centric ceremony that the notably scandal-free Mizuno had planned.
Source: Anime News Network
