Israeli 2020 elections get their own Japanese anime show
The show, in Japanese, is made by Israelis and is getting some excited feedbacks.
By HAGAY HACOHEN
Anime earns the Japanese economy more money than steel and coal, so is it any wonder Israelis decided they too can produce it?But unlike the Japanese shows that tend to focus on themes from the Land of the Rising Sun, such as the 2002 Black Lagoon that dealt with the pressures of Japanese society or the 2009 One Punch Man, this show is about a very unique Israeli thing – politics.The show laughs at many things one would have to be familiar with Israeli culture to understand, such as Blue and White politician Yair Lapid being an avid boxer or Culture Minister Miri Regev offending her rivals by calling them “barbarians who posses no culture.”Regev had repeatedly argued that, while in office, she will promote cultures she thinks were under-represented such as Mizrahi music.Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are also shown in anime-style confrontation.President Reuven Rivlin is presented as a kindly man who spreads love wherever he goes and former MK Stav Shaffir is drawn as a hyper-active child who wishes to unite everything and everyone, from haredi people to LGBT people to insects.Created by Frankendo, the show is currently online, who knows what the second installment will bring? A few scenes were shown on television on Tuesday evening by Channel 12.One online user joked that he already read the comics, so he knows how many election rounds Israel is going to have. The joke is that many anime shows are based on comic books and that nobody knows if the March elections will actually lead to a clear majority winner.
Another anime short called “IDF Anime” is a spoof in which various army anime parts are joined together with satire about the Israeli armed forces. The jokes focus on awful food and IDF regulations if applied to the anime world. For example, a soldier is screamed at for having eyes which are not larger than his mouth and a soldier asks not to serve as a “sushi monster ate my sensei.”In one clip, a soldier says to his friends “we will fight Hamas with the power of friendship” and is shouted at, “Go home you leftist!”