Japanese artists reimagined the Philippines as an anime samurai for the Olympics
With Japan as the host country for the ongoing 2020 Summer Olympics, a group of local artists has taken it upon themselves to promote the event through Japanese culture. The World Flags project reimagines the flags of competing countries as samurai characters.
In an interview with BBC, creator Kamaya Yamamoto chose the legendary military warriors for their uniqueness to the country and their connection to Japanese traditions.
While samurai no longer exist in modern-day Japan, their moral code called Bushido, which places a strong emphasis on loyalty, honesty, and strength of character, is still very much alive in society.
So far, the World Flags project has created characters for 84 out of the 200 competing countries. According to Yamamoto, the designs are based on the meaning and history of a country’s flag, as well as its colors and motifs. Each comes with its own background and biodata, similar to a video game character.
Input from the community is also welcome, with the group often posting polls and rankings on their Twitter account.
For the Philippines, the samurai comes in red, blue, and white motifs. His weapons include a fan that summons the sun and a gun called MINDA-NAO that shoots pearls. Based on his page, his name is Risal, born on June 12th (get it? Independence Day?) whose personal hobby is taking selfies and loves to eat lechon.
Other countries are chock-full of references as well, such as Mexico, which sports an eagle as a companion, and Spain, which is reimagined as a bullfighter.
But even with all of the enormous effort, the 15-man crew behind the project do not earn anything from it, working on the initiative in their spare time.
You can browse other countries and their Olympic-themed characters on the World Flags site.
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Source: we the pvblic
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