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Tweet of the Week #71: Iconic Anime Akira Predicted 2020 Olympic Game Turmoils

#中止だ中止, meaning "just cancel it," is officially trending on Japanese Twitter. Woah.

By 2 min read

In what turned out to be a worldwide famous coincidence, cult cyberpunk anime Akira predicted that (Neo) Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympic games. In a spooky parallel with the real world, in Akira’s post-apocalyptic world too, people are calling for the cancellation of the games.

Akira nailed it

Set in 2019, 31 years after World War III, Katsuhiro Otomo’s monument of science-fiction, Akira tells about a rather dark world struggling to get back to normal while a mysterious force is strengthening to plunge Neo Tokyo into yet another doom.

Akira is a phenomenal work of animation which has inspired countless movies and shows, including The Matrix trilogy no less. The combination of thrilling artwork and a highly complicated plot combining teenage gangs, psychic kids, and top-secret government experiments has not aged a bit.

But what certainly struck people the most is how Akira somehow foresaw the future on so many levels.

Just Cancel It

Last Friday marked exactly 147 days until the 2020 Games opening ceremony on July 24th. A countdown that echoed with a particular scene from the movie, which shows a signboard reading 東京とうきょうオリンピック開催かいさいまであと147日ひゃくよんじゅうしちにち= “147 Days Until The Tokyo Olympic Games”.

Entirely in phase with the current call to cancel 2020’s Olympics due to the coronavirus, graffiti under the signboard reads 中止ちゅうしだ中止 which means “just cancel it!”

The hashtag #中止だ中止 is officially now trending on Twitter.

Twitter user @zombie0928 wrote “中止発表はっぴょうするタイミングは今日きょう一番いちばんいいぞ。” (Today is the best day to announce the cancellation of the Olympic games.)

Another twitter user, @egg68389419, posted a screenshot from Akira side-by-side with an actual poster in real-life Tokyo. That is just spooky.

While we all wish for the Olympics to take place after all the effort Japan made for the infamous stadium to be ready on time, the current situation is quite worrisome. Was last Friday the best timing to announce a cancellation indeed?

“The best day is today.”

Here’s how to build a sentence to express that something is “the best” or “the most” using the expression 一番.

  • Noun + は/が 一番 + adjective +

世界せかいでジブリは一番有名ゆうめい。= Ghibli is the best known (studio) in the world.

  • Verb-dictionary form + のは/のが 一番 + adjective + だ

アニメをるのが一番きだ。= Watching anime is what I prefer to do the most/the best.

Vocabulary

Japanese Romaji English
東京とうきょうオリンピック toukyou orinpikku Tokyo Olympics
開催かいさい kaisei opening
まで made until
あと ato after
nichi day
中止ちゅうし chyuushi cancel
発表はっぴょうする happyou suru announce
タイミング taimingu timing
今日きょう kyou today
一番いちばん ichiban  the best, the most
いい ii  good
世界せかい sekai de in the world
ジブリ jiburi Studio Ghibli
有名ゆうめい yuumei famous, known
アニメ anime  Japanese animation
miru watch
suki  like

Just to be clear, the International Olympic Committee has vehemently denied there is any chance of the Tokyo Olympic games being canceled.

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