It be Summer Olympics time all over again and the arena’s athletes are sweating it out in Tokyo while the arena watches… from home, because COVID-19 is peaceable a part and spectators are now not allowed into the video games. Fans of Eastern animation were making Akira references for the reason that Games were announced, the news media has had an even time misidentifing Odaiba’s Gundam statue, and in abnormal Eastern pop custom has been an inextricable allotment of these 2020/2021 video games. However invent you perceive evidence of a Eastern anime connection to the Olympics might presumably maybe supreme be all around you?
Now pitching for the Dodgers, Eagle Sam The Olympic Eagle
Support in 1984 the Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, and the committee chosen an all-American mascot, Sam The Eagle. Sam was once designed by Disney artist Bob Moore to be a friendlier, cuddlier model of The US’s national bird, the eagle, which is continuously seen as stern and intimidating. Sam The Olympic Eagle would seem on a big diversity of merchandise and as a graphic part on a full bunch of Olympic publications, and the mascot suit persona would be seen around the arena as allotment of Olympic events.
Nonetheless, one iteration of Sam The Olympic Eagle would handiest be seen in Japan. Taking this eagle to its bosom, bigger than forty Eastern firms licensed the persona, releasing a full bunch of persona goods. A TV comic strip to sell this merch was once a natural switch, and Dax Worldwide, unique from Vickie The Viking and Kirin Masterpiece Romantic Theater, bought along with TBS to air the anime model of Sam The Olympic Eagle under the title “Eagle Sam.” Please, we ask you, don’t confuse this Eagle Sam with the Eagle Sam that narrated Disneyland’s “The US Sings” appeal. The Eagle Sam animation aired Thursdays at 7 from April 1983 unless March 1984, for a full of 51 episodes.
Eagle Sam in April 1983’s “My Anime”
You would ponder an fascinating comic strip about an Olympic mascot would involve sports activities, nonetheless Eagle Sam has extra crucial things to attain – he runs a detective agency in Birdie Town, and that Uncle Sam hat? It be magic! Keiko Han voices Canary Carina, Sam’s enticing secretary. Tagging along on adventures is Canary’s youthful brother Guzlan, and the entire crew is regularly coming into war with Albatross, Birdie Town’s police chief.
Eagle Sam and Canary
If the human being characters most regularly leer fairly Lupin III-ish, smartly, that is now not any surprise, as persona vogue designer Yoshio Kabashima additionally labored on Lupin’s 2nd TV sequence. Sam has adventures around the metropolis and around the arena, nonetheless unusually passable, there is nary a pole vault or 100 yard traipse or diving competition in scrutinize.
one motive this indicate might presumably maybe now not bask in made it to export
Eagle Sam shares this un-Olympic quirk with Japan’s assorted Olympic-mascot-themed anime, 1980’s Misha The Undergo Cub. This TV Asahi sequence was once constructed around Misha, the mascot for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and aired from October 1979 unless April 1980. Misha is a cuddlier model of the Russian undergo designed by Viktor Chizhikov, and he – Misha, now not Viktor – lives in an animal metropolis along with his mom and pa and his undergo lady friend Natasha, who is additionally voiced by Keiko Han.
Misha and mates and Moscow Olympics stamp
Misha’s non-note-and-topic adventures among the miniature-metropolis animals are stunning abnormal kiddy comic strip fare for kiddy cartoons around the arena, with the possible exception of episode 18. That is when Misha meets Kunta, the undergo mascot of Hokkaido Tv Broadcasting, who was once named after Kunta Kinte, the superstar of smartly-liked HTB sequence “Roots.” This mascot meeting of the minds might presumably maybe maybe be the loudest echo of the Russo-Eastern War we’d seen in anime unless 2018’s Golden Kamuy.
Misha vs Kunta
Nippon Animation’s Misha made it to France, Italy, and Arabic and Spanish-language markets, and was once re-inch on Eastern TV in 1999 and 2009. Eagle Sam, on the assorted hand, now not handiest in no plan aired commence air Japan, nonetheless hasn’t aired since and to this level it has but to leer any home video release at all. I affirm everyone is aware of who obtained that staunch Olympic competition.
Eagle Sam merchandise stumbled on in The US’s vintage retail outlets
On the assorted hand, if we want to discuss the provision of merchandise starring Olympic mascots who had their very non-public Eastern TV cartoons, smartly, Eagle Sam is going to get fingers down. Ever since I started conserving an gape out for him, I’ve seen Eagle Sam merch exhibiting up in vintage retail outlets and traditional markets in all locations. He’s definitely a 1980s anime persona that will presumably maybe merely now not ever be misidentified as a “Transformer.” If you occur to are fascinated about proudly owning fairly Olympic / anime history, Eagle Sam mugs, glasses, shirts, plasticware, and opulent toys are now not too unheard of to receive, in particular at any time when the Summer Games roll around and the vintage mall vendors dangle their sales attach up with seasonal items. Costs can fluctuate broadly attributable to the Loopy Grandma Heed Manual make, so be cautious.
hey buddy, they would presumably maybe now not even let ME set aside on it
Well, you possibly can’t encourage a ethical eagle down. Sam the Olympic Eagle is peaceable seen yearly as the mascot of the Mt. SAC Relays at Mt. San Antonio College, allotment of the LA84 Foundation’s endowment, the utilization of the excess from the 1984 Olympic Games to “promote and lengthen youth sports activities opportunities in Southern California.” Withhold the ethical work, Eagle Sam! And at the same time as you occur to’d resolve on to know what it was once resolve on to in actual fact BE Eagle Sam, test out this podcast interviewing one of many other folks contained within the Sam mascot costume!
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-Dave Merrill
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