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13th, 14th Paralympics Anime Shorts Feature Character Designs By Hisashi Eguchi, Kazuhiko Shimamoto
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The 13th and 14th installment of the NHK's "Anime x Para: Who is Your Hero?" (Ani × Para: Anata no Hero wa Dare Desu ka) animated project will feature character designs by manga artists Hisashi Eguchi (Stop! Hibari-kun) and Kazuhiko Shimamoto (Blazing Transfer Student) respectively. In anticipation of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the 5-minute shorts will focus on winter sports.
Both shorts are produced by Nippon Animation and will air on February 20 on NHK BS1.
Eguchi's short (will focus on para-alpine skiing. It tells the story of the fictional character of Momo Minamikawa (pictured top-right); she is based on Momoka Muraoka, who won five medals for Japan at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang. Actress Marika Matsumoto will play Minamikawa, and the voice actress Kaori Nazuka will also have a voiced role. Awesome City Club will perform the theme song "On Your Mark."
Shimamoto's short will focus on para-snowboarding. It tells the story of Mayama, who is based on the professional snowboarder Keiji Okamoto. The story depicts him getting injured during a competition and turning to para-snowboarding. The voice cast will include Takuma Terashima. WurtS will perform the theme song "Spaceship."
"Anime x Para: Who is Your Hero?" is an animated series aiming to increase interest in parasports ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Previous shorts in the series collaborated with Captain Tsubasa for blind soccer, Baby Steps for wheelchair tennis, renowned Ashita no Joe artist Tetsuya Chiba for wheelchair rugby, and Yowamushi Pedal for para-cycling, among others. The project started in 2017.
Source: Comic Natalie
