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Los Angeles Chargers NFL Team Releases Yet Another Anime Schedule

The Los Angeles Chargers has done it again. The popular NFL team posted its upcoming schedule as an anime video; just like last year's schedule, it is chock-full of anime references and NFL in-jokes. The highlights this time include Chainsaw Man, Hunter x Hunter, Kaiji, and My Hero Academia.

Some notable anime references are listed below:

0:10 – An homage to Genos from One-Punch Man.

0:21 – Tennessee Titans star Running Back Derrick Henry gets rebuilt a-la Cyborg from Teen Titans.

0:27 – Vikings QB Kirk Cousins poses as Giorno Giovanna from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, referencing a viral video of Cousins celebrating, shirtless and blinged out, after a win.

0:32 – Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels is shown with an angular face reminiscent of Kaiji as he gambles at a slot machine. This is referencing the team being based in Las Vegas and its attempts to sign a number of veteran quarterbacks.

0:35 – Chargers QB Justin Herbert copies the iconic shot of Gon fishing from Hunter x Hunter. This is a reference to a meme of Herbert as the president of his high school fishing club. A Psyduck from Pokémon is also present in the shot.

0:43 – Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott sees a real tweet from the team's official Twitter blaming him for the team's playoff defeat last season, then gets run over by the Content Team's truck. This is a reference to the common isekai trope, as well as a visual metaphor for him getting thrown under the bus.

0:58 – The Gambling Hotline number is in reference to several Detroit Lions players who were recently suspended for violating the NFL's sports gambling policies. It is shown right next to the Detroit Lions mascot reskinned to look like Pochita from Chainsaw Man.

1:09 – Former Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers went on a “Darkness Retreat” offseason where he lived in total darkness for several days to contemplate whether he wanted to retire from football. His eyes and face are drawn to resemble the art style in Dragon Ball Z.

1:17 – Baltimore Ravens waits outside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z, referencing a protracted negotiation this offseason with Quarterback Lamar Jackson.

1:19 – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick living up to his nickname as the evil overlord of the NFL. The video screens are a reference to “Spygate” in which Belichick and other Patriots staff were caught using cameras to spy on opposing teams. The throne he sits on visually resembles an identical shot of Father from Fullmetal Alchemist.

1:25 – Denver Broncos Quarterback Russell Wilson faces off against Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants. This is from an actual broadcast of a Broncos game on Nickelodeon, where a VTuber version of Patrick commentated on the game and savagely dunked on Wilson after throwing an interception.

1:30 – Chargers team members dress up as Akatsuki members from Naruto. This is quickly followed by a shot referencing the "dedicate your heart" salute from Attack on Titan.

1:39 – The Buffalo Bills burn emblems of Super Bowls 25-28, where the team infamously went to 4 straight Super Bowls and lost every time. The members here are shown looking like characters from the Yakuza video game series.

1:44 – The Broncos are shown in a style resembling Aggretsuko. The sign reading "Let's Ride" references Russell Wilson's awkward catchphrase: "Broncos Country, Let's Ride!"

1:55 – A quick shot referencing Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

2:02 – Former star Chargers players and coaches are shown as the past wielders of One For All from My Hero Academia.

There are some other NFL deep cut references scattered throughout the video, including at 0:46 to “Chiefsaholic.” This is a famous Kansas City Chiefs fan who would attend every game wearing a wolf mask, and was arrested last year after allegedly robbing a bank in the same mask. He later went missing after skipping bail and currently has a warrant out for his arrest. This is all completely true; football is wilder than anime.

Some of the other NFL-specific references are below:

0:01 – The “27-0” receipt is in reference to the Chargers' infamous blown lead during last season's playoffs, where they eventually lost 31-30 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

0:15 – Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was allegedly caught vaping on the sidelines of the team's final regular season game by TV cameras.

0:24 – The Vikings' home stadium, US Bank Stadium, is infamous for its design which routinely causes birds to fly into the building, killing an average of 77 birds per year.

0:50 – Chicago Bears in “rebuild-a-bear.” This is a reference to how the team is rebuilding after several years of terrible seasons, and slowly rearing new Quarterback Justin Fields.

0:52 – A New York Jets player is shown looking up at Times Square and seeing several memes, including a viral rumor that Jets QB Zach Wilson allegedly has a penchant for sleeping with older women and an image of former Jets QB Sam Darnold being ruled out of a game for having mononucleosis.

0: 57 – Sports commentators Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless are about to have a fight. Bayless' outfit is in reference to a notorious meme of him in an...intense photo.

The team released its previous schedule in anime form last May, featuring references to One Piece, Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, Attack on Titan, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Naruto, among other anime series.

Thanks to Nick Dupree for assistance with the NFL references.