Influence and success of the Arabic edition of UFO Robo Grendizer: Adoption of a Japanese icon in the Arabic-speaking world

Artists, Aesthetics, and Artworks from, and in conversation with, Japan - Part 2 Pub Date : 2020-12-20 DOI:10.32926/2020.9.elm.grend

Karim El Mufti

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

UFO Robo Grendizer, a Japanese anime character produced in 1975, was immensely popular in Arab countries. Adapted into Arabic in Lebanon as it was enduring a devastating civil war, the program was broadcasted in 1979, then during the 1980s across many Arab audiences (mainly Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf). The cartoon’s narrative of alien invasion and heroic resistance, using cutting-edge technology in the form of Grendizer the super-robot, mirrored the harsh reality of war and occupation that so many Arab populations endured during the same period. This paper aims at uncovering why Grendizer struck such a profound echo in the minds and hearts of the generation of children who found in the character a super hero figure as an escape route to their world’s problems. It will also address the impact of this Japanese cultural reference onto Arabic audiences and highlight how the cartoon came to be domesticated for an Arab context, thus leaving its original universe and encompass the mindset, reflections and expectations of many Arab generations.

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阿拉伯语版UFO Robo Grendizer的影响与成功:日本偶像在阿拉伯语世界的采用

1975年制作的日本动漫人物UFO Robo Grendizer在阿拉伯国家非常受欢迎。该节目于1979年在黎巴嫩被改编成阿拉伯语，当时黎巴嫩正在经历一场毁灭性的内战，然后在20世纪80年代在许多阿拉伯观众中播出(主要是叙利亚、约旦、埃及和海湾地区)。这部漫画讲述了外星人入侵和英勇抵抗的故事，使用了超级机器人格雷迪泽(Grendizer)的尖端技术，反映了许多阿拉伯人在同一时期忍受的战争和占领的残酷现实。这篇文章旨在揭示为什么格雷迪泽在这一代孩子的思想和心灵中产生了如此深刻的共鸣，他们在这个角色中找到了一个超级英雄的形象，作为逃避世界问题的途径。它还将探讨日本文化对阿拉伯观众的影响，并强调这部漫画是如何被阿拉伯语境所驯化的，从而离开了它原来的宇宙，并包含了许多阿拉伯世代的心态、反思和期望。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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Artists, Aesthetics, and Artworks from, and in conversation with, Japan - Part 2

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