The opening ceremonies for the 2021 Olympics are underway in Japan, after the world-ending delays of last year pushed the date back. And while the country is still dealing with spikes in Covid-19 cases there is something normalizing about the world coming together to compete.
If this is the first time you have ever heard of Japan, you might be surprised to learn that the country owns its nerd culture pretty heavily. This is the country that gave their favorite Kaiju Godzilla official citizenship and advertised these Olympics in Brazil with their prime minister popping out of a green pipe. Hell, if the 2020 Olympics went off without a hitch it would have been a solid reference to the critically acclaimed Akira, which also featured the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This is why it was not a major shocker that even during the opening ceremonies we got a taste of their video game industry, and they did not disappoint. As the athletes enter the Olympic site, representing their countries, a familiar song was playing and many people took to social media to point this out.
A mix of songs from Japan’s long-running Final Fantasy series played as the athlete’s waves to the crowd, and the crowd cheered back. It is the perfect music to start the games, symbolizing hero’s fighting against insurmountable odds and overcoming hardships to achieve victory.
While JRPG’s got the biggest presence during the entrance it was not the only game from the country to get in on the act as Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Monster Hunter, and Sonic the Hedgehog also had music, with more as well. However, it was when my favorite song from the Final Fantasy series, the original theme song started to play that I personally got hit in the feels.
For gamers, the opening ceremony was a celebration of Japan’s nerd culture on the highest stage. Who is to say we will not seem more from that side of japan as the event continues.
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