Hang in There, Japan!
The recent earthquake in Japan has caused a lot of grief and heartache. Akira Toriyama wrote a message to the Japanese people wishing them good luck in their recovery. He said:
Hang in there~!!
To all the victims,
This is truly awful, but please don’t give up,
and hang in there no matter what!
– Toriyama Akira
(Translation by Hujio, from Kanzentai.com)
The Weekly Shonen Jump Editors also wrote a message below Toriyama’s illustration, wishing everyone a speedy recovery.
In Toriyama’s illustration, Goku and Arale-Chan from Dr. Slump ride aboard the Kinto-un while a golden Immortal Dragon flies behind them and the 7 dragon balls follow our hero upward into the sky.
Goku’s cheerful appearance and the overall symbolism imply an optimistic rebirth and a long life; an eternally youthful state of perseverance and rising ever higher.
Japan, perhaps now more than ever, needs the dragon balls and a hero like Goku to save the day.
Update! (Mar 28, 2011)
Shueisha and Toriyama have collaborated along with other manga artists in a relief effort.
Shueisha released a video that allows people to contribute their “genki” to the genki-dama (spirit bomb) and send it to Japan. By watching the video Shueisha will donate a small amount of money to the affected areas.
Toriyama also drew some new art along this same theme, found on the Japanese Shonen Jump site, where it can be downloaded as a wallpaper.
The art contains a drawing of Goku holding the genki-dama above his head, and Mister Satan is cheering the world on, saying “Thank you everyone!! The genki-dama is getting bigger and bigger!!”
It’s unfortunate that it takes multiple tragedy’s to cause people to come together to help others. Still, when all is said and done, at least there are still enough good people around that help is available..
"Japan, perhaps now more than ever, needs the dragon balls and a hero like Goku to save the day."
Gee Derek… I am not sure on what to say about that line…
I wish I could go to Japan and help directly, but we can only do what is possible with our current limits. I did donate some money to an organization called Hands On Tokyo I believe as they were the nearest japanese organization I could find since the Japanese Red Cross only allows donations from inside Japan.
But also, I have to look for my country too, as the situation is not getting better and innocent people also are falling for what is going on. If anything, not only Japan needs Goku, but the world!
But… not sure how to place it… well Goku himself said it better during his confrontations with Buu. Which would bring to the following line which is a sort of ripoff on some popular film of lately… that Goku "is the hero we need yet not the one we deserve."
Good job on the donation.
I heard about what is going on in Mexico. Hope you and the people you care about stay safe.
What you said reminds me of when Goku said that it’s really up to the living to save the world. We each have to do our part, and by working together we can make a difference.
Hope in the end the Japan people will get the help they need. Because there is a lot of a problem, and they must get through with it. Let’s see how they will manage to get over with. Japan is great!