Right after its live-action film rocked theaters in Japan, it looks like Tokyo Revengers is getting a whole lot of attention but for a much worse reason. Recently, new merchandise was released for fans to purchase including several hoodies, shirts, and jackets. This sounds great on the surface, but some of the clothing featuring a symbol that looks suspiciously like the Nazi swastika has anime fans up in arms.
Recommended VideosIn the series, the “Tokyo Manji Gang” features the left-facing symbol known as a manji (卍), an ancient Buddhist symbol for good luck and prosperity with much significance in Japan. However, not all fans recognize this, instead seeing the infamous right-facing Nazi symbol (卐) which also hold significance in Hinduism, but has since been maligned due to its connections with the fascist group.
While many fans think the merch looks amazing, quite a few are sad that they could never wear it without the potential implications of they themselves being Nazis in other parts of the world.
LMAO, I was thinking of the same thing
— (｡･ω･)ﾉﾞ (@Chiuchiyin) October 18, 2021And while many did outright mistake the symbol as a swastika…
Nah wtf ill beat the shit out of someone if i see them wearing this in public https://t.co/ASyl4kkjUM
— donuts (@ZylemNoHoes) October 17, 2021It’s not a swastika man pic.twitter.com/eMxyWpliCU
— rosinante🎭 (@margiwrld) October 16, 2021Others tried to educate the masses about the history of the manji.
For those wondering that symbol isn't a swastika that the Nazis used it's a symbol that the Buddhists actually used way before that even native tribes use that symbol I don't remember the right definition of it but if I remember it's for path
— Tommy the living shitpost (@LivingTommy) October 14, 2021Manji is how the swastika actually looks. It's not supposed to be angled
— kwillzmz (@itsyamithekami) October 17, 2021While western releases of Tokyo Revengers have since censored the manji that appears, it seems they can’t entirely stop audiences outside of Japan from getting angry every time they see the manji in other forms of merchandise. It seems that many fans of the show and manga won’t be touching any of this new merch for obvious reasons.
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