Award-winning Japanese manga author, Naoki Urusawa, has auctioned off signed copies of his artwork to raise proceeds for Palestinian families in Gaza through Japan’s Watermelon Seeds Fundraiser.
The winning bidder posted a photo of a signed copy of volume 10 of Urusawa’s manga, entitled Billy Bat, on Instagram, stating that all the proceeds from the auction will be donated to families in war-torn Gaza by Japanese NGO, Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC).
JVC carries out humanitarian aid missions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It provides free medical checkups and various training programs for women to raise their self-esteem and give them medical know-how in the absence of professional assistance.
The auction winner, who goes by the username “Variantgogon” on Instagram, shared his acquisition with Moroccan content creator whose real name is Aymane and who runs a Urusawa fan page on Instagram entitled “Shinobi_20thcb.”
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In an exclusive interview with BarlamanToday, Aymane shared his thoughts and contribution to the auction, often obscured in media due to the language barrier and lack of media coverage.
Aymane was one of the few content creators who shared the previously Japan-exclusive auction, which quickly went viral among manga fans online.
Thanks to his contributions, the auction made its way out of Japan into Europe. Variantgogon acquired the signed copy of the Billy Bat manga for a large but undisclosed amount, according to Aymane.
In a show of gratitude, the winner shared a note with Aymane after winning the auction. “We did it, Shinobi! Free Palestine.”
After a hiatus from posting on social media, Aymane decided to resume posting on social media after the release of the animated adaptation of Urusawa’s manga “Pluto” on October 26.
The Moroccan content creator felt inspired by Pluto’s subject matter, which criticizes unlawful military occupation and war in its dystopian, sci-fi depiction of the Middle East. The anime’s release coincided with the beginning of the war on Gaza earlier that month.
“Naoki Urasawa is a brave artist . . . . He attacked Western powers in his anime (Pluto) and their indifference to Arabs and other victims of war, such as the Vietnamese people,” Aymane said.
Urasawa stands out in the manga industry as an artist who humanizes people living in the Middle East and North Africa through his works.
Japan’s manga and anime industry typically fetishizes the Arab world, due to the closed-off nature of Japanese society and limited contact with the Arab world.
Urasawa is also considered an artist who changed the history of manga, having won numerous awards, including the Shogakukan Manga Award three times, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize twice, and the Kodansha Manga Award once.
Bong Joon-ho, the creator of the Palm d’Or-winning film Parasite, called Urasawa “the greatest storyteller of our time.” Dominican-American writer Junot Díaz called Urasawa a “national treasure” in Japan.
As of December 2021, his various works had sold over 140 million copies worldwide, making him one of the best-selling authors of all time.
Aymane is one of many Moroccan fans who appreciates Urusawa’s nuanced representation of the Arab world and criticism of unlawful laws and occupation.
“My final mission is to share Urusawa’s message with the world,” Aymane said.