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In the past few decades, the influence of anime and manga has reached the absolute corners of the world, making almost every other individual a fan of the art form. It is slowly transitioning into the mainstream world, and much of the credit for this goes to Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ballfranchise, which serves as the epitome of the anime and manga industry.
The influence of the industry was recently witnessed when legendary football player and coach Thierry Henry talked about his favorite anime character and taunted others for not watching or readingDragon Ball.He pointed out that Son Goku, the protagonist of theDragon Ballfranchise, was definitely one of his favorite characters.
However, at the last moment, he changed his choice and decided to go with Cobra, from the underrated Japanese manga series by Buichi Terasawa, which came out in 1978. The manga series had multiple anime and movie adaptations that were quite popular in Japan and France.
Thierry Henry loves Dragon Ball Z
CBS Sports Golazo Networkrecently shared a special episode featuring football pundits where they were asked about their favorite “cartoon” character.
“If you don’t watch Dragon Ball Z, that’s on you.” 😭Thierry Henry’s favorite cartoon character might just surprise you 🤣pic.twitter.com/sYztFQhKPq
While names like Bart Simpson and Scooby-Doo were flying out, Henry decided to ask whether the characters from the manga art form were a fair deal or not. When he got the thumbs up, the first name that came to his mind was Son Goku.
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The popular French football player and coach pointed out that he is quite versed in the manga world and thus would like to choose Son Goku as his favorite character. He then went on to say,“If you don’t watch Dragon Ball Z, that’s on you,”which indirectly explained his love for the franchise and for the art form in general.
Not only that, when his colleague and former English football player Micah Richards also showed interest in “Goku,” Henry corrected him and pointed out that his name actually is Son Goku. This proves that Henry is indeed a big fanofDragon Ball Zand the protagonist of the series, Son Goku.
Thierry Henry names his favorite character
Although Henry showed keen interest in Son Goku and theDragon Ballfranchise, he ultimately changed his decision and decided to go on with another manga character who was quite famous in the previous era of the anime and manga universe. This character is called Cobra, and he was the protagonist of the manga series with the same name.
Cobrainitially started serialization in the late 70s and 80s, but the manga got the real hype when it got adapted into multiple anime series and movies. From there on, the series earned great recognition in Japan and France, and the character of Cobra became an influential figure. The story involved space adventure, science fiction, drama, and action.
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Henry mentioning an underrated gem likeCobrafrom the past means that he has been a fan of the anime and manga industry since childhood. However, he is not the first sports influencer who has expressed his love, as other prominent players andathletes have also been fans of the Japanese art formand have publicly acknowledged it.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
