Naomi Osaka continues to shatter the glass ceiling for the next generation of young female tennis players. Forbes magazine named Osaka as the highest-paid female athlete between June 2019 and June 2020. The 23-year-old continued her dominance on the court by winning the US Open in September, but a hamstring injury forced her to end her season prematurely. Nevertheless, Osaka has continued to be a trailblazer off the court, and she recently inspired a new Manga character for a popular comic magazine in Japan.
Osaka inspired an original Manga cartoon character for a Japanese comic magazine
The comic series titled, “Unrivaled Naomi Tenkaichi,” will debut in the Nakayoshi magazine in February. The main anime character in the magazine was modeled after Osaka, and the publication recently revealed the striking black anime Manga cartoon on its social media accounts. Osaka’s sister, Mari,and Japanese animator, Futago Kamikita designed and drew the character for the new anime series. Osaka acknowledged her new cartoon character and claimed that she was excited to have been involved in the project. The 23-year-old added that she was honored to have inspired an original Manga cartoon because she had grown up reading the popular Japanese comics. Tennis fans have congratulated the US Open champion for her latest accomplishment. Fortunately for Osaka, her latest animated character was a fair depiction of her appearance.
The Japanese star was not happy with Nissin’s cartoon advert that whitewashed her looks
Last year, the three-time Grand Slam champion expressed her disappointment after one of her sponsors designed a controversial cartoon that misrepresented her appearance. An advert by Nissin received criticism for its white animated cartoon that was meant to represent Osaka. Fans blasted the company for whitewashing Osaka’s appearance, and it had to pull down the advertisement and apologize for the incident. On her part, the Japanese star revealed that she had reached out to the commercial sponsor after the incident. While Osaka insisted that the company had not intended to whitewash her appearance, she maintained that she would have more input in future advert campaigns involving her image.
It seems that Osaka is happy with how the latest animated cartoon projected her looks. The Japanese star has been vocal about the need for racial equality in her country, as well as the United States. After the murder of George Floyd earlier in the year, Osaka decided to use her social media platforms to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, the 23-year-old wore seven different masks during her run at the US Open that bore the names of African Americans who had unnecessarily lost their lives because of police brutality. Osaka appears to have found her voice in 2020, and she is proving to be an influential personality for the next generation.
Naomi Osaka in 2020
Currently the world no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 12th of September when she overcame Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
This season Osaka has a composed 16-3 match record. Osaka has won 1 title at the U.S. Open. The Japanese was the runner-up in New York.