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Captain Tsubasa creator targets real-life football glory

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Captain Tsubasa creator targets real-life football glory

Japanese cartoon hero Captain Tsubasa inspired Lionel Messi and countless other football stars worldwide. Now its creator is laying down his pen and aiming for the top with his own real-life team.

Yoichi Takahashi began writing the comic strip about 11-year-old football prodigy Tsubasa Ozora in 1981 and saw it grow into a global smash hit spawning animated films, video games and even statues in his hometown in eastern Tokyo.

Known as “Holly e Benji” in Italy and “Super Campeones” in Spanish-speaking Latin America, the franchise was avidly read and watched by players such as Messi and Andres Iniesta on their way to superstar status.

Now Takahashi is preparing to wrap up the comic series and focus on a different passion — attempting to lead his local non-league side into Japan’s professional J-League in his role as owner.

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The club were renamed Nankatsu SC — after Captain Tsubasa’s fictional school team — when Takahashi came on board.

“I can do something new from here,” the 62-year-old told AFP at his Tokyo studio, adorned with signed football shirts given to him by famous fans such as Iniesta and his former Spain team-mate Fernando Torres.

“It doesn’t mean that I’m completely stopping all creative work. I’d like to start something new in my own way while I still have the energy.”

Takahashi became hooked on football after watching the 1978 World Cup on TV.

He created Captain Tsubasa with the intention of helping to popularise the sport in Japan, which did not have a professional league at the time.

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Now, more than 100 countries are believed to have tuned into the series and the stories have sold more than 70 million copies in book form in Japan and more than 10 million overseas.

“I had no idea that people around the world would see it,” he said.

Captain Tsubasa Stadium?

Takahashi says the upcoming series of the comic will likely be the last he draws, although the beloved character will live on in other formats.

He says he is looking forward to being free of weekly deadlines and has “no bad feelings” about stopping.

Takahashi became involved with his local club 10 years ago and took over as owner in 2019, helping them rise to the fifth tier of the Japanese football pyramid.

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Nankatsu are now just two promotions away from reaching J3, the third rung of the J-League.

Takahashi believes they can go all the way to the top flight but he says the essence of the club is more important than league position.

“In Europe it’s just natural that you support your local club, but we didn’t have that culture in Japan,” he said.

“I didn’t have a local club so I wanted to create one myself.”

The J-League will kick off its 30th anniversary season later this month, and it has grown from 10 clubs in 1993 to 60 across three divisions.

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Nankatsu’s local government last month announced that it would buy land to build the club a new stadium, which they would need to gain J-League membership.

Takahashi says it could be named “Captain Tsubasa Stadium” and there are plans to include a museum of character memorabilia to attract tourists from all over the world.

The club have even recruited big-name players to help their promotion push, signing former Japan internationals Junichi Inamoto and Yasuyuki Konno.

Messi magic
Takahashi says being a club owner is “sometimes fun, but more often it’s difficult”.

“With a comic, you can shut yourself away in a room and draw it as you see it, but when you’re an owner, you have to meet a lot of people and come up with plans.”

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He has played a big part in helping football culture take root in Japan, and believes there is room for it to grow further.

He thinks Japan can win the World Cup in his lifetime and he sees similarities between young national team forward Takefusa Kubo and Captain Tsubasa.

Takahashi was in Qatar to watch last year’s World Cup final, and was happy to see Messi finally lift the trophy after years of trying.

But he says Captain Tsubasa’s ability to inspire is something that “doesn’t just go for superstar players”.

“Comics are something that, at heart, are for kids,” he said.

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“If a comic can have a positive impact on kids at that stage of their lives, then that makes me very happy.”

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Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned

Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned

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Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned

Harvey Weinstein is due to appear in state court in Manhattan on Wednesday for the first time since New York’s highest court threw out his 2020 rape conviction last week.

The hearing before Judge Curtis Farber will give prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers a chance to address the next steps for the former film mogul, which could include a new trial.

“Harvey is looking forward to his day in a fair court,” said Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer.

Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York. He is currently at Bellevue Hospital, where he was transferred following last week’s order, according to Engelmayer.

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Jurors in Manhattan convicted Weinstein in February 2020 of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. They are among more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

The conviction included charges of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape. Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone, was acquitted on other charges.

The verdict was hailed as a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.

Last week, the New York Court of Appeals found that Judge James Burke, who presided over the trial, made a critical mistake by allowing three women to testify about alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein that were not part of the criminal charges against him. The court said this “prior bad acts” testimony violated his right to a fair trial.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has signaled it plans to retry Weinstein.

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“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for Bragg, said in an email last week.

The case was brought by Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance.

Regardless of whether he is retried, Weinstein is not likely to be released from jail because he was also sentenced to 16 years following his separate rape trial in California. The two sentences cannot be served concurrently.

Burke is no longer on the bench, so any retrial would be before a different judge.

Weinstein co-founded the Miramax film studio, whose hit movies included “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.” His own eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.

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‘Operation Madonna’: Rio readies for singer’s free mega-concert

‘Operation Madonna’: Rio readies for singer’s free mega-concert

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'Operation Madonna': Rio readies for singer's free mega-concert

Madonna’s long-awaited free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach has upended the neighborhood, with over a million fans expected — but for retired resident Mario Renato Borges, it’s the least the singer deserves.

“Welcome, Queen,” read some posters near the huge stage erected on the Brazilian beach, where Madonna will on Saturday give the biggest show of her 40-year career and the last of her “Celebration Tour.”

The 65-year-old American singer arrived in the coastal city on Monday after more than 80 shows in Europe, the United States and Mexico. This will be her only stop in South America.

The “Like A Virgin” and “Material Girl” performer traveled to Brazil with three planes and 270 tons of equipment, according to her production company.

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She has set up camp at the luxurious Copacabana Palace hotel, connected to the stage by a suspended catwalk that dozens of fans crowded under this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star.

The biggest dance floor

Thanks to free admission, organizers expect Madonna’s concert to produce the “world’s biggest dance floor” of up to 1.5 million people — a figure only reached on the same beach by the Rolling Stones in 2006.

“The traffic is chaos but the concert will be great, especially because it’s Madonna, the queen of pop,” says resident Borges, who lives in Leme, a neighborhood at the end of Copacabana Beach.

Madonna’s fourth performance in Rio will contribute some 293 million reais (US$57 million) to the local economy, an income 30 times higher than what city authorities invested, according to the mayor’s office.

Around 150,000 foreigners are expected to swarm the city, with most hotels already fully booked.

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“This will undoubtedly be one of Rio’s biggest international events. It will boost our economy and attract tourists from Brazil, Latin American and all over the world,” said the city’s Tourism Secretary Daniela Maia.

Return of the conical corset

Madonna fever is clear to see in Rio — the so-called “Marvelous City” — as the hours tick down to her performance.

At the Lix printing shop in the popular downtown Saara shopping district, the songs of the “Material Girl” are playing on loop to inspire devotees who can choose from personalized fans, hats or mugs.

Manager Livia Reis, 23, tells AFP that her store went viral on social media shortly after the concert was announced thanks to an influencer who visited the Madonna-inspired shop.

“A guy came in, took a photo and a video, and sent them to a fan club with 150,000 followers in Portugal. From there, it jumped to TikTok and Instagram,” she says.

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One particularly popular item is a replica of the conical corset created by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, which Madonna famously wore on stage in 1990.

Sold as a bra or a top, the item is “doing very well,” says Reis, who expects there will be “queues out of the door” in the days ahead of the concert.

Patrols on the corners

“All this activity is good for tourism, hotels and restaurants. But let’s hope the security is up to the task,” says 68-year-old Rio local Borges.

The mayor’s office has prepared an operation equivalent to New Year’s Eve celebrations in Copacabana, one of the most famous in the world that typically brings down some one million people.

“Operation Madonna” will see some 4,500 agents deployed, working with drones and facial recognition cameras. There will be police patrols on almost every street corner in the neighborhood.

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Nagila Alves, 54, who works for a pest control company, was on her way to a client’s home when she stopped to take a photo of the impressive stage set up for Madonna.

“I will always love her. Madonna is timeless,” she tells AFP, adding she plans to delay her arrival on Saturday to dodge the crowds swarming to the front of the stage.

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Selena Gomez on social media: ‘I find it frustrating’

Selena Gomez on social media: ‘I find it frustrating’

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Selena Gomez on social media: 'I find it frustrating'

Selena Gomez feels frustrated by social media. The 31-year-old star has a huge online following, but Gomez often takes breaks from social media platforms to escape the negativity.

The brunette beauty – who has more than 400 million followers on Instagram – said at the TIME100 Summit: “I find it frustrating. Then I get a little mouthy and I want to defend the people I love.”

Gomez believes it’s important to take breaks from social media to retain a sense of perspective.

The actress – who is currently dating record producer Benny Blanco – explained: “I took four years off of Instagram, and I let my team post for me for those years. I felt like it was the most rewarding gift I gave myself.”

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Meanwhile, Gomez previously claimed that there’s “so much strength in being vulnerable”.

The Only Murders In The Building star has spoken openly about her mental health struggles over recent years, and Gomez admitted that she’s found it to be a “very freeing” experience.

She told Wondermind: “I don’t love giving advice because I don’t have all of the answers.

“I’d say, though, find a friend or a family member you feel comfortable talking with and open up about what you are feeling. It’s very freeing to open up to someone. There is so much strength in being vulnerable.”

Despite this, Gomez doesn’t have any regrets over how she’s dealt with her own struggles.

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The actress – who first found fame as a child – explained: “I try and not look back and wish anything could have been different. What I am happy about is that more people are opening up about their mental health.”

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