Arab News Japan
After Turkish and South Korean Olympic sharpshooters Yusuf Dikec and Kim Yeji went viral on social media, Japanese X users have been making manga-inspired art of them and comparing them to iconic anime characters such as City Hunter’s Ryo Saeba and Jujutsu Kaisen’s Satoru Gojo.
51-year-old Dikec competed in the 10-metre pistol mixed team shooting event at the Olympics in Paris, where he won a silver medal. Unlike other competitors, the Turkish athlete showed up in casual clothing and did not wear any specialized eyewear, giving him a nonchalant feel that resonated with anime fans.
The Turkish shooter went viral amongst Japanese fans as they gave him the nickname ‘Uncle Free-to-Play’ (無課金おじさん in Japanese), comparing his dementor and lack of gear to gamers who don’t spend money on in-game purchases but still manage to win.
“This Turkish man is so cool, I had to sketch him,” said a Japanese artist on X, formerly known as Twitter, whose artwork went viral as it gained around 30 million views. “When I drew him, I realized how cool his posture is.”
The Japanese artist praises Dikec’s cool way of presenting himself, saying, “It’s great how he is just wearing an everyday t-shirt,” and “his face has a wonderfully natural expression.”
トルコのおじさんあまりにかっこよくてスケッチしてしまった 描いてみるとあらためてわかるんですけど姿勢の美しさがすごいわ pic.twitter.com/DAjEvKowDV
— さかき (@sakakir) August 1, 2024
Manga artist Haruta Yamazaki also created fan art of the Turkish shooter. “I drew the Turkish shooter because he looked so cool,” his drawing said.
翻訳してほしいとのリクエストいただいたので
English ver. pic.twitter.com/dsuLSeLDjX— 山崎ハルタ (@harutan044) August 2, 2024
Moreover, Dikec, who received extra love from Japanese users for posting wholesome photos of his cat, has been compared to multiple renowned manga characters. One user compared him to Saeba, the protagonist of the 1995 anime City Hunter.
The user shared side-by-side photos of the manga character and Dikec, saying they have a similar shooting style. In the manga, Saeba is known for doing a ‘one-hole shot,’ where he shoots multiple bullets that land in the same spot.
パリオリンピック射撃で「トルコのおじさん」・「無課金おじさん」と呼ばれて銀メダルを取ったユスフ・ディケチ選手だけど、射撃スタイルがシティーハンターの冴羽獠っぽいよな。 pic.twitter.com/iAQNMVO7bC
— 猫ゲーマー (@fate565) August 1, 2024
Another user compared Dikec and Saeba in a viral tweet that said, “Saeba’s shooting style is not just cool, but actually makes sense.”
冴羽遼の撃ち方、カッコつけてるんじゃなくて理に適ってたのか pic.twitter.com/D2zzUz2vgu
— 金沢 容 (@kanazawa_you) August 1, 2024
Furthermore, South Korea’s Kim also went viral amongst anime lovers for resembling many iconic characters, specifically Gojo from the critically-acclaimed anime Jujutsu Kaisen.
A X user showcased a photo of the 31-year-old Korean shooter and Gojo holding the gun the same way while they are both wearing a black zip-up hoodie.
same pose. same aura. insane pic.twitter.com/2zX3iiorxT
— Michaela 🍓 (@Michisugussy95) July 30, 2024
While the South Korean athlete is currently competing in the Olympics, she went viral for breaking the world record at the 2024 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup earlier this year. A clip showing her relaxed attitude while breaking the world record resulted to many people saying it gave off ‘main character energy.’
Since both athletes went viral, many Japanese and international fans have been asking to see them in an anime together. “On the left (Kim) is the protagonist,” said one user. “On the right is Dikec. He would be that one character in the anime everyone would stay clear of for reasons long lost in time.”
On the left Kim Yeji, she is the anime protagonist.
On the right is Yusuf Dikec. He would that one character in the anime everyone even the Demon Lord would stay clear of for reasons long lost in time. Just leave him alone.https://t.co/ctaKq5B9IE pic.twitter.com/CXfGgJBZYz
— ultrapurwater (@ultrapurwater) July 31, 2024
Fans have created various artworks of the two athletes together, with one artist creating an anime film poster based on the shooting competition that features Daehan Choe of South Korea, who went viral for his arched pose while shooting an air rifle at the Olympics.
劇場版、パリオリンピック射撃。
無課金おじさんよ、永遠にーーー pic.twitter.com/hBRqmFbXmU— MYU@雑音系少年少女 (@myu060309) August 1, 2024
Another Japanese fan recreated the athletes in a watercolor manga style drawing.
オリンピックの射撃 無課金おじさん
ユスフ・ディケチュ選手
と韓国のキム・イェジ選手を描いてみました。 pic.twitter.com/XGEZgiIU71— yukinoshin_fubuki (@YukinoshinF) August 1, 2024
Additionally, international artists @luckymong1 and @AwesomeTomato18 created manga inspired drawings of the athletes that gained popularity on the social media website, with the former gaining more than 35 million views.
Who you got? 🇰🇷 vs 🇹🇷 #Olympics #김예지 #YusufDikec pic.twitter.com/koe0b02D0i
— Jay Kim (@luckymong1) August 1, 2024
If the #Olympics was a manga
🇰🇷 VS 🇹🇷#김예지 #YusufDikec #無課金おじさん #shootingsport #OlympicGames #fanart #KIMYEJI pic.twitter.com/QtGOD591cm— Tomato Styles (@AwesomeTomato18) August 1, 2024
The Paris Olympics is currently on-going and will conclude on Aug. 11. Japan has won eight gold medals, five silver medals and nine bronze medals as of Aug 4.