In a long-standing debate, some people posit life imitates art more often than art imitates life.

Yet, it may be rare that real humans are able to match and exceed the deeds of anime heroes who sometimes posses superhuman abilities. Recently, two real-world stars rose to the challenge. Twitter user @AftamC shared images on Monday noting how real-world celebrities have surpassed the accomplishments achieved by their anime counterparts. The tweet reads, “Reality finally surpasses anime.”

https://twitter.com/AftamC/status/965187009663844353

In Yuri!!! on Ice, protagonist Yūri Katsuki’s sets a new world record at the Grand Prix Final with a men’s free skate score of 221.58. In the real world, Olympic gold medalist and figure-skating idol in Japan Yuzuru Hanyu set the new world record of 223.20 at the 2017 World Championships.

Incidentally, Hanyu also became the first man in 66 years to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in men’s figure skating on Saturday. Yuri!!! on Ice fans might call him a “History Maker,” and Hanyu’s recent success has led commentators to refer to him as the greatest men’s figure skater of all time.

In March comes in like a lion, shogi player and protagonist Rei Kiriyama reaches 5-dan at 17 years old. However, Sōta Fujii won the Asahi Cup tournament this past Saturday to reach 6-dan at 15-and-a-half years old. He is now the youngest player in history to win both a championship and reach 6-dan.

Nevertheless, Fujii still has some work to do. In response to @AftamC’s tweet, some fans noted that The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done! protagonist Yaichi Kuzuryū achieved shogi’s top title of “Ryuo” (Dragon King) at the age of 16.

With luck, Hanyu, Fujii, or another prodigy yet to make waves may be able to beat more anime records. As real athletes improve and the popularity of tournament anime continues, real humans may surpass more accomplishments once thought to only be possible in the 2D world.

Source: Hachima Kikō
Featured image: Twitter/@AftamC

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