This year let’s give thanks to our mothers for remembering the times we almost died.
In many parts of the world another Mother’s Day has already come and gone. And with much of the world on lockdown and a killer virus that targets the older people on the loose, this holiday was a probably much lower key affair, without the panties or rose-flavored Kit Kats of previous years.
But at least in the sterile environment of the internet, the Mother’s Day spirit lived on. On social media many celebrities and corporations paid tributes to mothers everywhere, including none other that the official Twitter account of globally loved manga and anime soccer star Captain Tsubasa.
▼ “#Mother’s Day Thank you, Mother!”
That’s a sweet sentiment, sure, but the included image turned more than a few heads. It shows the pages of the manga in which Tsubasa’s mother recounts the pivotal moment in his infancy that set him on a path to become a soccer legend:
“It was a miracle… The moment you got hit by that car… And even when you hit the asphalt… The ball acted like a cushion and you didn’t receive a single scratch.”
It’s certainly a famous scene from the series featuring the protagonist’s mother, but hearing the story juxtaposed with the tweet’s caption of “thank you, mother” is a little confusing. Does it mean, “Thank you, mother, for reminding me about that time you watched me almost die,” or is “thank you, mother, who is a soccer ball,” a better way to interpret this?
▼ The anime version of the scene
Others online were equally taken aback.
“Was this the best image they could find?”
“The ball is my mother.”
“They should have saved that tweet for Ball’s Day.”
“Happy Mother’s Day, Roberto.”
“That kid had a hell of a grip.”
“What’s going on here.”
“The kid was hit by a truck. I’d be more worried about internal bleeding due to blunt trauma than scratches.”
“The ball is really coming across as a better mother than her.”
“What kind of a parent lets a one-year old play in traffic?”
Well… They always say it’s the thought that counts, and even if that thought isn’t well-understood by anyone, it’s still there and it counts.
I’m guessing this was the result of the fact that Tsubasa’s mother doesn’t play a huge role in the series, and the official Twitter account simply selected this scene because of the large drawing of her in it.
And considering Captain Tsubasa’s father was largely an absentee who was too busy sailing around the world to spend time with him, perhaps they should steer clear of Father’s Day too. Instead, the franchise can stick to more suitable and safe holidays like Sports Day or… I don’t know… Setsubun?
Source: Twitter/@TusbasaPR, Hachima Kiko
Top image: YouTube/Llama Lamp
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