For God’s sake, I cannot do the “kame-hame-ha” inside the kitchen!

"Don't get your feelings hurt, but I'm still a lot stronger than you are." Those words belong to Number 18, a female android, talking to Krillin during a battle many years before they got married and had a daughter. If you ask me, this was the real and captivating essence in the female characters of Dragon Ball anime, and if you don’t believe so, take a look at the first episodes and you will see that I’m not so wrong. Failing that, keep on reading.

During many years, topics in most cartoons and films for little girls and teenagers had been about princesses, the charmed love, stories too pink and about the sense of playing safe. As a consequence of this stereotype, a little girl with different tastes to those expected by the majority of adults in western society was labelled as a butch girl, being stigmatized during her entire childhood. However, after a few years of female silent expectation, a huge phenomenon arrived to the screen in our country, Japanese anime. One of the most relevant cartoons of great success in Argentina was Dragon Ball, created by Akira Toriyama. Around 1994 till 1998, the saga reached its highest peak of fame. The most striking and curious fact about this cartoon was how the female audience, little girls and teenagers, were totally hooked with it. In fact, this is a reality that is still observed due to the fact that Dragon Ball has included female characters, being the most interesting of all that they are strong fighters, very passionate, totally independent and they love to take risks. But careful! There’s more behind the images you see! Because unfortunately, over the years the saga evolved, and despite the fact that Dragon Ball had tried to break the gender stereotypes including strong and independent fighter women, it ended up giving priority to the male characters. Is evident that our dear friend Akira couldn’t avoid the female stigmatization and in some way, he resigned himself to the implicit popular belief of many men, which claims that women can be really strong and independent BUT we don’t have to get tooooo excited with the idea. 

Take, for instance, the case of the main male characters of the saga, Son Goku, Son Gohan and Vegeta. They belong to a race of super warriors called Saiyajins, when they are too furious or exploiting their maximum power during a battle, they transform themselves in blond blue-eyed fighters, wrapped in a bright golden aura and a spiky hair is the icing on the cake. But what is really surprising is that although there are women with Saiyajin blood, they never reach that amazing power and what is more, they never suffer that kind of transformation. Now, this is relevant. The implicit message here it's that there are certain parameters that would indicate the extent to which women can be powerful and independent, even in cartoons. It's clear that the hegemonic ideology of men over women can't be eradicated completely, no matter how hard one tries.  

Another point to consider is that from the very beginning, women in Dragon Ball go over a process in which they are growing up and maturing, but leaving aside their real nature. Most of them end up married with the strongest guys (these Saiyajins warriors) turning into devoted housewives. Characters as Milk, Son Goku’s wife, Number 18, Krilin’s wife, and Videl, which is Son Gohan’s wife, are portrayed as dedicated mothers that make the house chores while their lovely and brave husbands fight saving the world. In some occasions, these female characters are allowed to witness the different fights but they never participate as they used to do when they were, let’s say, “single girls”. As a result, they adapt the role of faithful cheerleaders and all those qualities that once were so intriguing for the female audience, evetually disappear.

It’s well known that Dragon Ball's success can't be denied. The anime allowed little girls and teenagers the option to choose how they wanted to be represented and the possibility to find something different to what was being watched on T.V. programmes for little girls. Nevertheless, what it seemed to be a clear innovation about gender role stereotypes, ended up being more than what was being observed, the reinforcement of the idea that men are the only ones who have power, courage, strength and the chance of taking risks. In addition to this, women have to stay at home washing the dishes and watching from their passives roles, that have been imposed, how men save the world, taking over all the fun. 

If you've come this far, it means you've followed my previous advice. Now, the possible questions are: Will you support this “innocent” reproduction of gender role stereotypes? Are you going to let your little girls enjoy the anime even though they are exposed to this negative conception about the role of women in society? Try to give it a thought. 

A separate essay, in fact, a SEPARATE-BUT-EQUAL one

 

Do U Mind Being Obscured?

By Andrés Lema

 

When calling for an end to racism in the United States, Martin Luther King said: “I have a dream.” His transparent words shadowy contrast with “If you can dream it, you can do it”. This last phrase was the brilliant response provided by Walt Disney when asked about the success of the film Dumbo. The unclear contrast between those two phrases seems to be the key for the persistence of an obscure message the film transmits.

 

In October 1941 a white stork flew from Paris to a circus in Florida only to deliver a blue-eyed baby elephant. Its arrival to the land of opportunities (in fact, of opportunists) gave birth not only to the main character of the famous film Dumbo, but also to the perpetuation of a somber message.

 

Produced by the bright Walt Disney, this successful film shows the gloomy story of Jumbo Jr., a little big-eared elephant ridiculed and teased for having some large ‘wings’. Mute from birth, he is nicknamed “Dumbo”. Clearly, happy endings have always been profitable for Disney Animated Classics. So by the end of the film, Dumbo’s ears will allow him to fly and become the star of the circus.

For decades, millions of children have enjoyed the funny Dumbo, partly because they got important messages from the movie, such as how to overcome to the fact of being laughed at or bothered for having long ears, a big nose or any other ‘abnormal’ physical characteristic. But were these the only messages conveyed?

 

Perhaps, the charm of Dumbo’s Aryan eyes has blurred our perception. Even our memories about him might be biased as they were constructed during our innocent childhood. Still, such a somber message crops up during the whole film. The racist message Dumbo transmits has been spread for more than seven decades. Currently, this message continues its legacy.

 

During the 1940s, racism was unhappily present in many places around the world, and it was expressed in several ways, even through music. Songs are essential in movies, especially, in the ones for children. So let’s check one of Dumbo’s songs, which is ‘cheerfully’ sung by some coloured roustabouts in this wicked film: 

“We work all day, we work all night. We never learned to read or write. When other folks have gone to bed, we slave until we're almost dead. Muscles achin', back near breaking. Boss man houndin', keep on poundin'. For your bed and feed, there ain't no let up. Keep on working! Stop that shirking! Grab that rope, you hairy ape!”

Well, this black-hearted message of the 1940s was created neither in South Africa during the Apartheid, nor in Auschwitz during the Holocaust, but at Walt Disney Studios in America. Of course, in the lyrics, slavery is a terrible issue referred to, but why is this abuse only suffered by coloured people?

 

Secondary characters in the film make the racist expression utterly explicit. If we picked any scene having Dumbo performing a clown in the circus show, we would see peanut sellers being dark-skinned and the audience enjoying the show being clearly formed by white people.

 

Another attack on coloured people is portrayed by a group of crows Dumbo comes across in the film. Shown as poor and uneducated, this flock of black birds is the only group whose southern accent is stereotypically African-American. Blinking at Jim Crow laws, which were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States, the leader of the crows in the film is strategically named “Jim”.

 

To reach foreign targets beyond America, Dumbo finds no barriers. We can confirm that by watching Dumbo in its Spanish version, in which the crows are ‘casually’ voiced by Gipsies or Cuban actors.

 

If we had to play the devil’s advocate, we could argue that the movie transmits a positive moral about getting through some difficult situations. It encourages people to think in a different way. But this could be done without hurting people’s susceptibilities. Does the end justify the means?

 

Going back to the contrast between dreams, we can state that Disney has used a speechless elephant to convey a message as strong as Luther King’s speech. Unfortunately, within the scope of Dumbo’s racist message, we may find victims from any part of the world. The dark intention of the movie seems to be as solid as ever. And it will continue building success over obscure foundations.

Is green the new black?

New Orleans is the setting. The 1920’s the time. Jazz is a boom. Voodoo terrifies people and princess Tiana sets a cultural debate.  Black turns into green and vice versa in this new-fangled movie: “The princess and the frog”. Who is Tiana? She is the first Disney’s African American princess. It was about time for Disney to come up with something new. This movie tries to widen children views by showing different races and social classes in order to include a new culture into Disney’s world. But, ladies and gentlemen, it failed big time! Instead of showing how to accept other races and how not to discriminate, it did the opposite. The movie is a pitiful example of racial segregation. What was my first hint? Most of the movie, the two main black characters are actually green. Yes! Both, prince and princess, are cursed to be frogs. It took eighty-six years for Disney to please us with a black princess and to do what? Turn her green the entire movie! Come on Walt!

First of all, the most important and shocking proof of segregation in the movie is Tiana’s dream. She comes from a poor, hard-working and low class family who lives in a humble but cosy black neighbourhood. All Tiana’s parents have ever known has been working hard to achieve their goals. Even though they are very poor, their dreams are very rich and ambitious. Tiana fights against all odds to make her dream come true. After her father’s death she became a double shift hard working waitress in order to save every penny she could. She yearned to buy the huge abandoned building downtown where she pictured her restaurant coming to life. Surprised? Me too! The dream of this specific princess is not to marry a beautiful man, be rich, have children, etc. No way! The first African American Princess must want to work at her own restaurant. Why is it that this was not the dream of any of the other Disney princesses? I found it a bit offensive since the movie is set on the 1920’s, where black people were treated as an inferior class that was only good at serving others. If the writers of this movie were trying to be inclusive with the so called race of this princess, they did the exact opposite.

Adding even more evidence to this segregation issue, we have Tiana’s beautiful future husband, Prince Naveen. He’s a distinguished, foolish little man that comes from Maldonia. It is surprising that the only possibility for a black young woman is to get together with a man of her own race. Would it be so unreasonable for a black princess to marry a white, blue eyed and blonde prince? Instead of showing these trifles are not important, the writers are letting everyone see there is a large gap between black and white people that cannot be removed. The movie, indirectly or not, shows that the conflict at that time was that the black were meant to serve the white, not marrying them.

“The princess and the frog” fails to set a deserving place to black people in America. Disney tried, at least, to make the unthinkable effort to show others, that society was starting to accept the differences that were apparent at that time. But it fell in the pit of the same old stereotypes that, sadly, are still a current issue even nowadays. Bittersweet is the taste this movie leaves us with; because where black should have been important, green was dominant. Now, the final questions are: Do you want your children to reproduce these stereotypes? Or do you want them to be better than that?

Individual essay - Luna Cabré

Let The Lion Eat Them! 

By Luna Cabré.

Have you ever heard about the “inner child”? It is said that we all carry a little kid within us and that we need to satisfy this child from time to time. Whatever this means, it sounds creepy, doesn't it? Well, this odd child of mine (don’t get too upset, Axl) had never felt so melancholic before. It had an urge for watching one of those hilarious cartoons I used to watch with my brother and sister when we were little. Since this cute inner bastard is stronger than I am, I opened my laptop, went to YouTube and started to search among my favourite old cartoons for something to watch. Suddenly, a wild non-violent “Tom & Jerry” version appeared. Of course, my “Mini-Me” wasn't happy at all. Just to be clear, my “Mini-Me” is quite violent but it doesn't look like an egg. What’s more, this violent feature was actually turned on with this new version of the show.

 I’m going to be merciful with those of you who have never seen the original “Tom & Jerry” TV show before and tell you why this too-much-fresh-air thing is as annoying, ridiculous and frustrating as the baby-faced sun in “Teletubbies”. If you are asking yourself why a baby-faced sun would be irritating, you’re lucky and I have no reason to ruin your life. My humble opinion is that “Tom & Jerry” was, and will always be, the icon of violence in cartoons. Violence is the cheddar of the nachos in this TV show. And… Who the heck would want to eat nachos without cheddar? 

Old “Tom & Jerry” armoury isn't as abundant as the one from ACME but it’s still quite rich in content and doesn't backfire on the aggressor. Without the bombs, rat-traps, different guns, sharp axes, fork punctures, this show wouldn't have been as striking as it used to be. And without the hammer, mop, rolling pin, bowling ball, pan, golf club hits, this show wouldn't have been as funny as it used to be. Also, instruments were adapted not only to different geographical places but also to different moments in time. I don’t know about you but I think that a mace, a robot, a sword, a halberd, a futuristic gun or a battle axe is so much better than any conventional object. Don’t ask why, it’s something I'm treating with my therapist.

In fact, the extraordinary thing about all the previous objects is that all the inflicted harm is actually shown. Brutally and explicitly shown. However, this explicitness is necessary. The newest version of “Tom & Jerry” tries its best to maintain the basic feature of the show. Don’t hate me, they try… Every now and then, it’s possible to see a candle inside a mouth or a character being burnt by a hot cup of tea. However, it’s just not enough. It’s not possible to achieve it if a character is running across a full-of-broken-glasses kitchen as if it was walking down a hill full of daisies. Come on, man! It should at least hurt a little! Make a flinch, a yowl… Something!

“And then God said: Let there be light!”… And the producers made a gesture of “love” to Him or whoever dared to oppose them. It seemed that changing the whole essence of the cartoon wasn’t enough. It seemed that they needed to actually screw EVERYTHING up. When rays of light start to penetrate the dense and macabre haze of corporatism in the form of flying screw-drivers, aiming to leave a character K.O. for life, an almost impossible situation saves the day. Since it seems impossible to show the real consequences of getting holey, the character who is about to kick the bucket will magically find an umbrella made of steel or it will develop ultra-sight to evade the danger just in time. OK, I might be exaggerating a little. But, however extraordinary my imagination is, they evade those consequences that are essential characteristics of the show that most of us remember.

In the old cartoon, these screw-drivers would have reached the objective. What’s more, the natural result of ending up like a strainer would be clearly shown.  Have you ever noticed how detailed the captures of the injuries were in the old version? There wasn't place for saving one’s bacon. Take, for example, the hammer smashed tail, an icon from the show. Just in case you didn't realize how much it could hurt, if you couldn't tell that the hammer broke every single bone of it, an image of the beating swallowed tail tip would appear. Then, you could almost hear a voice saying “Fatality” before a “Hammer Wins” inscription emerged. In the “Tom & Jerry” version I treasure, reality is crude but real in the end.

It’s not that the newest version of the show sucks… Not at aaaaall… It’s just that it is so bad that I would personally ask someone to throw an iron at me. In the face, if possible. And it’s not that a cartoon with no violence is boring, but it should be at least realistic in some aspects. The main problem is that, no matter how hard the production tries, “Tom & Jerry” has become a dull cartoon; innocent persecutions and the changed core of the cartoon, bores the pants off everybody. This is for sure one of those cases in which original ideas are corrupted to get as more profit as possible. The corporation behind the TV show has shut all the blinds for originality. And just to be clear, it’s not a question of morals but of making money. “Tom & Jerry” has been adapted, modified and transformed to such an extent that if you change the main characters by some others, you would hardly recognise it. Michael Jackson is surely proud of this… Anyway, it’s getting more and more difficult to recognize the well-known “Tom &Jerry” cartoon that people remember from their childhood.

Tom and Jerry are now dead and the cause wasn't natural death; their skin wasn't ripped off and no train hit them. They were found with a “non-profitable” inscription stuck up to their heads. In a world in which money is the perfect excuse to do barely anything, corporations drain cartoons until there is not a cent, and no sense, in them. This is the moment we pick up the torches, the rakes and finish this catastrophe. Someone has to stop this. Justice has to be served. And my “Mini-Me” is starving…

Hi people! I'm sharing some information concerning PARALLELISM. So "What you see is what you get". Here it goes:

Individual Essay

Live and let live

“The unexamined life is not worth living”, Socrates said. His words reflect the importance of looking inside of us. His ideas were backed up by his disciple Plato, who has taught us that we must have the necessary courage to go out of the cavern of our own ideas and thoughts and from the comfortable zone we have created for us. “Yes, I am alive”, you may say. But are you brave enough to ask yourself and examine your lifestyle? What am I living for? Which are my goals in life? What helps me to do this is ‘Up’, the 3D computer-animated Walt Disney Pictures’ film, directed by Pete Docter in 2009. At this point, you may wonder how it is possible that a film for children can contribute to improve the quality of adults’ life.  Yes, definitely. ‘Up’ shows that life is worth living.

Having a goal in life is an anchor and a helm. Some elderly and middle-aged people just sit and wait for the inevitable end. But Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old widower, decides to go to South America on a last adventure. By attaching thousands of helium balloons to his house, he escapes from the possibility of being sent to a retirement house and tries to fulfill a promise he has made to his wife.

By caring about someone else, people can be happier. Carl has been mourning his wife. According to APA (American Psychological Association) to face the death of a beloved relative or friend is one of the most terrible pains you may suffer. Fortunately, there are several things that a person who is going through that stressful situation can do to relieve the pain. One of them is to help other people. In doing so, you will not only use your time but will help yourself to feel better. That is what Carl does, without noticing at first. Due to the fact that Russell, an eager boy scout, is trapped in his flying house, both, Carl and the boy himself, get profit from their company. They also help at least two animals during their journey: an exotic bird, which Russell calls Kevin, and Dug, an obedient dog, which has been mistreated by his former owner. At last, as an extra reward for caring about each other, Carl can visit Paradise falls in South America and Russell gets a medal for helping the elderly people.  

‘Life is an adventure’ is one of the messages that the film conveys.  A handwriting note that Ellie, Carl’s late wife, wrote in their book of photos states: “Thanks for the adventure. Go and get some more”. That encouraging advice helps Karl to realize that he has the possibility to carry on with his life and at the same to enjoy pursuing new goals.

As a conclusion, I can say that although Karl is a bit reluctant to grip life, he is able to improve it, not only by making new friends, but also by fulfilling the promise he has made to his supportive wife. Pay attention to Socrates’ and Plato’s pieces of advice. By watching ‘Up’, you can examine your life and get out of the cave. Perhaps you are not what you wanted to be. Go for it. You are not done yet. 

Question tags.

Question tags are short questions at the end of statements.
They are mainly used in speech when we want to:
confirm that something is true or not, or
to encourage a reply from the person we are speaking to.

Question tags are formed with the auxiliary or modal verb from the statement and the appropriate subject.

A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag.
Jack is from Spain, isn't he?
Mary can speak English, can't she?

A negative statement is followed by a positive question tag.
They aren't funny, are they?
He shouldn't say things like that, should he?

When to use the article "the"

• The definite article “the” is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. 
• “The” signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. 
• Notice the difference:

We live in a small village next to the school. (The school in our village). 

Houses are expensive in that neighbourhood. (All houses in that neighbourhood).

Follow your heart…

“Heidi”, the well-known story for children, was written by Johanna Spyri in 1881. This book was one of the most read around the world. It highlights innocence, human values and love of nature. There are many versions in films and TV programmes. In 1937, the book was turned into a film in which the famous actress Shirley Temple plays the role of Heidi, a little orphan girl. And the first animated cartoon of Heidi was released in 1974. It was designed by the Japanese Zuiyo Eizo and ZFD, a German company, and directed by Isao Takahata.

Heidi cartoon is a sweet girl who lives with his grandfather in the high mountains faraway from the noisy and populated cities. Although “Heidi” seems to be a harmless TV series, it portrays a simple set of values which might offer an alternative lifestyle that brings the status quo into question. She  leads a quite simple life full of important values such as love, freedom, simplicity, authenticity and happiness. This type of life contrasts with the lifestyle of the big cities, where those values are underestimated because people pursue expected standards of behavior to be socially accepted. Ostentation, luxury, vanity and appearances become the rules. Thus, in the city there seems to be another legitimate lifestyle.

Despite living almost a whole life without regulations, Heidi learns that there is a standard behaviour expected from society, when she must leave the Alps in order to take care of her friend Clara in the city. However, she feels entirely uncomfortable with the imposed social constraints that she encounters within the urban areas, where she can hardly live. As one of the main characters, Clara appears in the story as a disabled child since her early childhood. While living in a luxurious mansion, she leads an empty and oppressive social way of life, totally different from the one Heidi has.

Regarding Heidi , she is very sad and oppressed when staying at Clara’s house, but when Clara goes to the mountains for the first time, she discovers a magnificent and gorgeous scenery there, and besides, she finds out a feeling of comfort and a sense of identity and uniqueness. Both girls feel quite happy as they are in the high hills, to the extent that Clara overcomes her serious illness because she is able to do away with some rules and regulations.

“Heidi” series  shows that it would be possible to live a great life with different kinds of values, by comparison to those which are proposed by modern- day society where these moral principles would appear to be a natural choice. The question is: might it be possible for us to change the model suggested by the actual system in order to set free from social constraints? It depends on us!

---

Word order in indirect questions

Word order in an indirect question is the same as in a normal statement sentence: 
subject + verb + object

Examples:

Can you tell me where I can buy ink for the printer?

Can you tell me where can I buy ink?

-

He asked me why I wanted to work for their company.

He asked me why did I want to work.

-

I'm calling to ask you what the number of the last invoice is.

I'm calling to ask you what is the number.

-

Do you know how much it cost?

Do you know how much did it cost?

-

Did she tell you how it happened?

Did she tell you how did it happen?

Grupal essay!

Magic Rule #2: Parents Should RIP.

By Luna Cabré and Macarena Fernández.

How would you describe “freedom”? Would you say that “freedom” equals money? Well, if you think about it, money usually opens up new possibilities to obtain those things that, without it, it would be impossible to get. A jet plane, maybe... But, hey!  Guess what! At my sister’s birthday, all the adults were discussing about money and as I saw my niece watching TV and laughing without concerns, I asked him what “freedom” equals from his cute but lethal 10-year-old point of view. With his sweet smile, he took his eyes off the TV, landed them on my sister and answered “If you ask me, I would make her disappear together with my homework...”  

At first, the word “disappear” didn’t had much logic . Finally, I understood the idea of making someone vanish when I saw what he was watching that afternoon on the TV. I didn’t need more than a couple of minutes to witness how, to the wave of a magic wand, The Fairly OddParents TV show vaporized all parental logic and mocked at the figure of the adult. Of course, the party ended with a family discussion about manners, a kid wishing a magic wand more than ever and a curious aunt watching cartoons.

Going back to this “inspirational” TV show, I must admit that I laughed quite a lot at characters. Yes, the funny part of the show relies on how much you can laugh over someone. Even though it is possible to find adults in different living situations (and this social and economic diversity seem worthy of mention), it seems natural for the parents of the story to be childish. This childishness affects every adult in the cartoon and, from time to time, makes you forget that some characters are actually parents.  

Although families have changed its traditional form, the role of parents has always been a key topic of discussion. If we look back, the role of parents has always mutated throughout history. However, something that has never changed is the vision of parents as the responsible ones for their children.

From Chester’s lower-class family to AJ’s wealthy family (both the protagonist’s best friends), not even one parent seem to accomplish a good care of their children. Hence, this does not depend on monetary, educational or cultural issues. AJ’s mother main appearance in the show focuses on telling her son to think about redecorating his bedroom after breaking into it with a “parental battering ram”. AJ’s parents always ignore their son’s reality. He is not only bad in socializing with others but also carries on different dangerous experiments that, of course, they totally ignore. In addition, Chester’s reality does not really differ from that of AJ. His father is a disgraced ex-baseball player who hides himself from society using a paper bag over his head. In conclusion, Chester lives like a rat (and he is also assimilated to every time he sees cheese) while his father seems to be more worried about himself than about his son.

This parental neglect not only affects secondary characters but also the main protagonist himself. Timmy’s parents don’t spend their time with their son because they are always working or having fun on their own... They behave as if they don’t have a son, forgetting that they are the authority figures, and in really few occasions they realize about Timmy’s presence in the house.

Roles aside, adults are the centre of attention most of the time. Whenever an adult appears, it is surely because something funny is going to happen. A serious adult is old fashion and, since Timmy has the opportunity of turning whatever he dislikes into something wonderful for the eye of a child, they are ridiculed in such a way that you know you are going to laugh if an adult appears in the scene. For example, there is an episode of the show in which Timmy’s father wants to participate in a beauty contest and, as he is not allowed to do so, he dresses like a woman turning himself the object of ridicule. Monkeying when appearing, you get the feeling that whenever he is going to appear, it will be a funny moment.

So remember, don’t do what my niece did at home, and if you ever feel tired of your parents’ lack of attention to you, tell your fairly odd parent to make them disappear for you! In case you can’t afford one, contact Mr. Hartman... He will surely find a way to make your parents look awfully bad and have a good a time. 

An essay, by Andres Lema & Mariana Alamos

Unfit fitness

“It makes me immensely proud to know that I’ve made a contribution to Japanese football.” Those words belong to Yoichi Takahashi, the creator of the manga Captain Tsubasa. And that phrase seems  to be relevant when we confirm that the influence of his creation made the national football team of Japan not only debut in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but also qualify for the following World Cups ever since. Such influence is credited by the constant growing of football popularity in Japan. That is why, the manga and especially the anime, which was created two years later, have been regarded as the correct prescription for increasing football’s motivation in that country. Moreover, that influence has crossed oceans and cultures due to the fact that the anime has been translated into several languages and the Japanese names adapted to a more occidental lifestyle. In Latin America, the anime is known as Super Campeones and the main characters are Oliver, Bruce, Steve, Benji and Andy. But can we find side effects in a worldwide famous programme? Harmful effects, such as parental pressure over children, focus on winning rather than on participating or painful training seem to have been outshined by the beneficial effect of the anime.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), overweight and obesity in the under-twenty-year-old Latin-American population range from 20% to 25%, i.e. 1 out of 4 children or adolescents has one of these affections. WHO points out that junk food and lack of physical activity are the main contributors to overweight and obesity. That is why some may not agree on paying attention to the negatives aspects of the anime, such as extreme competition, and just celebrate that a TV programme encourages physical fitness. However, we consider that Captain Tsubasa promotes unhealthy competition.

The role of parents is really decisive because they exert pressure over their children in subtle and direct ways. Tsubasa (Oliver) is obsessed with football, his motto being “The ball is your friend". His obsession is backed up by his father, who is usually absent as he works in the navy. Still, he sends a former professional Brazilian footballer, Roberto Zedinho, to train and make his son a sport hero. Tsubasa's mother is his first fan. She supports him daily but she doesn't correct her son when he doesn't do his school homework or doesn't inform her where he is.  She wants Tsubasa to become a football star, too. But she is not the only example of parental oppression. Ryo Ishizaki, best known as Bruce, is one of Tsubasa's mates. His mother is always at the stadium watching his matches and madly shouting to her son that he must be the best. In one episode of the anime, it is raining heavily and Ryo Ishizaki's mother is allowed to be around the bench and offers her son and his football mates some tea to prevent them from getting flu. Her son and his mates will not feel ill, but his opponents will in the following chapter. What mother will allow her child to face a storm and give a hot beverage as if it possesses magical properties? Parents in the anime drop unnoticeable but strong hints about how a champion must behave and suffer.

The main characters are able to perform amazing but at the same time impossible dribblings and passes. To achieve that perfection, the players must train harder than their opponents do by being exposed to extended training periods. And when all the players, struggling for breath, are allowed to go to the changing room, Tsubasa continues practicing his 'Drive Shoot'. Due to his determination and stubbornness, Tsubasa masters this technique. During one match, he makes a plea to the coach to continue playing, even though he has a badly injured shoulder, because he has promised to himself to perform that shot in that match. Would a couch put his best player at risk just for a promise?

Throughout the whole anime, it is clearly showed that losing is unacceptable and that successful footballers can show off. These situations are portrayed by different characters, for example, by Kojiro (Steve), who is famous in Japan for his 'Tiger Shoot". He is able to perform this powerful shoot from the mid-field and to break the opponents' nets. And he boasts about this ability, encouraging other footballers to compete against him. But ironically, when Kojiro becomes a member of the Japan Football National Team, he is expelled by the coach alleging that his shots are too weak, so Kojiro cannot be accepted in that team. He will not be allowed to be a member of the team unless his shoots are strong enough to go through a sea wave. Another conceited character is Genzo (Benji Price), an excellent goalkeeper, but at the same time an authoritarian vain boy. He is not only admired, but also praised and respected for having such negative qualities. Although Genzo mistreats his mates and does not accept 'losers' in his team, they love him and feel that they deserve being mistreated because Genzo is someone superior to them just for having some football skills.

"My heart is still beating" says Misugi Jun, Andy Johnson in the Spanish version, who is holding his chest while he reveals his mates and opponents he suffers a heart illness. That is why he has never played for more than 15 minutes. During an important match, he decides to play the whole game even though his decision may cost his life. His friends, coach, manager and even his parents, who are watching motionless from the galleries, support his decision. He plays the entire game and of course, he does not die. All his friends and opponents express that it has been an honour to have been chosen by Misugi Jun to watch him almost sacrifice his life on the football pitch.

Although the anime has encouraged some talented Japanese footballers, for instance, Sotaro Yasunaga and others from around the world, such as Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi and Andrés Iniesta, we shouldn't turn a blind eye to the adverse effects the manga fosters. The match between "No pain, no gain" vs "Healthy competition" is still being played and broadcast. So far, the former is beating the latter. But the questions are:  which of them are you going to support? Are you going to let your children enjoy the anime and be exposed to negative influences and wrong values?