Ask John: Is Latin America Ever Featured in Anime?

Question:
Is Latin America ever featured in anime, or is it mostly overlooked?

Answer:
Despite the fact that anime is popular in Latin America, anime rarely refers to Latin America or occurs in Latin American settings. I don’t think that this omission is a result of intentional disregard. Rather, I think that Japanese manga creators and animators aren’t especially familiar with Latin America, and therefore don’t usually think about the region.

I can provide a few examples of references to Latin America in anime, but none of these examples are especially major. Kazuo Koike & Ryoichi Ikegami’s Kizuoibito manga series and its anime OVA adaptation begin with a Japanese news crew visiting Brazil. The 1998 Tenkuu Tenshou Nazca television series involves Incan warriors reincarnated as modern day Japanese students. Osamu Tezuka’s Daishizen no Majuu Baghi manga and its anime adaptation occur partially in a non-specific South American jungle. The original Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures OVA series opens with a scene of a Mayan human sacrifice. And the second episode of the 1977 Lupin the 3rd television series, “A Bouquet of Bills Blossom in Rio’s Sunset,” (“Rio no Yuuhi ni Saku Satsutaba”) revolved around Lupin attempting to steal from Rio de Janeiro’s Stadium Maracanan, and eventually making off with Rio’s famous giant statue of Christ.

These examples are relatively small scale instances of reference to Latin America in anime. And I have little doubt that there are other examples I’ve either forgotten about, or examples I’m not familiar with. But these few examples do establish that, although not a frequent or major consideration in anime, Latin America hasn’t been totally ignored by anime.

Addendum:
A reader reminded me of an additional example of an anime set in Latin America: the 1982 anime television series The Mysterious Cities of Gold, which occurs parially in Peru. A different reader reminded me of two additional examples. The 2005 Jinki:Extend television series is partially set in Venezuela (although the setting has little impact on the story or the visual appearance of the show). And the current El Cazador television series is set in South America, with the characters traveling from Mexico to Peru. Finally, I’d also like to point out that several episodes of the 1994 anime television series Montana Jones occur in South America and Latin American locations.

Additional addendum:
A second reader has pointed out that the Golgo 13: Queen Bee OVA and third Black Jack OVA include Latin American settings.