The intense training, relentless push to become stronger and 'never give up' attitude so prevalent in many anime titles, especially in major shonen franchises like Naruto, Dragon Ball and Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Slayer, mirrors the daily focus of professional athletes in many ways. However, logically, the overlap is obvious. The crossover between professional athletes and anime may be surprising, as in theory, these interests seem to lie in two very different worlds. Schuster recently partnered with NFT ON1 Force and posted about an upcoming collaboration, stating, 'I found inspiration in heroes overcoming obstacles, in anime characters who made anything possible.' Williams has dubbed himself the '1st Swagg Kazekaze' both during Sunday Night Football and in almost all his social media accounts.
Other popular NFL players like the Saints’ Jamaal Williams and the Patriots’ Juju Smith-Schuster have routinely used their platforms to promote their favorite anime. American football players especially have been very public in their connection with anime - indeed, the Los Angeles Chargers have had anime-themed promotional schedule release videos for the past two years.
The connection between pro-athletes and anime, while interesting, isn’t new.
