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INTEREST: 10 Manga Legends & Artists Celebrate 40th Back to the Future Day With Art

OK, cool artwork. But one thing, I didn't know Back to the Future franchise is really big in Japan, am I correct on this?

OK, cool artwork. But one thing, I didn't know Back to the Future franchise is really big in Japan, am I correct on this?

I believe the original Back to the Future film won Best Film of the year at an important Japanese science-fiction Awards. The '80s version of Himitsu no Akko-chan referenced BttF's poster in its ending sequence (which itself referenced other famous movies, like Superman '78, Indiana Jones and E.T., among others). The original Resident Evil 2 developers mentioned that BttF's time travel inspired the alternate routes aspect of the game, and a car similar to the Delorean appears at the beginning of the game when you play the second route. There's a sort of BttF reference when playing Metal Gear Solid 3 in Japenese, if Big Boss dies, Colonel Roy Campbell mentions that a Time Paradox has been created, Roy's seiyuu, Takeshi Aono, voiced Doc. Brown in BttF Japanese dub. Also, Universal Studios Japan also had the Back to the Future Ride, and I think it lasted for quite some after the attraction closed at the U.S. parks.
So yeah, it seems Back to the Future was quite a popular film in Japan.

I believe Back to the Future is, at the very least, a very strong cult classic over in Japan. I mean, there was a Super Famicom game based on Part II that was exclusive to Japan.

I believe Back to the Future is, at the very least, a very strong cult classic over in Japan. I mean, there was a Super Famicom game based on Part II that was exclusive to Japan.

Given the time travel and sports premise of the series, what are some of your favorite time travel media (movies, games, TV shows, and so on) and sports media?

HISHIKAWA: For me, it's definitely Back to the Future.

HIDAKA: Me too! Me too! Me too!

It's a classic.

HISHIKAWA: It is.

Back to the Future is a three-part series. Is it specifically Back to the Future you enjoy?

HISHIKAWA and HIDAKA: (thinking) Yes.

HIDAKA: But I like all the Back to the Future movies. I like Michael J. Fox. I really like him.

HISHIKAWA: The quality of the movie is high, and although I don't have a long attention span, it's a film that keeps me thinking "Wow" the whole time. So it's a film I really love.

If you watch Back to the Future and other time travel stories closely, you can see how things change. Is there something similar in Turkey!-Time to Strike-?

HIDAKA: That's true. In Back to the Future, there are people who intentionally try to change history, but in Turkey!, they try to avoid changing history as much as possible.

HISHIKAWA: That's right.

HIDAKA: Right. Mai and the others are living in the Sengoku Period, anxious that if they don't protect the history, they won't be able to return to their own time. However, they dig a hot spring, claiming it will be beneficial to the country. But I think they're doing it because they know there will be a hot spring there in the future, and they think it might be okay for a hot spring to appear at any time. So, maybe they're looking at it in that sense. In Back to the Future Marty tries to avoid the future he's never been born in, so I think they're similar in that respect.

HISHIKAWA: For me, my first impression of Doc Brown and Nanase was rather strong—that they are both strange doctor types–knowledgeable but a little different from other people in some way. I think without someone with a little strange knowledge, the characters would never be able to return to their original time. So I'm glad they're both in each of the works.

I know of the western things Japan does like are Disney, Star Wars, Apple Products, Colombo and TMNT?