Naruto: Japanese animated series celebrated with great fanfare at Grand Rex

Recognized Japanese animation expert Sebastien-Abdelhamid Godelou was in Paris last Saturday to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the animated series Naruto on the Grand Rex stage. Much more than a mere audience success, the anime occupies a special place in the French audiovisual landscape, while seven years after its manga ended, it is still among the best-selling comics in France.

Although he has just announced his new collaboration Naruto With the famous brand shoes, Sebastien-Abdelhamid agreed to return our microphone from this series, which is dear to him. Completely sold in Grand Rex!

What is your relationship with Naruto TV series?

Naruto holds a really special place in my heart. I went back to manga and anime with Naruto. I find that this work is unimaginable on so many levels, even more than twenty years after its creation. Naruto is and will remain a precious work to me.

In your opinion, what role did the license play in the world of manga and anime?

I think Naruto is one of those licenses that has brought fresh air to the whole culture. In particular, Naruto made it possible to recruit fans of new anime and manga and at the same time restore old fans who were no longer watching after the big licenses expired. Naruto is ultimately the perfect layout for the stars: the perfect time to publish, a brilliant story, and high-quality work on both the script and the characters or the fights. In addition to the revival, Naruto also made it possible to set new standards.

Why is Naruto still so popular in France even though the manga was discontinued a few years ago?

I think Naruto belongs to our culture today, as do other glorious characters in manga and animation. The fact is that Naruto is transgender, this tremendous feature allows him to be discovered even today by people of all ages! Twenty years after its debut, Naruto remains immensely popular as this work has been able to maintain through its diverse characters – and especially thanks to its title character – a very important emotional relationship with its fans and it is strong, very strong!

What do you think of the idea of ​​being able to gather a few thousand fans for a special evening at a legendary movie theater like the Grand Rex?

It’s a dream for me, there were over 2400 people, we sold it in just a few minutes, I’m very grateful. The madness is that this evening is a revelation, it is a revelation of my collaboration and very modestly I have never seen a event with similar content for this type of launch.

For me, from the beginning it was always an idea to do this in Grand Rex, a room I especially like because the evening is completely free! It was totally imagined with the fans and for them. I want this event to be a great meeting for all these enthusiasts, it’s very important to me. I want to see happiness in people’s eyes, this is the best reward for me.

Why is Naruto a series that perfectly obeys the Declaration (manufactured products, fan art, new manga releases, etc.)?

Naruto is a huge, rich world that is very powerful in terms of iconography and the visual world. The elements are instantly recognizable and assimilable to Naruto. When I started working on couples, I knew from the beginning where I wanted to go.

It was a real pleasure because as a fan, I was able to rewrite the spirit of the characters I chose during the artistic side of the performance to be able to wear the pairs, importantly, I do not do the subject lambda, I do the pair. Sneakers, designed to be worn, loved, seen and appreciated! So I honestly think we did a very good job.