Indonesia just celebrated Independence Day on August 17. The buildings are decorated with red-white ornaments. The neighborhood organized low-budget traditional tournaments like sack races or kerupuk eating competitions (Though some neighborhoods also held more “modern” competitions like e-sport tournaments). Public institutions often held their internal competition too, and they even ask their employee to wear a certain dress code like red-colored dresses for this occasion.
Riding the vibes of celebration, we compiled a list of scenes where Indonesia is mentioned in anime, manga, and other Japanese media. Some of the scenes are funny, some are weird, but there are scenes that sad and enlightening. Here is our list:
“Selamat pagi”, “Selamat malam”, and “Selamat tinggal” in Nichijou
Nichijou‘s gags are quite random. In an anime set in Japan, “Selamat pagi” (good morning in the Indonesian language) and “Selamat malam” (good night) came out of nowhere. It’s funny, especially for us Indonesian and other Malay-speaking countries. For Japanese tough, the terms must be confusing. (Tanto Dhaneswara, KAORI Newsline)
Nichijou often throws some Indonesian influences in the anime. In episode 7, Yukko, who often says “Selamat Pagi”, took the train earlier than Mio and Mai. She departed without her friends. While being laughed at from the train windows, Yukko says the word “Selamat Tinggal” to her friend, which means “Goodbye”. (Keinda D. Adilia, The Indonesian Anime Times)
Tempeh in Food Wars! Shokugeki no Shoma anime episode 16/manga chapter 43
In this episode, Joichirou Saiba cooked something unusual in his culinary battle against his son, Soma Yukihira. He prepared ramen, an unusual dish for breakfast, and used ingredients based on plants. To replace the meat, Joichirou used tempeh, a traditional Indonesian food created by fermenting soybeans using a fungus called Rhizopus Oligosphorus.
It leads to a scene where one of the jury, Satoshi Ishiki, explained that tempeh is an Indonesian food that exist for 400 years. Another jury, Megumi Tadakoro, tried soy sauce-covered tempeh (which looks like tempeh bacem, a type of tempeh that tastes sweet because it’s soaked in spiced water), and said that the texture is similar to char siu (Cantonese style BBQ pork). To see Indonesian food described in a such detailed manner, it just sparks the pride feeling inside me. (Aldin Firgiawan, KAORI Newsline)
A Familiar-Looking Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in Blue Archive
The ATM shown in the background is similar to an ATM of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), a bank that is commonly used by Indonesians.
This moment comes out of nowhere. I was playing Blue Archive during the Catch in Neverland event, then suddenly in the game background, I see an ATM that looks very familiar. It’s just there, an ATM that I see in my everyday life. It made me laugh. Either there’s an Indonesian illustrator involved as a background artist, or the game illustrator happened to look for references in a faraway place. (Tanto Dhaneswara, KAORI Newsline)
Gelora Bung Karno Stadium as the venue for Asian Youth Competition in Captain Tsubasa World Youth Version Manga Volume 7 to 11
Let’s face it, Indonesia’s national football team is bad. Even in the Captain Tsubasa World Youth Version, Indonesia’s national football team is eliminated in the group stage after four consecutive losses. But that doesn’t mean we’re not happy when Indonesia is mentioned in the manga. The tournament’s venue is a real-life Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, which at that time is still called Senayan Stadium. The Japanese U-18 team also trained at Lebak Bulus Stadium, a real football stadium that was demolished in 2013. Our national team may not be strong, but seeing a real Indonesia football stadium mentioned in a Japanese manga is fun. (Dany Muhammad, The Indonesian Anime Times)
The list is continued on the next page.
