Egypt Today, the magazine of Egypt
Go Nagai: I have been asked the same question about Dr. Hell several times here in the Middle East, but I'd like to point out that Dr. Hell is not supposed to be German. I would never associate the "bad guy" with a particular nation, because it would be unfair to the people of that country. We have already seen many Hollywood movies where the bad guys were sometimes Russians, sometimes Arabs, and I don't really think this has helped in spreading understanding between cultures.
Go Nagai: I believe animation has helped the world to discover the real soul of Japanese people and their culture, more than anything else. I am looking forward to an original Arab entertainment industry to develop and extend its reach internationally, because I believe it will eventually help in tearing down all the walls and the barriers created by centuries of misunderstanding or biased reports by Western media that have been diffused about the Arab culture.
Go Nagai: Images of the Middle East we get on Western or Japanese media are totally different from the reality I had a chance to see during this visit. The people of the Middle East are incredibly warm and welcoming, and I have been overwhelmed by their love for Grendizer and Mazinger. Also, I had a chance to visit four totally different countries (Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Dubai) just to find that you cannot speak of an Arab world as something indistinct, but there are many different societies that compose such a world. Media depicts the Arab world with the images of the streets of Gaza, or of the 9/11 attacks, and I think this is a very reductive, biased, and consequently abusive way to convey the real spirit of the Arab culture to the world.
