France is obsessed with anime & manga (especially ONE PIECE) - here’s why

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Hey everyone, I just posted a follow-up video about how Zoro was actually inspired by a real-life French pirate with a crazy backstory: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWmrpGRjqrWDiqM If you liked this video, check it out and let me know what you think! Thank you so much for all the likes and comments, you guys are awesome! I've been having a blast reading about your experiences with One Piece and manga/anime in general, so please keep them coming! Archie

[@Deejaws]

Wow, as a french speaking (belgian) guy, i'm really surprised by the research you did for this video, everything is really accurate, just to add a little info, the producer of "Club Dorothée" said in a interview, that in order to fill "Club dorothée" with new programs/tv show thay litteraly had to go to japan, and the japanese were so happy to see their programs go international that when they decide to sell those programs to Jean-Luc Azoulay, they sold those programs not by name/license but by "weight", so when Azoulay came back from japan he had let's say "200 kilogram of anime" he didnt know what he had, and that's why he came back from japan with fist of the north star and city hunter, they didnt know what they had, they had to heavily censor Fist of the North star, and city hunter too, wich was really dubbed in a funny way, the bad guys in city hunter are really funny to listen, cause in order to "de dramatize" the scenes they all speak like a comedy cartoon. When you know city hunter you know that's a anime that was aimed for adults. Same for Fist of the north star, the main protagonist spend his time to do wordplays with his techniques. "Hokuto de cuisine" "Hokuto à beurre" Hokuto sounds like "Haut couteau" couteau meaning knife so "Hokuto de cuisine = Butter knife" etc ... I think we (french speaking audience) were the first in europe to get Saint Seiya and Dragon Ball (and DBZ) Anyway, very great job Archie, i hope my broken english is not too broken for you to understand ;)

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@Deejaws Thanks a lot, I’m glad you enjoyed it! And your English is great (better than my French for sure), I understood everything perfectly! That’s so interesting, thanks for sharing this. It’s crazy that he bought it by weight without knowing what was in there, imagine his reaction when he first saw what he got, he must have thought he hit the jackpot. It’s like the best gachapon ever! I really need to watch some of these older shows in French, I love that so much clever wordplay went into the dubs.

[@redmoon8085]

Above all, you should know that the main reason is that France was among the first countries in the world to buy Japanese anime really outrageously cheap and broadcast them on TV outside of Japan. The anime/manga culture began in France around 50 years ago at the end of the 1970s and directly exploded in the country, while the world became interested in it much later. In France it was not uncommon for the French to know Japanese anime/manga better than American anime/comics.

[@walid2223]

France: I love japanese culture 😍 Japan: I love french culture 😍

[@SpammySpamton]

...And that's how best friends are made

[@PavillonNoirParis]

@@SpammySpamton Nobody likes their neighbor, we prefer someone who lives far away and whom we know through stereotypes, that's not friendship, if we exchanged the geographical location of Japan with Germany and put China in place of France, there would be no more friendship.

[@tenshi-no7902]

me and my sister joke a lot abt that

[@nirodim4895]

vrais reconnaissent vrais

[@YK36Deadezio]

Because Jules Brunet the first weeb.

[@thevipblink8571]

2:35 i don't think y'all understand, Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or was a GAME CHANGER. Everyone I know (I'm french) LOVES it no matter the age. The opening is legendary.

[@syntheretique385]

Not to forget Capitaine Flam ( fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitaine_Flam ), Space Pirate Captain Harlock and aforementioned Ulysse 31.

[@blarze16]

didn't liked it much when i was young (like prob 10 yo). (I just didn't understande what was happening in the story) but i can still feel like it s was a good one. (Je suis aussi françai)

[@shimotakanaki]

Enfant du soleil ! Never really see that show but the opening is awesome

[@toinouant4509]

It's literally one of my favorite shows growing up

[@thevipblink8571]

@@blarze16 c'est le moment de re-découvrir !!

[@Shiftarus]

France knows a revolutionary when they see one

[@Alban_Blade_Memer]

Yeah f*ck the gouvernement

[@freegamer8313]

we're pretty good when it come to revolutions :)

[@melo3101]

This is unironcally probably the most important reason why we live so much one piece

[@c0r3theta]

Don't threaten us with a good time On va bien s'amuser

[@immkk1125]

@@freegamer8313 oui oui, enfin…combien de ces révolutions ont elles servi à changer quoi que ce soit? la france a juste l’image du pays de LA révolution, mais vous n’êtes pas un peuple de révolutionnaire et la révolution n’est pas née en france. ça me fait rire un peu tant c’est ridicule mais bon, en attendant les vrais peuples révolutionnaire ont été les haïtiens, les cubains, les vietnamiens et tant d’autres, des peuples qui n’ont toujours pas peur de se relever pour encore se révolter et se tenir du bon côté de l’histoire, leur courage et leur dignité continuent de perdurer! je n’ai rien contre la france, mais j’ai vraiment un problème avec cette fausse image que le monde s’est fait d’elle. comment être le pays de la révolution quand elle avait des colonies? et qu’elle refuse encore et toujours de traiter dignement ses territoires hors métropole? je ne vais même pas parler de la kanaky qui devrait être le visage de la révolution

[@neilhannan7525]

If there is one thing that Unites all of France 🇫🇷 it's there Hatred of their Government 😂

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

They certainly know how to protest when they don’t like something the government is doing! I was here during the strikes against the pension age changes, I was blown away by how many people came out for them and how long they went on for!

[@NamelessUnicorn]

​@@ArchieTalksAnimeProtesting is a right everyone has here, also everyone is focused heavily in politics even at young age. Politics in France is the most discussed subject everyday.

[@shirankedo-ib8uv]

The hatred between Japan and France began with Ubisoft's discriminatory act of cultural appropriation, where they commercialized Japanese family crests, paintings, and flags without permission, ignoring protests from rights holders. Anti-Japanese videos made by French racists are being translated and causing uproar daily in Japan. The French should deal with those racists first🙄

[@fumomofumosarum5893]

@@shirankedo-ib8uv And also, Ubisoft should issue an apology and NOT use other people's content without parmission.

[@shirankedo-ib8uv]

​@@fumomofumosarum5893They claim to respect Western copyrights, so the reason they infringe on Japanese copyrights is likely due to their disdain for Asians. Japanese are used to anti-Japanese countries like the UK and the US engaging in such hostile hate actions toward Japan, but many Japanese ppl had a favorable view of France, so they're disappointed. French are just like British.

[@574882]

Ironically the French produced anime “Mysterious Cities of Gold” is a huge inspiration for One Piece.

[@Nozawachter]

Yes!!

[@radicalbyte]

That was my fav TV series as a kid (we had a dubbed version in the UK) until I saw Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Got hooked on One Piece around 2000-2001. Now I have my kids hooked on it too🙂

[@tommarch.4493]

@@radicalbyte you wants to cry ? There has been a new recent season of "Mysterious Cities of Gold" (warning : it's not in the same style)

[@destroyerofturtles5024]

@@tommarch.4493???

[@papyrusse.]

​@@tommarch.4493aaaaah eya eya, Esteban zya, thao le remake de merde

[@bonbon_ann2701]

French girl here. This dude pretty much nailed everything perfectly. Not only the One Piece-related things, but also all the historical facts about how anime became beloved in France in the '80s and '90s. Dorothée and her crew are beloved and have legendary status here for an entire generation. Even the voice actors who worked with them for the French version of Dragon Ball Z and other shows are still easily recognized by voice by an entire French generation. These people introduced me to Sailor Moon and Ranma when I was a little girl, and I can't thank them enough. When I was in primary school, literally all the boys were all about Dragon Ball during recess. Those were some good old times.

[@nemuchan]

French Goku voice is so famous here, that i instantly recognized her when i passed by her walking her dog near my house one day !

[@Tyu-f1s]

the story is simple: i am 46, i've seen animes all my life. i still can sing the openings of Goldorak, Albator, Ulysse 31, Cobra, ...... I never really liked dragon ball, but i still love Saint Seiya, and even now, when i hear Virginie Ledieu, i still saying "Princesse Athena"

[@LewReviews]

Because one piece is art and France has always been able to recognise true art.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Facts!

[@notme8232]

One Piece is not true art. True art... IS AN EXPLOSION!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@notme8232 😂😂👏

[@asuna5701]

@@notme8232 good one😂

[@Never_Know_Best]

They know their aesthetics for sure

[@aaronw1997]

I’ll admit I wasn’t the most thorough researcher as a kid but 8 year old me legit thought that One Piece was a French series because I kept finding French websites about it when I looked it up

[@greenor_wtv]

it's the cutest thing i've read today

[@NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache]

@@greenor_wtv Same, this whole comment thread is cute imo. Love the passion of French weebs for manga and anime.

[@d0nneur2b0nheur]

As a French you DID you're homeworks, WAW all that is true

[@hippo-du-9161]

Would just like to see more stuff about Naruto, actually One Piece took some times to take off in France, before it was all about Naruto

[@ThomasAndy-qu8dp]

came here to say this too. Very accurate and straight to the point !

[@d0nneur2b0nheur]

@@ThomasAndy-qu8dp il est fort il est fort

[@stotian]

Oui oui att pq j ai dit oui oui comme ci j etais pas fr mdr

[@stotian]

Et en plus oui oui c est un dessin animé

[@m.g.6321]

I live in Canada (Quebec) french speaking part of the country and thanks to the French we got a LOT of anime aired on tv dubbed in french in the 80, 90. So French-Canadians were also immersed in mangas prior to the rest of North America. So yes we know since a long time how French love animes which was pretty normal in my opinion. France has a strong BD (comics) tradition!

[@LeNumidium]

Qu'est ce que ça me rend heureux comment la France et le Québec on s'aime tout les deux, et depuis assez récemment, grâce a Internet, votre culture Québecoise communique avec notre pays, et je trouve ça super, j'ai toujours considéré les Québécois comme des Français d'autre part :) Vive le Québec et vive le partage culturel, Salutation du Sud de la France - Marseille

[@m.g.6321]

​@@LeNumidium Vous êtes toujours les bienvenus chez nous 😊. On a quand même quelques différences culturelles et on se taquine mutuellement, mais je suis d'accord avec vous en général on se mélange bien et on a beaucoup de référents communs, ce qui aide beaucoup à nous rapprocher malgré les différences. Bisou de Montréal.

[@Cynim]

Même chose avec la Suisse Romande (francophone)🇨🇭😉

[@MrXLSAM95]

Hum je pensais que les Canadiens avaient du retard comme leur voisin américain. C'est bon à savoir

[@JessyChris-fs2dz]

et moi qui croyait que vos émissions était celles vu par JDG ?!

[@monsieurdidkekne3224]

it's funny because this video release just after one of the biggest french youtuber climbed mount Everest with luffy's strawhat. It could have been an example.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Wow that’s so cool, I had no idea! I absolutely would have included this, you’re right, nothing screams “I love One Piece” like summiting Everest in a straw hat! Huge respect, that’s awesome!

[@wadowox6246]

Inoxtag ❤❤

[@flagzzi5644]

@@ArchieTalksAnime You should watch the movie, it's called "Kaizen" (on youtube), I think there's english subs, I think u will like it ! It's about this french youtuber who climbs everest

[@eiletenewo]

@@wadowox6246 INOXTAG TU MANQU(ait) a la terre entièèèrrre

[@OTAKU_OFFICIEL2.0]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime It’s INOXTAG^^🥰✊️✨️

[@jayko2853]

As a French I can confirm that french one piece obsession

[@Alban_Blade_Memer]

Obsession est un euphémisme.

[@goldeneaglereborn]

One might say the French like to drench in One piece content

[@bigpoppa3999]

Yeah I realized y'all really messed with one piece when you guys aired that gear 5 episode in the theater. I was jealous.

[@parishsirius]

I have been here for almost a year and I'm not finding anyone lmao

[@Junyx22]

I'm 26 fan of One piece since 6 years I confirm

[@lemonknife]

HOLY SHIT ULYSSES 31 MENTION. i havent heard a single non french person talk about it in my life despite all my online friends being anime fans! i grew up watching it and its such a nostalgia hit but also funny to see it get talked about in a video by someone speaking english

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

It honestly seems like such a cool show, I'm fascinated by Greek mythology and I love sci-fi, smashing the two together like that was pure genius!

[@armandpellerinhautenauve448]

Yeah this show is so good, huge nostalgia for me too ! It's a shame this show isn't known internationally

[@gaetanw4099]

Felt the same about "Les mystérieuses cités d'or", I didn't event known it was a thing outside france

[@Greath0rn]

@@ArchieTalksAnime it was

[@GabrielLANSALOT-CARON]

My father made me watch Ulysse 31 when I was around 3 (I'm French)

[@Karimsatta]

As a French person who was born in the 70’s, I grew up watching the Club Dorothee. It was truly a golden age full of magic and excitement. Goldorak (Grendizer), Albaror (Captain Harlock), Ulysse 31, Capitain Flam…to name a few, were the heros of my childhood. Up until now do I share found memories of these precious animes with my childhood friends. Today I cannot live a day without watching an anime. Reminiscence of a blessed time when life was simpler. Thank you for this wonderful video!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching and leaving a comment, I appreciate it!

[@Karimsatta]

@@ArchieTalksAnime Merci et vive les dessins animés!!

[@alyssia8801]

Vous êtes de la même génération que mes parents et je pense que la quasi totalité de votre génération ont dû grandir avec ça. Ma génération (j'ai bientôt 25 ans 😭) nous avons grandi avec différents dessins animés mais nous avons à peu près tous les mêmes en tête. Malheureusement la génération actuelle ne vont plus connaître ce genre d'engouement pour certains dessins animés ou manga comme nous l'avons vécu. Pour moi One Piece c'est plus qu'un simple manga/anime, j'ai commencé quand j'avais 11 ans et aujourd'hui je suis encore plus fan que jamais. Ce qui me rend un peu triste c'est que certains de mes amis fans de manga, leurs parents ne comprennent pas leur engouement. Grâce à la génération Dorothée donc vous faites c'est parti 🤣😝 certains parents comprennent plus ce qu'on peut ressentir pour les mangas/animés. J'ai une question un peu personnel à vous poser : Si vous avez des enfants est-ce qu'ils sont fan de cet univers ?🤔 Ou pas du tout ? 🤣

[@Cigmacica]

Je susi né en 2009 et pourtant même moi je regardais des truc plutôt vieux comme goldorak, heidi ou dragon ball

[@LyD.Yamato]

Tout pareil ! ....... Sauf que je suis née au début des années 80. Same thing ! ...... Except I was born in the early 80s.

[@humblegamer1503]

I have played online with a lot of French people way before the pandemic and I have watched One Piece dubbed in French way before English. These dudes really like One Piece. I am from Mexico, but France has definitely loved One Piece more than other countries, except Japan itself of course.

[@ender7278]

I here Mexico prefers Dragon Ball.

[@MrFlowridge]

Mexicans weebs are something too. Dragon ball is like a religion for this country x)

I'm a 44-year-old French man who grew up with Club Dorothée and discovered manga during that period. It wasn't an easy time for manga and video games fans, but I'm glad to see that people's minds have changed over time. I still read and watch them (much less than before, unfortunately). I came across your video by chance and I'm very pleased. Good research and documentation, very accurate, and good explanations. Congratulations for your work.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I had a lot of fun making it!

[@Tyu-f1s]

Segolene is the most hated politician for a reason !

[@lil----lil]

"No army can stop an idea whose time has come," French writer Victor Hugo; essentially meaning that when a concept is ready to be accepted, no force can prevent it from happening. And it was the Anime's time to come, NO presidents, politicians, NOTHING could've stopped it.

[@orangeslash1667]

Fun Fact: Disney's Hunch Back of Notre Dame, which is inspired by the Victor Hugo novel. Was well liked in France.

[@doughboy1840]

Growing up in France I always thought all countries had the anime and manga culture we had, I understood I was wrong only years later

[@pablocasas5906]

I'd say some countries and regions had some similar experiences and share the sames tastes in anime and manga, like how Saint Seiya became popular in France, Italy, Spain and Latin American, but not in the U.S., though Bandai did try to make two different adaptations for the U.S. market, an animated cartoon called Guardians of the Cosmos, and a live-action show called StarStorm, but they didn't aprove neither pilot. I think the issue is that the U.S. has more stricter standards regarding what is acceptable to show on TV, growing in Latin America, I was shocked to discover the changes some anime got in the U.S., like removing the alcohl and cigarrete references, or how some shows were shown on late TV, while there they were broadcasted in the mornings

[@hippo-du-9161]

True, altough I was surprised how much Mexicans love anime and mangas when I travelled there

[@Cynim]

This culture heavily developed in the 2000s here in Suisse Romande 🇨🇭 It’s one thing we can be thankful for coming from France 🤗

[@da-blubb]

​@@Cynim Polymanga really shows it. Such a big convention for such a small region

[@Abod8Bit]

Anime has always been a part of the culture of the seventies and eighties and the millennial generation in the Arab world. Most of the animated programs that were dubbed into Arabic were anime such as Grendizer in the seventies, Captain Tsubasa (we called him as "Captin Majid") in the eighties, and One Piece in Dragon Ball in the millennium

[@McdonaldKnight]

As a french person, i don't know a single person of modern times who haven't heard of anime and manga. only a few months ago i went to japan expo, one of the biggest french conventions dedicated to japanese culture, where the guilty gear franchise creator : daisuke ishiwatari was supposed to come in person (before having health complications) and it was overall filled to the brim with love of japanese culture on every corner you went to, it is even planned to make a japan expo happen in osaka for 2025 ! it's to the point that in france when asked which country you would love to travel to, if you respond "japan" peoples will tell you that's basic as hell

[@tele_epic]

i live in england and at this point im convinced we are gonna be the last country to normalise watching anime

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

I feel you bro, I grew up in England and hardly anyone even knew what anime was when I was a kid. I had a friend at school who was into anime and he had a bunch of DVDs, one day he gave me Ninja Scroll to watch and it blew my mind! I was like, wtf, I need more of this asap!

[@bezzy_ozz]

Well!! I was at animecon here in London last weekend and i was actually impressed by the amount of ppl present! And I didn't expect so many cos players either. It was my 1st animecon so I didn't know quite what to expect but in my eyes I was pleasantly surprised! But now that I've watched this video, I wanna go to animecon in France 🤩

[@pablocasas5906]

Why is it that unlike other European countries like France, Italy and Spain, there was never a surge in popularity of anime in England in the '70s, '80s or '90s? Was it because the standards of what could be shown on television were stricter compared to the rest of Europe? Or was it because there was no interest in producing English dubs in England? I say that because Spain made their own dubs for themselves, while there're separate Spanish dubs for Spaish-speaking Latin America I mean, one of the most popular anime from the 80s and 90s in Europe and Latin America was Captain Tsubasa, which was all about football (soccer), that could've been a great success in England

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@bezzy_ozz That’s great! Do you know how many ppl were there? There’s actually a few cons up north in Manchester and Newcastle that are getting better every year too. We have some way to go if we want to catch up to France but we’ll get there at some point!

[@Griffith_Is_him]

British people the only on the planet who more miserable then french people

[@Yamakie61]

For someone who isn't french/didn't live in France you did a crazy job of research ! Digging threw opening remix, political archives or little french studios exporting themself in other countries might not be easy to find if you didn't hear about it before. Good job !

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank bro I appreciate that, I’m glad you liked it, I put a lot of effort into finding all the footage so it would be interesting to look at as well as listen to!

[@NamelessUnicorn]

Not a surprise, knowing France is the 2nd most manga fanatic country in the world behind Japan ^^'

[@MrRourk]

Mexico and Panama have them beat. Even the Japanese are in awe of Mexican Fans.

[@xAnonymousComedia]

@@MrRourk maybe it could be popular but in terms of pirating anime? But in terms of sales of manga, the french are number 2

[@huriale1617]

@@MrRourk One day, maybe. But not today.

[@pablocasas5906]

​@@MrRourk while anime is popular in Latin America as well, France is the world's second biggest manga market. There's plenty of manga publishers in Latin American, like Ivrea or Panini, but in France you can find them in supermarkets

[@unnamedshadow1866]

Nah man, actually its the latin americans that are the most fanatic. Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are insane in how much they love anime. Even the latin american dub voice actors are considered gods.

[@BenjaminRatthe]

Quebec kid here - I never knew that Totally Spies was made in France! Great video!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thanks Benjamin, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I had no idea it was French either until I moved here, I always assumed it was American. I actually just got back from a trip to Quebec, loved it, some great hiking and epic scenery!

[@m.g.6321]

C'est littéralement marqué dans le générique 😅

[@m.g.6321]

Ils ont fait Martin Mystère aussi. Qui se passe au Québec

[@BenjaminRatthe]

@@m.g.6321 je portais pas attention au générique à 6 ans 😅

[@perdsontemps6171]

Plus précisément, Totally Spies c'est français mais co-produit avec le Canada à partir de la 2e ou 3e saison (je ne sais plus, mais c'était pas la première), ensuite il y a eut Martin Mystère qui est franco-canadien niveau prod, et plus tard Team Galaxy qui est franco-italien-canadien (je site ces trois là car visuellement c'est plus ou moins la même DA, mais il y a pas mal de séries d'animation en co-producation entre la France et le Canada, Québec pour être plus précis)

[@dave_sheik]

I cannot recommend enough the 2 part documentary "il était une fois le manga en France", it's all about how manga and anime arrived in France, with interviews from the people who fought to get publishing and diffusion rights back in the day. Truly a great piece

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you for the recommendation, I’ll check this out for sure!

[@alexdoloress2180]

"Je l'ai fait exprès de dire que j'étais mort !" "Il en perd sa moumoute le mammouth"

[@SmileToYouToo]

As someone who isn’t french but lives in a french speaking place, i grew up watching princesse sara, les mystérieuses cités d’or and so many more anime!

[@radicalbyte]

Les mystérieuses cités d’or > love that series and I'm pretty sure that Oda watched it as a kid. He's only a couple of years older than me and I was 5-8 when it aired in the UK.. it had a massive impact on me (as did Space Balls).

[@ender7278]

Quebec?

[@vainqueurhero8823]

@@ender7278ça pourrait être Belgique ou quelque part en Afrique aussi. Moi c’était en Afrique

[@lexywackess]

I guess it's not just a manga or One Piece obsession, but also an obsession with Japanese culture. There's even a name for it. We love sushi, and anything labeled Japanese is immediately intriguing. Maybe what’s appealing is that Japan has a STRONG cultural identity, and that might resonate with us French people.

[@bilp_bloup_bot]

I think it's also because we grew up having almost exclusively japanese animé on french tv, soft power does work :D

[@athrunzala6770]

manga and other animes are only part of the story. Japan represents our Asian alter-ego. Because we share in addition to comics, a very rich culture, gastronomy, castles, etc.

[@Knys]

It dates back a long time. You had japonism art in the late 1880s with strong influence on paintings, music, collectibles etc. The French impressionists took inspiration from it for example. Pretty much since Japan opened up from the Meiji era late 1860s that japan became trendy for European elites.

[@NouriaDiallo]

​@@Knys the japanese influence on France started in the 1600'. It's visible in fashion with wrapping gowns and mantuas, the later turning into the "robe à la française" and subsequent 18th century "manteaux de robes" and in the two side-splits petticoats that operate like hakama skirts. It's probably also seen in furniture design and decoration, but I'm not knowledgeable enough in these areas. It was rekindled in the Meiji era when Europe became the main market for Japan's traditional sartorial industry, and can be seen in the work of Paul Poiret, but also when japanese wood prints influenced french painters, like Monet whose collection cover the walls of his house in Giverny. In turn the Japanese have been among the biggest fan of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism...

[@MYOSlS]

I can tell you he did a great and accurate job of research to depict our relation with mangas and one piece !

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it!

[@meight74]

@@ArchieTalksAnime spot on ! I’m from France and your video is so accurate that I’m thinking you were born here too in the 70s or 80s 😅

[@GrandLineReview]

This was a really cool video! I've always wondered how OP exploded in France unlike any other western country. I had no idea their manga publishing history went so far back. It really puts English distribution to shame. Is there more information anywhere on the issues with the original French translation? That sounds like a fascinating story.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it, it’s great to be recognized by such an awesome channel! Here’s a link to an interview with Stéphane Ferrand (editorial director at Glénat, the publisher of the French version of the manga) in which he talks about the issues with the "Ancienne Édition" (“Old Edition") and why they changed the translator. www.actuabd.com/Stephane-Ferrand-1-2-Gerer It’s about halfway down -- just search for the name Sylvain Chollet and you’ll find it. The interview is in French but the Google translation isn’t bad!

[@GrandLineReview]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime Merci beaucoup! Mon français n'est pas très bien mais je vais essayer le lire! Si pas, Google va m'aider! Keep up the fantastic work! :D

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@GrandLineReview Oh wow, your French is better than mine 😂 sure thing, and same to you - you’re doing the lord’s work over there!

[@jean-charleslemelin2970]

As a French born in 1990, manga and anime is everything to me, even until now at 34yo. I have lived in Australia since 2016 where manga in English are sometimes 4 times the price of the French ones, where there is no proper Japanese hobby shops (don’t tell me zing please 😢), and most of the cinema do not have anime movies. I feel empty. Lucky Crunchyroll is there .

[@andresousachico2622]

In addition to France 🇫🇷, One Piece is the most popular manga and anime in countries like Italy🇮🇹, and Germany🇩🇪 since the 2000s, One Piece was and is very popular in Europe

[@Gabi-ij7ug]

Fun fact, in Fist of the North Star (Okuto no Ken), the French version used to make pun with the title in some cases. The most famous ones are "hokuto à beurre" and "hokuto de cuisine". Kuto=couteau=knife. So they litteraly say "ho knife butter" and "ho kitchen knife". We never say that the french versions were good back then lol

[@alexdoloress2180]

"Il a utilisé la technique planche à pain" 😂 But seriously, these animes' adaptation for kids in France were far better than the 4kids censorship

[@connardman]

T'as oublié le couteau de salle à manger : kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6PJhKSQpLuKY8U

[@eliottfougere3703]

Awesome video ! French viewer here : Although the president doesn't really read the manga, there is a deputy know for his passion of the manga, putting one piece pictures in some tweets and on his banner :)

[@Osnona]

I remember as a French who buys One Piece volumes that they release earlier in our country than in the USA, which amused me quite a bit. The industry really is big here, and when you go see book stores, there's always pretty decent sections just for mangas (even in smaller supermarkets just sending general stuff, you can find a decent amount of mangas, and One Piece is always one of them, in actual book-based shops, especially bigger ones, it's very likely to find literally each volume of One Piece on sale or at least stored (because all the ones on sale were sold lol)). The new volumes of important mangas are often showcased and in a greater quantity. Also, a certain amount of commercial deals are made with Japan based solely on mangas. The mains ones sold in terms of quantity are One Piece (the biggest hit), Naruto (a bit less since it's finished but Boruto sells well even though older readers generally agree it's not stellar), My Hero Academia (nothing to say about it, just a classic shonen in its style, no more and no less), Fairy Tail (which despite being generally considered meh sells disgustingly well, I clearly remember Macron making a commercial deal based solely on Fairy Tail), Dragon Ball (but less since it's a decent amount older) and the Pokemon Adventures manga (which I consider mid especially later on but since it's Pokemon it sells really well too). From my personal experience, I don't know if we like One Piece for the food and defiance aspect though maybe it's subconscious (I could genuinely consider the defiance and freedom aspect of One Piece as very plausible reasons though, as they are one of my favorite aspects of the manga, having a character that stands up for himself even in the face of authority instead of blindly or reluctantly and that characters follow instead of them following some other "benevolent" organization (that's often a bit corrupt) is a breath of fresh air). I could propose the balance between comedy and tragedy in the manga being a factor (I could link it to French culture with theatre and stuff like that, but in reality it's probably just me who likes it and just as existent in other countries so don't take that one too seriously lol). Sorry for the rant but since I am a bit familiar with the subject I wanted to give my input 😁

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

No need to apologise bro, I appreciate your input, thanks for watching and commenting! I enjoyed reading this - I think you’re onto something with the balance between comedy/tragedy. Sure, it’s a shonen trope to some extent, but One Piece does it particularly well. I’m no expert on French theatre but I know Molière is considered to be one of the best comic dramatists ever.

[@SmoolMurloc]

As a french person, I fully agree with you ;) I do think that being able to stand up for ourselves, with or against an authority, is part of our french DNA. When I was younger, all of my friends loved Luffy for that exact reason. We thought that being able to stand up made him so empathetic, and free. We dreamed of speaking freely like him, and to pursue our dreams freely, like him.

[@jarosbodytko6462]

True, I think France releases like, 2 or 3 volumes ahead of the English translation by Viz Media. I remember being in Lille in January or February and volume 108 was already out. While the volume 107 in English is only coming out this November. If it wasn’t for English mangas completely taking over the French stuff we used to have here, I’d probably still be reading the French version.

[@javelinmaster2]

This also has a lot to do with the rather robust and positive relationship and cultural exchange that both France and Japan have with each other.

[@Tsagan]

There's is also now a huge animation culture in France and we produce some of the best animators around. Like Arcane, blue eye samurai or the minions

[@NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache]

I thought by animators you meant actual animators not anime series. I thought you were gonna mention the GOAT Vincent Chansard, love that man's works on JJK and One Piece's Wano-kuni arc.

[@dexgames4366]

One thing that is very important too, (I was born in 87, grew up with Club Dorothée), is the very, VERY high quality of voice actors we've had for decades now. They're genuinely considered "legends" here, and there are sooo many of them we recognize just by their voice. Every character in DBZ has a legendary voice actor attached to it for exemple, they're just imprinted in our memory and left a big mark on kids like me :)

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Yeah a few people have mentioned that, I had no idea that VAs were held in such high regard, I love that! Who are the most famous ones?

[@dexgames4366]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime I mean, if there's one that is really really famous here, it would be Brigitte Lecordier, a voice actress who voiced Son Goku (and more), which I believe was also voiced by a woman back in Japan. _(Dragon Ball alone basically made her whole career and still follows her today anywhere she appears)_ Eric Legrand was a phenomenal Vegeta. Voice is something in itself, but really the acting skills were really high quality as well and made every anime/projects they were in believable. So much so, that most of them, _(I only gave you two here),_ but most of them later became official voices for A-List American actors like Tom Hanks, Charlie Sheen, Owen Wilson and more in Eric's case. The rise of Anime, combined with their acting skills skyrocketed their career essentially. Blindfold test any French born in that era, they'll at least recognize them, and probably name their character by ear. 😅

[@cocoto7046]

Totally agree. I once stumbled upon an american version of an episode of DBZ. It was horrible: all the villains and adult characters had the same forced deep, raw voice with an aggressive tone. What also bothered me, if I remember well, is the Americans changed the BGM for something more sinister sounding. Like they needed to make everything super obvious (bad guy voice with bad guy music).

[@marieplt1876]

Not anime but the french VA for Marge in the Simpons was praised by the creator of the show who said she sounds exactly like how he imagined Marge's voice 😊

[@_layto_3251]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime Actually voice acting was born in France

[@goul20_20]

I knew the video was going to be great when you started exactly with Goldorak ! Your work is flawless, talking about politics from the 90' and today, the controversy between BD and manga, everything is accurate

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you so much! I put a lot of work into the research in order to portray France’s history with manga/anime as accurately as I could, so I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@halfghaniteevee3559]

@@ArchieTalksAnime You need to do one a bout the Caribbean too bro, Dragon Ball plus The Big 3 changed our cultures so much, you got young Jamaican artiste rhyming about Shurikens & Ki Blasts

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@halfghaniteevee3559 That’s a great idea, thank you for the suggestion!

[@chevalierkraken]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime your video is good, but you overestimate One Piece popularity in france. One Piece is number one since very few times. During big 3 era, it was last, after, it was 3rd after naruto and fairy tails, then it was behind attack on Titan, demon slayer and even my hero academia and Dragonball super. It's just that it stay in second or 3 place since 20 years now. But it never been first before 2 or 3 years. And it was not because of the translation, every manga of that time got retranslation since. And actually "Pipo" for Usopp was a great change, Pipo is a french Word for Liar, for Sandy, I assume the translation thought he was a westerner character. In fact the first translation was better, manga translation are seen as bad in france because they don't translate terms. If you are not aware, most of the Harry Potter, Discworld or lord of the ring names are translated in france to keep their meaning. One piece first translation just made the same.

[@chevalierkraken]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime and actually One Piece is first only since 2022 because of the end of demon slayer and the Netflix serie. I think that if you ask to a french people what is the most popular manga in france it will be 1.dragonball, 2.saint seiya, 3.Naruto and only 4.One Piece.

[@Phil-ec9uf]

as french and already knowing why mangas are so important I was surprised to see that your vid is so good !!!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Merci beaucoup !

[@Phil-ec9uf]

@@ArchieTalksAnime de rien mon reuf continue

[@bobiboulon]

Yeah, he did a very good job. I won't lie, I was expecting biases and misunderstandings, but instead I was surprised to see how well he researched and covered the subject despite having to sum it up in only 15mn. It was a pleasure to watch that vid!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@bobiboulon Thank you for the kind comments, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@Z40-s1e]

Bro I'm 26 I used to read seriously One Piece since Marineford like 2011 or something... I saw how One Piece became more and more important years after years in our common culture in France. We're now at the point that i doesn't know anybody which don't know who's Luffy, what he's wearing on his head and whats he does in life. At work, I have 50 years old colleagues who're watching every new episode every week. A manga or any other fiction which reach that level of unanimity is a never seen. Legendary for decades to come...

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Absolutely, the cross generational appeal it has is so crazy! One Piece has something for everyone. I think the fact that older people aren’t embarrassed to enjoy anime/manga in France is so cool, that’s what sets it apart from other countries. I’ve never been to another country where this is the case (apart from Japan of course). And you’re so right - One Piece is only going to increase in popularity in the coming years!

[@TheZapan99]

Fun fact: the first seasons of Totally Spies were co-produced by the Studio Marathon Animation (now Zodiak Kids) in the Poitou region, that used to be Ségolène Royal's stronghold. There's local news archives of a very clueless Royal visiting the studio and watching a work in progress reel of the series. If you're not aware, the graphic novel author, as well as adult illustrator and animator Yves "Balak" Bigerel (founder of the studio Bobbypills, known for Lastman, Pipoudou, Captain Laserhawk) worked as a character designer on Totally Spies and other Marathon series like Martin Mystery or Team Galaxy. The entire production was almost an inside joke, with the covert goal of stuffing as much fetish content in each episode, because one of the consequences of Royal's bitching about mangas was the introduction of children psychology consultants vetoing productions for the broadcasting networks. Those annoying shrinks were now limiting the writers creativity, by imposing nonsensical guidelines. So to stick it to the man, the animators were sugar-coating adult themes with girly pseudo-feminist empowerment and Valley Girl tropes, purposefully making everything absurd ans surreal to pass a commentary on the censorship they had to endure because of meddling Socialists.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Haha no way that’s so cool, love this 😂 If I could heart this twice, I would!

[@Aeris_InJapan]

I loved it tbh.. as a dude I was very hyped for most episodes and I saw them probably.. all.

[@johnwotek3816]

"Yves "Balak" Bigerel (founder of the studio Bobbypills, known for Lastman, Pipoudou, Captain Laserhawk) worked as a character designer on Totally Spies" Well that explain a few things XD

[@conlangknow8787]

So that's why I come across so many doujinshi translated french, sometimes I can't find a translation for English so I end up having to read the french one. It's the only time learning french in school has been useful to me

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Haha who knew all those French classes would come in handy!

[@alexandrejust4771]

Then it was a profitable choice!

[@conlangknow8787]

@@alexandrejust4771 busting is not profitable in my case

[@shrekvulter3645]

digital footprint 😭🙏

[@conlangknow8787]

@@shrekvulter3645 maybe that's why I can't get a job for the life of me ☠️

[@selto8636]

As a French teenager, the impact of "Les Cités d'Or", "Ulysse 31" and "Les Mondes Engloutis" among others is still revelant to this day. I literally grew up with these, while being born 10 years after the discontinuation of "Le Club Dorothée". French countries love Bande Dessinées since the 60's or so with the boom of Tintin, Astérix, etc, and it was pretty obvious that France would love Mangas. Plus, France always had the advantage of good dubs, in general and for Mangas and Animes (except fews ones, I concede), every French below 50 know the voice of Brigitte Lecordier for example (Child Son Goku, and French character well known like "Oui-Oui"). Even the library of my High School has mangas, and it's now common to pretty much all of the libraries in middle/high schools in France.

[@LordVador_FR]

French young man here, borned in 2003, grew up with animes and cartoons. Got some fav of course, but older I loved watching Nicky Larson (City hunter) when it came back on TV. Made me nostalgic when you put the song we had.

[@ManonLcz]

One thing i was always grateful for as a french anime/manga fan is how easy to find different series once i started learning english and talked to other anime/manga fans in other countries i truly realised how hard it is to find less popular or yet to be discovered titles not to mention how fast new titles become available Its so funny how so many cartoons from my childhood turned out to be anime under a different/localized title also to answer your question i am not from the Club Dorothe generation but i grew up watching Kirarin, GTO, Detective Conan and Shugo Chara!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Those are some great shows, especially GTO and Detective Conan! Did you get to see the latest Detective Conan movie?

[@ManonLcz]

@@ArchieTalksAnime I actually did not! I'm not really a movie person as ADHD makes it hard for me to focus for the whole duration which is one of the reason i adore anime with its nice 25 minutes top episodes making it very digestible :D

[@yon68]

Le doubleur de GTO est une pure dinguerie d'ailleurs c'est excellent mdr

[@Nosferatus29]

I never realized that we were obsessed with manga until this video, I thought it was normal to like it and that it was the same in all countries...

[@Grendizer81]

as a guy from the 80s living in luxembourg, we had the chance to receive German and French tv stations. Club Dorothée was huge in our country, the main host was like a second mother, since we were glued to the tv when the show was on. It shaped a whole generation and it truly was the golden age of manga. Even today I know all the lyrics of the tv shows of that time. A lot of those themes were bangers in French, especially thanks to "Bernard Minet" and others ofc. No wonder One piece is a hit, imho it has a lot of the same vibes as dragonball, which was probably the most watched show back then. Good times.

[@AoKiji81]

"Les mystérieuses cités d'or" It was a master piece, I am nostalgic. In 2022, 47 millions of mangas sold in France.

[@danailmarinov7299]

I go to Paris one time and KZbin that I swear must be spying on me says "This guy loves One Piece and the French. Let me recommend him this video."

[@julienleboulch7747]

Acutally two years ago, the physics national exam for math and physics bachelors had a one piece part, calculating the power of aokiji, luffy and Ener. Actually crazy to think about it.

[@MasterMurtadah]

there are two types of anime fans in saudi arabia, One piece stans and One piece haters. The phrase "One piece is your uncle" is a meme here in saudi lol

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

"One Piece is your uncle" haha, I love that! That's cool that OP is popular in Saudi, do you guys watch a lot of anime?

[@MasterMurtadah]

@@ArchieTalksAnime yeah most kids do, and when I say kids I mean kids. 5th and 6th graders watching anime, and I'm not joking. Also you also have popular animes that aired of television networks back in the 90s the most popular tv channel I think was Spacetoon which still is alive and well but it aired more animes back in the day then now, animes like Grendeizer a bit of one piece (but that's not how it got popular) also detective Conan, Captain Tsubasa or known in Saudi as "Captain Majid" and so much more.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@MasterMurtadah That’s great to know, thanks for sharing bro! Captain Tsubasa is still one of my favourite shows, I love a good football anime! Blue Lock is my latest love haha, it’s a bit more realistic (well, as far as football in anime goes, at least).

[@omardsh]

@@ArchieTalksAnimevery much so, in my old school, university and today in my work I found tons of people who are into anime (especially one piece) even my family who aren’t into anime watched attack on titan from begging to end. and in every large friend group (let’s say 9 people) you will definitely find at least 2 or 3 who are into anime. Btw he isn’t exaggerating “one piece is your uncle” is very famous meme here

[@omardsh]

@@ArchieTalksAnimebtw grandizor and captain tsupasa used to be big here in the 80s too

[@fritoss3437]

France was the first country after Japan to actually put Anime on TV

[@pablocasas5906]

Did France aired shows like Astro Boy, Gigantor (Tetsujin 28) and Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo) in the 1960s when they were brand new?

[@greenmachatea]

@@fritoss3437 actually it started in Italy. Channel 5 was the first channel to aired anime in France after the success of a few anime in Italy. Channel 5 was owned by Italians. Then they stopped and tf1 took over the animes. Cartoons from the US were too expensive and tv channels needed cartoon shows to be played on tv for kids. They looked at Italy and then started to buy anime from Japan because it was cheaper than American shows and cheaper than making shows obviously.

[@BlackDiamond77]

@@greenmachatea Anime were broadcasted in France literally YEARS before "La Cinq" was even a project.

[@BlackDiamond77]

@@pablocasas5906 Yes, I saw Astro Boy (Astro le petit robot) as a French kid. (It was several years before Club Dorothée started broadcasting)

[@bilp_bloup_bot]

@@pablocasas5906 I'm not sure, I think our first japanese animé was in 1970 (astro boy). But it became huge in france in the 80s, at this period, we had almost exclusively japanese animé, very few french or american stuff.

[@Ajibolaa]

I grew up in a French country and that’s how I discovered anime and manga. Basically there’s also a French channel that’s big and everyone gets to watch it called “Mangas” which you guessed it only showed animes

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You guys were so lucky to have that channel back in the 90s, so cool! I actually talk about this in the video a little bit, how the channel was created by the producers of Club Dorothée. Those people did so much for anime in France, I salute them!

[@mohamedalitoure9696]

@@ArchieTalksAnime 💯

[@papyrusse.]

Comment ça une chaîne appelée manga j'ai raté un épisode? Je sais que game one Parlait beaucoup de mangas mais sinon...

[@lionssinofpride7817]

​@@papyrusse.La chaine Mangas existe depuis des decennies maintenant

[@papyrusse.]

@@lionssinofpride7817 ah ouais? Ce serait pas une chaîne payante par hasard? Je l'ai jamais vu

[@florianchoquet8679]

I am a French guy that grew up in the French carribean and now live in Canada. I did not know to which extent mangas and one pieces were popular in France. You taught me a lot about the history of the medium in my own country so thank you! I've never made the connexion between French ideals and luffy but it's clear as day to me now.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

That’s great to hear man, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I visited Canada recently and there was definitely a lot less manga/anime stuff. Beautiful country though, some outstanding natural beauty!

[@thewindshecriesmary]

I had a feeling france would like One Piece. The artstyle reminds me of a lot of the best French comic art

[@user-bm5lc5vg2g]

as a french citizen, i'm very impressed and amazed of the amount of accurate information this video displays ! very good job

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

[@violinosion]

"A love of good food and sticking it to the man" Brilliant, never realized it, but it's so true. Luffy is a perfect protagonist in our eyes! Great video and fuck Macron!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thanks bro, I appreciate that! Haha yeah, it took me a little while to come up with a sentence that summed up the love for Luffy you guys have, but I think that pretty much covers it!

[@joshuagerm2917]

thats funny and fuck macron

[@ragfarok]

I'm french, 37 yo and grew up watching the Club Dorothée. Your video is absolutely spot on and it's hard to express the feelings you brought back with your video. As a kid, I remember setting up an alarm clock even on days when I didn't have school to not miss the latest episode of DBZ. Fuck Segolene Royale and thanks for the great video!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome mate, I’m glad the video brought back some childhood memories for you, that’s great to hear! You guys were so lucky to have access to all these cool shows at a young age, I’m very jealous!

[@s3lfFish]

French here from the 80’s. Favorite shows growing up we’re saint Seyia, dragon ball, Astro boy, Leo the white lion (or kimba, the anime that Disney ripped off to make the lion king), goldorak, fist of the North Star, lady Oscar, Ulysses 31, the mysterious golden cities, train 999, Albator, nobody’s boy Remi. And for the manga, Akira and Gunnm (Alita) were my favorites when I was 12-15. Still are

[@antoinebartoli8108]

I cannot say for certain for the other parts, but as a french young adult i think that the club dorothé was as you said a very big impact on the generation, even parents will go and tell their kids about how they watched club dorothé every day. And as for me, i'm into anime because from being a kid, i read again and again the whole akira manga that my father had.

[@aeskegis6848]

This video is a love letter to what i grew up with, you did your homeworks! Thank you for that, truly

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@Khe0ps7]

It's interesting that you point out princess momonoke, I still remember that in elementary school our teachers took us to the theater to see it and I think that almost every year after that there was a new ghibli movie to see. And thing like text book including anime moment or the usage of the cultural pass show how much the manga/anime industry hadd ahuge impact in France. I know some teacher who use things like pokemon as math problem or the cards as a reward. France and Japan always had a mutual fascination for each other One other good proof of that is Daft punk who went on to create an animated movie with captain Harlock creator for their second album release Intersella 5555. A couple Japanese (Toriyama, Tadashi Agi etc) artists went on to be named Knight of the order of art and litterature. A title people receive when their work have a impact in France cultural heritage. Thing like the BNF( National library of france) who add a couple years ago a huge Kaiju n°8 art on the side of their building for the release of a new volume. I don't know if it's still the case with how the world is connected now but for a very long time France was the second market close behind Japan concerning manga/anime products. French publisher also extended their offer for a decade now we don't only get huge japanese shonen hit but also seinen, shojo, some shorter unknow story for every kind of people an since a couple year they also invest in manhwa publication.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Your teachers took you to see Princess Mononoke?! That's the coolest! I wonder if they knew how violent it was going to be haha! And giving Pokémon cards are rewards for solving math problems -- genius! Honestly, you guys were so lucky.

[@Cigmacica]

I’m franco-hungarian and i live in budapest, and about 1,5 year ago our french teacher (who was from brittany) showed us laputa caste in the sky during our hours (with the french dub)

[@champ6436]

@@ArchieTalksAnime i think for people of my generation, those born in the 90s, most of us were raise on Ghibli movie. i mean princess mononoke is one of my first memory of watching a movie in cinema together with lord of the Ring. when talking with a few of my coworker the same generation as me ( between 25-35 , i noticed that they all grew up on ghibli movie, even more than disney. a few day ago me and a coworker basically recited the mononoke script from memory and replay the movie like a play for like 5 min. it was a pure impromptu and improvised moment, i didn't even know that he had watched those movie before. ps : to comment on the violence, one of my friend watched spirited away when he was just 7 years old and was traumatize for life because of it, he still refuse to watch it 20 years later. another watch grave of the firefly on christmas when she was five and like it '-'

[@k.v.7681]

@@champ6436 For my part it was another studio, TAC, that prompted me to dive into Ghibli movies. "One stormy night" (La valée d'Emeraude) released when I was 8 or 9 at most and I became hooked. Went to see it with school (every trimester we had a rotation of monthly cultural activities. One month it was a concert, the next a movie, then an author encounter at the library. Pretty neat.)

[@champ6436]

@@k.v.7681 man i think i watched it too in 2005 or 2006 when i was 8/9 years old, i only have the faintest of memory of it tho.

[@pyrusmcdougz3730]

Amazing video ! As someone who grew up in the Club Dorothée era, thank you for this!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you! You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@Cynim]

Hello from Suisse Romande, the French-speaking part of Switzerland🇨🇭 Interestingly, we also had a strong interest about manga, anime and Japanese culture that grew very rapidly during the 2000s, thanks to what got imported from France back then. That interest is within proportion to the size of our population of course. And it’s still very strong to this day, shown by the size of manga sections in bookshops, the number of major specialised shops around Japanese pop culture, the very big conventions on Japanese culture held every year, a lot of ramen restaurants, etc… We didn’t really have the obsession the French had in the 80s and 90s, but we followed suit in the 2000s. And internet also played a big part, of course. Today, more and more people travel to Japan from Switzerland every year. And it’s helped by our overall spending power, a strong Swiss franc and a weak Japanese yen.

[@soundcheck9457]

I made a video essay on One Piece, it's called "Как «Ван-Пис» исследует сложные темы и почему адаптация от Netflix получилась не хуже аниме" (How One Piece Explores Complex Themes and Why the Netflix Adaptation Is Just as Good as the Anime) from the Kinopoisk channel. Over 500,000 views. For each chapter, I used the slogan "liberty, equality, fraternity." France is a country with a history that continues to inspire those who disagree with the totalitarian regime of their own country - like me in Russia, for example. Thank you for that video. I'm happy that you named exactly the reasons I was thinking about :)

[@erenyeagerist7681]

Russian liberal spotted. You can always immigrate to USA. Just as advice

[@Cigmacica]

Really hope one day that russia will get a less tyranical and more peaceful and democratic governement one day, perhaps even joining the EU one day so,we can finally have peace in Europe

[@therewasoldcringe]

@@Cigmacica that will never happen im afraid

[@Aracwo]

Thank you for such an amazing video, everything was absolutely on point ! As a french person I may be able to add some elements as a younger person who have lived through the phenomenon (there's some things that may be too specific and may only concern the late millenials and early gen z but I've seen the public image of anime and manga change A LOT during the 2000s). A small critique would be that, while Club Dorothée absolutely was essential to the appeal of manga in the 90s, it ended before the year 2000, the children of the culture pass were often introduced in a different manner. There was, for example, the 6th channel, M6, which televised two hours of One Piece and Dragon Ball before one of the most popular series in France, Kaamelott, which broadended the audience during the early 2000s. Channel 1, where Club Dorothée was broadcasted, was instead used for other programs like Pokémon, or Totally Spies under the TF! Jeunesse and Tfou morning programs. The amalgamation of manga and BD also played in it's favor, since it was put in the same sections as the BDs in libraries and bookstores. Also, many of our parents watched Goldorak, Albator, Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors, les Cités d'Or and Ulysses 31 during their childhood, I think this selection of programs made it easier for One Piece to cement itself in french culture. Because of the media, like you said, parents were EXTREMELY cautious regarding manga and, since the other well known manga at the time was Dragon Ball in which Goku's behaviour was considered problematic (Bulma's scenes, you know what I mean), it was easier to show our parents One Piece, a familiar concept to them, since they were a ragtag group of people on a journey to a mysterious goal (litterally the concept of les Cités d'Or and Ulysses 31 that they watched) than to explain and justify wanting to read DB (trust me I was banned from reading mangas for trying). You are also completely right on the similarities in values between One Piece and the French culture, the dissatisfaction of the status quo of the French (we LOVE to complain) breeds a desire of freedom, and indirectly, wanderlust (I'm also looking at you Pokémon) that made One Piece extremely popular (aside from the obvious quality of the manga).

[@Thewalkr]

One Piece is practically a religion in France

[@rockonpurification]

Like Dragon Ball in Mexico

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Haha, it really is! I feel like there would be a genuine uprising if they ever tried to ban the Straw Hats' Jolly Roger!

[@Foogi9000]

Based, luffy does love food so it makes sense i guess.

[@rakhatthenut3815]

Balls​@@rockonpurification

[@raizumaky_le_goat]

do you know the : "katakurisme" ? (it's a real thing in France, it's a Katakuri based religion)

[@Nychoo213]

Hello I'm French and i watch your video with such interest ! I'm 36 Remembering growing up watching Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball and Tsubasa and still watching anime and reading One Piece in 2024. Guess i'm one of those weirdos like the Totally Spies creator ^^... Anyways thanks for getting interest about that subject who is trully nostalgic to a MASSIVE part on 90's french kids like me !!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Haha yeah me too, the weirdos won, our stuff is popular now! I appreciate the kind comments, and you're very welcome, I really enjoyed making this video and it's been great speaking with so many French people in the comments. It's cool to hear about all of your experiences with manga and anime growing up. I love Captain Tsubasa, that's still one of favs! I've never actually seen Saint Seiya!

[@ender7278]

I wrote a term paper partially on the topic and it's really fascinating. Something that's especially striking is the pivot French comics and cartoons have made from the traditional BD style to being heavily manga-influenced. I did not grow up in France but my understanding is that Club Dorothée was a generational touchstone for 80s kids. Joueur du Grenier actually did a video about French children's shows from outside of France and made a point how big a difference the absence of anime made in their programming, which skewed way more kiddy. I can attest firsthand to that growing up in Quebec. The anime didn't really reach here until the same time as the States.

[@leo-dl5dh]

as a french you did very well ! you explain well the story about our addiction ! Merci l'ami

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@ooz1340]

As a french, i was nodding throughout the whole vid! lol Thnx for the vid u earned a new sub!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for subscribing!

[@asuna5701]

The fandom in France is no joke! When Film Red finished I saw footage of the French charging up to the screen cheering and throwing things 😂

[@athrunzala6770]

Anime and manga are a serious busyness here in france

[@dominomultrabook3899]

oh yes even that happened in marseille when you see that you say that's it one piece fans putain de merde it was better when the anime was not known in the world becomes an idiocracy with the joy of living together😒😮‍💨😡

[@Uberman138-e3c]

My cousin lives in france and he has alot of one piece manga.

[@jetaime4431]

You nailed it brother. It's all about freedom and brotherhood that made it the best show ever to me. (French)

[@bokosanimation]

I was too young when the club Dorothée ended and most of childhood was watching the tv channel “Manga” and let me tell you nicky Larson, olive et Tom, Les chevaliers du zodiaque, dragon ball , Ricky superstar, Ken le survivant and many others were so popular that I remember it even football (soccer) wasn’t even as a popular topic to discuss at school anymore it was all about anime. Naruto and one piece in my opinion became really popular at around the year 2005-2006 and honestly I am impressed by how accurate this video is Edit: just a little fun fact we even got a French animator working on one piece his name is Vincent chansard

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Wow I didn’t know that about Vincent Chansard, that’s so cool! I just watched one of his fight sequences from episode 1109, absolutely epic, I’m impressed, the guy has major talent! Okay now I’m reading about him - seems like he doesn’t like working with MAPPA, which isn’t really surprising given their reputation for overworking people.

[@jarosbodytko6462]

Chansard?! Never have I heard a name so accurate to someone’s situation 😁

[@perdsontemps6171]

Il y a plus d'animateurs français sur One Piece (ou d'autres animes comme MHA) que Vincent Chansard ^^" (même si c'est le gros nom français du moment niveau sakuga)

[@auriane_g1000]

I can't say how much thankful I am for this video ! As a french person, I can attest that everything is extremely accurate and all the examples you gave were so spot on, even the pronunciations for french words were great ! Really, I'm so pleased with this, we can tell that you put a lot of effort into it, and as an anime fan and a One Piece since day one, all I can say is thank you so much for making it, it was so wholesome and incredibly made ♥♥

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Wow thanks for the kind words, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I did a lot of research and spoke to French people about this because I wanted to portray your country’s special relationship with manga/anime as accurately as possible. It means a lot that you guys like the video.

[@AoCabo]

I was in Rouen, a city in the French Normandy countryside, a few months ago. I was honestly so surprised how much anime stuff they got there immediately right when you got off at the train station. A large multi-cultural city like Paris, I can kinda expect it, but Rouen caught me off guard.

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Yeah totally, even when you get outside of the big cities there’s still a bunch of anime/manga stuff, it’s crazy. Definitely not just a Paris thing. I’ve never been to Rouen, what’s it like? It looks nice

[@athrunzala6770]

you can find manga in all bookstores in France

[@Nora-mk1jq]

@@ArchieTalksAnime @AoCabo Rouen !! it's the town of Jean of Arc, you have her memorial and mangas boutique very next to the corner!! Wonderful mix of french history and culture yes a lot of anime shop i agree

[@arahcozy]

I knew it! I knew French is the second biggest One Piece fans. I’m from Malaysia, and also a biggest and the long time of One Piece fan since 20 years ago… I always asked this question online! And now I can confirmed! 😅 It’s cool you know…they’re W Cuz recognized a masterpiece!

[@theinfamousanonymous2652]

Thank you for this video it was really sweet to watch ❤

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome! I really enjoyed making it, glad you liked it!

[@tevildocalcifer490]

3.29 Enfin il parle du Club Dorothée :)

[@saps1453]

I'm too young to have witnessed the Club Dorothée but I still grew up watching One Piece, Dragon Ball and even Fullmetal Alchemist on TV

[@marci0_cr]

I would never have thought that I was gonna watch a video in english about how everyone here is a fan of one piece and manga in general.

[@liew4511]

I'm french and everything you said is really accurate, good job !

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thanks bro, I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@lonely9029]

Anime and manga are so big in France that every time me as a little girl told my boy classmates that I was into anime I instantly gain their respect somehow. And that’s why I was bewildered when I heard how kid in the USA used to be bullied for watching and liking anime (before it became really popular) because basically every kid i knew about or/and watched anime

[@aokijikuzan8078]

As a french person, I must say you described perfectly how and why mangas are so popular in my country. Thank you !

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

[@BelayaBirdy]

Yeah anime has always stuck in France and been really present on the public space, I remember GTO still being broadcasted back in like 2012 on the TV in the afternoon. After GTO I would switch to another channel to watch One Piece where they would always rerun the anime *over and over again* each times adding a new arc when it was translated and dubbed, diffusing only the latest arc in a loop during a few month so everyone could catch up on the latest stuff before going back to the start. I swear I've watched the Thriller Bark and Alabasta arcs so much on TV I'm pretty sure the French versions of the scripts are fused with my DNA.

[@SmileVinci]

That's some crazy researches here ! You even mentionned the Cultur Pass haha, amazing video to watch even as a french dude

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thanks a lot! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@quentinlauzeral6365]

Merci pour cette vidéo qui sonne presque comme un hommage ! Tu m’as appris des choses que je ne savais pas sur mon propre pays 😂

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Merci beaucoup ! Je suis content que ça te plaise !

[@onem0repixel]

As a french guy, it's a defintely well made video. Amazing work on all the researches cause this is correct

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yeah you’re totally right, back in the day it was considered lame to like manga/anime but the tables have turned now! Geek culture is far more mainstream in general but anime in particular is something “the cool kids” enjoy. We won!!

[@wahtishappening790]

Woah! Never thought I'd heard "Club Dorothée" be mentioned in an English video! While being born too early for it, I was influenced by people who were huge fans of the Club Dorothée. Then I was recommended some very obscure TV channel, and suddenly, I became a One Piece fan.

[@Cramillav]

And you did this video without naming pokemon! Which went crazy in the early 2000 in france, up until this day. Good job btw :)

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you, I’m glad you liked it! Yeah you’re right I could have mentioned Pokemon for sure, but I actually plan on making a video about Pokemon in France so I decided to wait for that! I love how clever the names of Pokemon in French are, the guy who came up with them did an awesome job!

[@bertrandthibaut8530]

As a real One Piece fan loving the manga & French, I am amazed about how u really understood the build up to France s love for Japanese anime and manga. Great look back It took me back to my childhood and exact timing on watching those animes and still loving it Thanks for this

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You’re welcome my friend, I’m glad you liked the video and I’m happy that it brought back some nice childhood memories for you, that’s great to hear! I had so much fun researching and making this video so I’m very pleased that a lot of people are really enjoying it!

[@naluzoniro]

I am french and I approve this message There's just something between France and Japan, we love each other x)

[@palpaleo]

This video was really well made, great storytelling, great research, great explanation of how manga and anime got their roots in France earlier than most countries and why it's so important to us in our culture. Amazing video!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Thank you so much, it means a lot that so many French people are enjoying the video! I’m glad I could do justice to the amazing manga/anime culture that you guys have, I’ve been really inspired by it since I moved here!

[@tullarion1]

I think there is a last factor. In the 2000's there was a big community of scantrad who brought a lot of manga(naruto, bleach and one piece) for free

[@GoetheMr]

True

[@Pilolitao-m3z]

When I first saw the title, I was sure you were going to say a lot of bs about France(when you see France in a video title it's often just a lot of bs) but I'm surprised by the high quality of this video. I think it's by far the best documentary I've seen about the history between mangas and France, you made a real investigation, you even knew about the first One Piece french translation. I don't know what to say.... wait I know... Bien joué mec!

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Haha merci à toi mec, je vous en prie ! I’m glad you liked the video, it means a lot that the French viewers are enjoying it. It’s been great hearing from you guys in the comments and learning more about your country’s special relationship with anime/manga.

[@simg7967]

Ty man, i cried tears of nostalgia watching this video, my favorite anime from back then was Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque aka Saint Seiya

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

You're very welcome mate! I'm honestly kind of jealous, it seems like it was great time to be young in France!

[@simg7967]

@@ArchieTalksAnime I'm actually a newer gen, but there was multiple TV channels that aired a lot of animes like game one (a channel who btw started just a couple of years after club dorothée's end). I was watching almost only animes, it was my favorite stuff to watch and my friends aswell, our generation fully grown in anime thx to the precedent one. I recall watching inazuma eleven, beyblade, naruto, samurai champloo, dragon ball, one piece, sailor moon, saint seiya, yu-gi-oh!, digimon, hunter x hunter, death note, fullmetal alchemist, bleach, evangelion, fairy tail... and much more.

[@freeike5921]

​@@ArchieTalksAnime it was Amazing to be a kid in the 80's ans 90's in France and belgium

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

@@freeike5921 Yeah I bet! What’s your favourite anime from that era?

[@WaddleQwacker]

5:21 "hold on! - easy to say" that killed me 🤣

[@sylvainherbin2936]

As a French, I do have to say that my dad watched club dorothée, ans is still watching one piece till now, he’s quit enjoying it, loved your vid, didn’t know u but u resumed it very well and and good accent apraxia French words 😁👌

[@ArchieTalksAnime]

Wow thanks, I’m glad to hear that I didn’t butcher the French words haha! I guess my accent has improved a little bit since I first moved here when nobody could understand me 😂

[@aquesel1028]

I'm French and grew up with One Piece. I remember watching it on TV with my cousins and then roleplaying one piece characters with them in our grandpa's garden all day long. One piece is also very popular on French KZbin ! As an example, the biggest one piece channel in France, Mont Corvo, rented the famous Château de Chambord (which i believe inspired oda when he designed Mary Geoise) to organise their own Rêverie, inviting a lot of content creator to make them compete in One Piece themed games or quizzes. Really a great video, you nailed it !

[@gutentagpolen...5563]

man saint seya was such a gem, from what my father told me (cause i'm too young for the club dorothé) he said that saint seya was more popular than dragon ball and that they had a close rivalry