You can use this interface to enable or disable sets of cookies with varying functions. Will 'Gate' encourage more Japanese people to join the JSDF? Or will it just end up being another anime that people watch, forget about, and move on from? Either way, if the JSDF gets a bunch of new recruits who sign up because they want to “meet cute elves and battle dragons,” they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.We use data cookies to store your online preferences and collect information. Unfortunately, it remains unconfirmed whether or not joining the JSDF will result in you getting a giant purple axe, magic wand, and/or bow and arrow, but we can only assume that everything on the posters is completely true to life. The poster says: “Become someone who can protect someone.” With all of this high praise and the anime coming out, it didn’t take long for the real JSDF to hear about this, resulting in one of the most perfect collaborations imaginable. Other current JSDF members have praised the novel’s accuracy in representing JSDF weaponry and operations, as well as showing the relatable human side to the characters too. 'Gate’s' author, Takumi Yanai, himself is a former member of the JSDF, so his series shows the organization in a very positive light, always making sure that they’re the good guys. However, with 'Gate' becoming an anime this month, it may be only a matter of time before the series is known the world over. Though it’s been incredibly popular in Japan, selling over 2.4 million volumes of books, light novels, and manga all together since 2006, it’s not that well-known overseas. If you’ve never heard of 'Gate' before, it’s not surprising.

You can bet the JSDF is milking it for every last drop they can, starting with posters that are giving us a strange urge to visit our local recruitment center. It’s about the JSDF traveling through a portal to another world, taking down monsters, teaming up with cute girls, and just generally making it look like joining them would be the most amazing thing ever. We’ve seen the Japanese Self-Defense Forces get quite creative with trying to entice new recruits, but never before have we seen them do an all-out official collaboration with an anime.Īnd 'Gate' is the perfect anime for them to team up with.

Yanai takumi