On the occasion of an official visit to Japan, the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron received as a gift a drawing of Porco Rosso signed by the author Hayao Miyazaki. Specifically, it is an original sheet used for the making of the animated film, whose release dates back to 1992. The central theme of the work is the criticism of war and fascism. “Porco Rosso opposes the brutality of the world with an idea of freedom that does not allow itself to be swayed. At a time when we are called to defend peace, our democracies and freedom, Porco Rosso!”, wrote Macron on his social channels to show the gift received. “My heartfelt thanks to Hayao Miyazaki for this work, which I welcome with profound gratitude.” But Emmanuel Macron’s “nerdy” moments in Japan don’t end there. Today, the President exchanged a greeting in style Dragon Ball with the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Both mime with their hands kamehamehaGoku’s energy wave.
Two moments with an important symbolic charge, which demonstrate the penetration of pop imagery into political language, but also a personal involvement that goes beyond the diplomatic meeting. The episodes linked to Porco Rosso and Dragon Ball are not simply the result of the context that hosted them – the Japanese one – but they reflect an authentic passion of Emmanuel Macron for pop culture. Let’s think, for example, of his presence at the Japan Expo 2025. During the event, Macron mingled with the public and naturally participated in a conversation kamehameha collective inspired by Dragon Ball to pay homage to the late Akira Toriyama, between smiles and fighting poses. During the event he also met Kazuhiko TorishimaToriyama’s historic editor, closely admiring some original drawings of the saga, in particular those related to Majin Buu, which he keeps in his personal collection.
A gesture that is anything but formal, which confirms that his love for manga is not an institutional pose, but a long-standing affection. This affection also emerged on the occasion of Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2025returned to Europe after five years of absence. The event opened with an official video in which Macron celebrated the aggregative value of the game and showed a card donated to him by Konami, the Japanese manufacturer behind the card game.
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And again. Macron also offered his support to the national gaming industry, as in the case of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33the video game that reinterpreted the Japanese school of role-playing games in a French way. Thanks to this approach, the title broke the record of awards won at the video game Oscars, The Game Awards, and immediately became a cornerstone of the contemporary panorama. A success that made Macron proud. “A great pride for Montpellier and for France” he wrote on social media as soon as he heard the news of Clair Obscur’s nomination at The Game Awards. “Congratulations to the Sandfall Interactive team. For future generations and those who come after!”.
In all these cases, a participatory approach emerges, in which pop culture becomes an integral part of the identity and cultural discourse promoted by Macron. A style that differs from the one adopted, for example, by the Trump administrationwhich instead strengthened the union between politics and pop imagery by using gaming icons such as Pokémon, Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. The two cases are different. As we explained in this analysis, the choice to link videos of the war or deportations to images of video games follows another strategy: bring real violence closer to entertainment, so as to weaken it.
