How Kenny Omega Implements His Love For Anime Into His Daily Life
Kenny Omega has been known as one of pro wrestling's biggest nerds when it comes to things like video games, cosplaying, and anime. Similar to his frenemy Austin Creed, Omega has implemented things from different sectors of nerd culture and ingrained them into his personality and character over the years. Kenny's love for Japanese culture has also been a well known aspect of Omega's life and career, but it turns out that love began long before "The Cleaner" moved to Japan to compete for DDT and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the 2010s.
When talking about his lifelong fandom of anime with Crunchyroll, Omega spoke about his love for the medium starting at a young age, saying, "I was always a fan of cartoons growing up, of course. The first anime I watched was "Astro Boy." Omega later added that he was younger than 10 years old when he first watched "Astro Boy" before eventually moving onto more mature animes like "Ninja Scroll" by age 12. Omega also watched other anime shows like "Dragon Ball Z" and "Sailor Moon," with his enjoyment of the latter coming as a surprise. "At first when I watched 'Sailor Moon,' I thought, 'I don't know why I like this so much, but I'm hanging on every episode.'"
Omega learned a lot from anime
Omega continued by discussing how anime has affected him as a wrestler, mentioning his Sword Art Online-inspired attire from AEW Double or Nothing 2019. Furthermore, Omega brought up his favorite anime of all time, "Hajime No Ippon," and how it resonated with him personally. "Even though it's a boxing anime and not a wrestling anime, it really captures the spirit and life of a competitive athlete." Omega explained.
The relatability of sports animes for Omega has deemed the genre his overall favorite, and when asked how they impact his everyday life, he mentions how he feels like he is learning something about himself when watching shows like "Hajime No Ippon" or a modern favorite of his, "Haikyu!!" "I'm a multi-sport athlete, I always have been, and when you take these sports animes, you learn things about these sports at the highest level," Omega said. "Sports anime have always taught me a lot."