Danica Davidson
November 2, 2024 
Yesterday millions of people dressed up for Halloween, and that includes NBA star Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Wembanyama, who is nicknamed Wemby, donned a No Face outfit from Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. He wore it when showing up at the stadium for last night’s Spurs versus the Utah Jazz game, and the NBA decided to show off the costume on its official social media.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1852124954306756880
No Face is a tall character, and since Wembanyama is more than seven feet, he’s able to give off the towering persona needed. He’s also shown interest in otaku things before, like manga and Pokémon.
GKIDS licensed Spirited Away for North America, and gave this description for its plot:
Spirited Away Plot
Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature, Hayao Miyazaki’s wondrous fantasy adventure is a dazzling masterpiece from one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation.
Chihiro’s family is moving to a new house, but when they stop on the way to explore an abandoned village, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation and Chihiro is whisked into a world of fantastic spirits ruled over by the sorceress Yubaba. Put to work in a magical bathhouse for spirits and demons, Chihiro must use all her wits to survive in this strange new place, find a way to free her parents and return to the normal world. Overflowing with imaginative creatures and thrilling storytelling, Spirited Away became a worldwide smash hit, and is one of the most critically-acclaimed films of all time.
Kinyo Roadshow explained the psychology behind the character No Face, commenting, “Director Hayao Miyazaki says, ‘There are many people like No Face in our midst…it’s the type of person who wants to latch on to others but doesn’t have a sense of themselves. They are everywhere.’ No Face exists without a sense of self and changes depending on the things and people it encounters.”
Source: SoraNews24
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
