If you walk around the streets of Hong Kong, it’s hard to miss the characters and mascots that make up such an important part of the country’s culture. There has been a long fascination with animation and cartoons, and this permeates through every structure of society. However, as ever-present as these cartoons may be, not many know the origin story of where they came from.

In this article, we’ll look at three of the most famous cartoon characters and find out a bit more about their origin because it will give people a much better sense of the cultural significance of these characters.

Old Master Q

In the Hong Kong comic universe, there is no more foundational figure than Old Master Q. The iconic glasses and whimsical smile make this character truly lovable, but he is certainly not one to underestimate. The character was originally created by Alfonso Wong back in 1962 and was known originally as Captain Hong Kong. What makes him interesting is that he was specifically created as a contradiction. He is known as partly good and partly bad. He draws inspiration from both Chinese and Western influences. The nuance is what really stands out and it makes for a fascinating cultural artifact that symbolises Hong Kong’s history as a country of Chinese origin combined with significant Western melting-pot.

McDull

McDull is a character that personifies courage in the midst of any circumstances. As a pig, he is not the smartest person in the room, but he makes up for that with a desire to follow his dreams no matter what. He was created by artists Alice Mak and Brian Tse in the 1980s for a comic strip that was to be published in the local papers. Funnily enough, he wasn’t even the hero of that story. But the lovable character who really stands for what Hong Kong is all about now stands tall as one of the most famous characters in the nation. He perseveres in the face of all adversity and that’s what really resonates with a culture that refuses to give up.

Chibi Maruko-chan

Pretty much the whole world’s favourite anime show, almost all millennials grew up watching Maruko-chan. Her laziness, tardiness and absolute hate for homework and daily chores is something we can all relate to. The artist, Sakura Momoko has done an amazing job in portraying the daily lives of a little Japanese girl. Catching the heart of Hong Kong people, even local cafes like Teawood have incorporated Chibi Maruko-chan’s characters in 2018~2019. K11 also had a restaurant featuring Maruko-chan this summer. This Japanese cartoon depicts an ordinary school girl’s life that experiences frequent casual fights with her parents and sister just like us, showing a lot of love and warmth. 

Those are just three of the cartoons that stand out, but their rich origin stories really do give us an insight as to what it means to live and be in Asian culture. These characters embody the ethos and the principles that everyone is striving for and give you a wonderful peek into what it means to live in this Eastern background.