It’s 2005. Your parents make you stay at home from school because you have a fever. You still wake up a bit early and, despite being sick, you are watching Spacetoon with all of your senses. Nesting with homemade sandwiches and a warm cup of tea with milk, you turn on the television to catch the intro of ‘Al-Qannas’ (Hunter x Hunter) midway and start humming along with the lyrics to Racha Rizk’s voice. Your little sister comes in right before you hide the remote control so she wouldn’t insist on watching Kawkab Al-Zomorroda’s shows when you decide to switch channels. But actually, it’s ‘Sabek W Lahek’ (Bakusō Kyōdai Let’s & Go!!) that’s coming next; and when it does, you both shout “HAYA!” (Let’s go!) with the intro. Spacetoon is the cornerstone of millions of childhoods in the Arab world; it is almost the first TV memory of every 90s kid. No matter how differently 90s kids grew up, if a group of them was in the same room and a Spacetoon song came up, there would be collective singing. This strong attachment raises the question as to why and…
