If you ask fans in Egypt how they first started watching anime, most will have the same answer: Spacetoon. Before the internet and social media became the main source of entertainment for kids, many were glued to the television — and Spacetoon was a favorite to watch. While the pan-Arab channel had a variety of shows, it has become well known among fans as Egyptians’ gateway into anime. Whether they tuned in to ‘Captain Maged’ (the Arabic dub of ‘Captain Tsubasa’), ‘Abtal el Digital’ (The Heroes of Digital – which was the Arabic dub of ‘Digimon’), or ‘Dragon Ball,’ all are fondly remembered as childhood classics. However, the Egyptian anime scene has come far since the formal Arabic dubs of Spacetoon. With greater accessibility through the internet and the breakthrough of anime into more mainstream media, many more Egyptians have become fans — and how this came about is a story of its own, beginning with what aired on TV channels. Anime on TV While Spacetoon was the earliest contributor to anime in Egypt, it was not the only channel to air the shows: both pan-Arab Saudi channel MBC3 and…
