<p>To most Japanese, <em>William Tell Overture</em> is tied to racing kind of situations, where some sort of competition is involved or someone is required to finish something in a limited (short) time.</p>
<p>This is probably because the theme is one of the most commonly used music in sprint or relay race in &quot;sports festival&quot; (spotrs day?) held annually in schools.</p>
<p>The &quot;festival&quot; is called <a href="https://www.google.co.jp/search?sca_esv=853f175af13f0422&amp;q=%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95%E4%BC%9A&amp;udm=2&amp;fbs=AEQNm0BqbPbAzSj6PhNr7nv9Ltx-_j5BE7dEgllMB3FokNX4rTA8ko4kN-y-MQVwLfQ2s-UM9BvF9ev_yHSYE3T0ubbTLo3W8p9nRXoKeeCcWuCG0zBP3eHhUgxM7x8iRFEPSECeEiAyCnLUjBQq4FdnUVNujts9pfteVfjuG-HmZqzMzj0gzVdDbFWUl17ndlYFE8GqvCdyieyaS7AFBeQPXKQhyzpENxGu10MZ17YaJdknFrhGmCY&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjlhNS7prOJAxVz2jQHHQSQOUMQtKgLegQIDBAB&amp;biw=1327&amp;bih=743&amp;dpr=1.25" rel="noreferrer">運動会</a> (undo kai) or 体育祭 (taiiku sai) in Japanese, and you may get some idea from the images in the link.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://kuzumisan.com/sports/sports-day" rel="noreferrer">website</a> lists other music used frequently in the same situation, including <a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E7%8D%84%E3%81%AE%E3%82%AA%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7#%E5%BA%8F%E6%9B%B2" rel="noreferrer">Orphée aux Enfers</a> (the Wikipedia article contains the music), <a href="https://youtu.be/nl4ZmeJul-w?feature=shared" rel="noreferrer">Csikós Post</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/kLhyT-EsnzM?feature=shared" rel="noreferrer">The Comedians (Kabalevsky)</a>. I think most Japanese people, like me, do not really distinguish these music, simply recognizing them as what they've heard while running in childhood. (I didn't know most title names until now).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-29T09:56:41.030Z
2024-10-29T09:56:41.030Z
sundowner
<p>Episode 1.4 of <em>Dandadan</em> features a remix of the William Tell Overture in a brilliant chase sequence.  To me as an old American guy, I remember it as the theme to the old <em>Lone Ranger</em> television show.  My mind pictures cowboys, Native Americans, and or train robbers in a high-speed horse chase, so the music was perfect, more than perfect, from my perspective.</p>
<p>But to a Japanese person, is there a similar cultural tie that would bring to mind a chase?  Or to them was it merely fast-paced classical music that fit the animation?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-26T14:47:05.413Z
Hmmmm........ Good question. As much as I like answering an interesting question compared to this one, but I'm not entirely so sure if there's a straight answer for this one. So I can only offer a wild guess. It was probably used for a comical purpose in this anime since this Dandadan is a comedy anime.
Henkyo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-26T19:37:56.297Z
Never underestimate the influence of American pop culture overseas!
今撫子
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-26T20:07:09.327Z
Appartely, in the US that jingle has been widely used in advertismenet and cartoons too, not just for *Lone Ranger*.
Gae. S.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T15:51:21.653Z
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304422X17302267
Fumikage Tokoyami
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T14:19:34.480Z
@FumikageTokoyami, thank you for the link to the scholarly article.  It was an interesting history of the acceptance of western classical music in Japan.  I don't think it specifically shed any light concerning the William Tell Overture, though.
RichF
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T15:52:17.630Z
@RichF the article gives an overview of influence of Western music in Japanese culture. It is not specific to William Tell Overture.
Fumikage Tokoyami
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-29T14:02:52.937Z
First thing that comes to mind for me are fox hunts when listening to that piece.
Ocean
<music><dandadan>
Does the William Tell Overture have a special significance in Japanese culture?
# Does the William Tell Overture have a special significance in Japanese culture?
Posted by: username_0 on 2024-10-26
Episode 1.4 of *Dandadan* features a remix of the William Tell Overture in a brilliant chase sequence. To me as an old American guy, I remember it as the theme to the old *Lone Ranger* television show. My mind pictures cowboys, Native Americans, and or train robbers in a high-speed horse chase, so the music was perfect, more than perfect, from my perspective.

But to a Japanese person, is there a similar cultural tie that would bring to mind a chase? Or to them was it merely fast-paced classical music that fit the animation?
**Tags:** music dandadan
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hmmmm........ Good question. As much as I like answering an interesting question compared to this one, but I'm not entirely so sure if there's a straight answer for this one. So I can only offer a wild guess. It was probably used for a comical purpose in this anime since this Dandadan is a comedy anime.  
> **username_2**: Never underestimate the influence of American pop culture overseas!  
> **username_3**: Appartely, in the US that jingle has been widely used in advertismenet and cartoons too, not just for *Lone Ranger*.  
> **username_4**: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304422X17302267  
> **username_0**: @FumikageTokoyami, thank you for the link to the scholarly article.  It was an interesting history of the acceptance of western classical music in Japan.  I don't think it specifically shed any light concerning the William Tell Overture, though.  
> **username_4**: @RichF the article gives an overview of influence of Western music in Japanese culture. It is not specific to William Tell Overture.  
> **username_5**: First thing that comes to mind for me are fox hunts when listening to that piece.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_6 on 2024-10-29. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
To most Japanese, *William Tell Overture* is tied to racing kind of situations, where some sort of competition is involved or someone is required to finish something in a limited (short) time.

This is probably because the theme is one of the most commonly used music in sprint or relay race in "sports festival" (spotrs day?) held annually in schools.

The "festival" is called [運動会](https://www.google.co.jp/search?sca_esv=853f175af13f0422&q=%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95%E4%BC%9A&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0BqbPbAzSj6PhNr7nv9Ltx-_j5BE7dEgllMB3FokNX4rTA8ko4kN-y-MQVwLfQ2s-UM9BvF9ev_yHSYE3T0ubbTLo3W8p9nRXoKeeCcWuCG0zBP3eHhUgxM7x8iRFEPSECeEiAyCnLUjBQq4FdnUVNujts9pfteVfjuG-HmZqzMzj0gzVdDbFWUl17ndlYFE8GqvCdyieyaS7AFBeQPXKQhyzpENxGu10MZ17YaJdknFrhGmCY&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjlhNS7prOJAxVz2jQHHQSQOUMQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=1327&bih=743&dpr=1.25) (undo kai) or 体育祭 (taiiku sai) in Japanese, and you may get some idea from the images in the link.

This [website](https://kuzumisan.com/sports/sports-day) lists other music used frequently in the same situation, including [Orphée aux Enfers](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E7%8D%84%E3%81%AE%E3%82%AA%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7#%E5%BA%8F%E6%9B%B2) (the Wikipedia article contains the music), [Csikós Post](https://youtu.be/nl4ZmeJul-w?feature=shared) and [The Comedians (Kabalevsky)](https://youtu.be/kLhyT-EsnzM?feature=shared). I think most Japanese people, like me, do not really distinguish these music, simply recognizing them as what they've heard while running in childhood. (I didn't know most title names until now).
---
