2025 Was the Year of Gen Z Protests, Where Japanese Manga Met the Streets as a Symbol of Resistance

Across continents, 2025 became a year defined by youth anger, digital mobilisation and a growing distrust of political power. The year was all about youth led movements, often referred to as the "Gen Z Protests". Young people took to the streets to protest against issues such as government leadership and corruption, a government ban on social media in Nepal, economic insecurity in Peru, shortages of water and power in Madagascar, and limited access to education and healthcare in Morocco. Youth led movements also took place in Kenya, Indonesia and the Philippines. In Nepal, protests in September forced Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli to resign.But there was one unifying force behind the Gen Z protests. It was the use of pop culture iconography.

A digitally savvy generation that uses emojis to communicate its thoughts brought in an unlikely symbol to the protests: the Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger from the Japanese manga series One Piece. The X (formerly Twitter) handle Anime Spotlight tweeted, "After Indonesia, One Piece has now become the symbol of Gen Z youth protests in Nepal following the government’s social media ban." For the unversed, the flag is a fictional Jolly Roger depicting a cartoonish skull with two crossbones and a straw hat. In the manga, the flag represents Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, who consistently challenge a corrupt and autocratic World Government and fight for the liberation of oppressed people.For a generation raised online, shared cultural references moved faster than borders, allowing protest symbols to spread almost instantly.The pirate flag united Gen Z protesters from the Himalayas to the Andes and became a symbol of resistance. The real world collided with the digital world, amplifying their voices at speed. This was also seen during the 2019 pro democracy protests in Hong Kong, where Pepe the Frog was adopted.The year also showed the power of social media in mobilising young people across the world. Discord and Reddit became centres for organising protests, while TikTok and Instagram simplified complex issues that resonated with the youth. X provided news from across the world and was driven by hashtags and memes. For instance, hashtags such as #nepokids and #nepobabies, aimed at nepotism and referencing social media images of wealthy children of the political elite posing with luxury shopping hauls, started doing the rounds. Such was the impact that some of the individuals named in the #nepokids and #nepobabies campaigns removed their social media accounts.Together, these movements suggested that youth led protests in 2025 were not isolated moments, but a sign of how political resistance may take shape in the years ahead.