Forum - View topicINTEREST: 100 Artists Exhibit Their Vision of Japan in Akihabara
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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So the Akihabara vision of Japan revolves around prepubescent-looking cute girls?
 I guess there must be something I didn't get about the nature of the event, the topic sounds very broad, but the subject matter on display seems very specific.
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Chagen46
 Posts: 4377 |
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I love how you completely ignore the technical prowess behind the art (THOSE BGS) and instead focus on one specific thing. Also, Akiha is one of THE main places for otaku culture in Japan. Why are you surprised? |
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RyanSaotome
 Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Kantoku and Na-Ga as some of the headliners? I wish I could check that out.
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2013/03/30/feature-animegame-street-ads-in-akihabara-march-2013 Its basically otaku central in all of Japan. This kind of art exhibit fits perfectly with what Akihabara is all about. |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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LOL, I do think these pictures are very technically accomplished, I wouldn't deny that. I'm just wondering if the prepubescent-looking girls was part of the idea behind the project --- when I first read the theme, I was expecting illustrations of Japan, and possibly a broad variety of artstyles --- but instead, it all seems to be the same subject matter, and very similar art styles, which surprised me.
And yes, I'm aware that Akihabara is otaku central --- I've been there several times myself (about 3 years ago), and even bought a To Heart statue when I was there (so really, I'm not criticizing the art in these pictures). That said, there was a pretty broad variety of merchandise for sale there, for all sorts of series (Gundam, One Piece, Kamen Rider, etc.), and there didn't seem to be a strict focus on cute girls. I'd just be surprised if the artists were given the theme "one view of Japan" and they all basically came up with very similar ideas. And of course, I think it's a very telling sign of the times that the modern illustrator vision of Japan would be "prepubescent cute girls"  *sigh* but if that's what they want to make, I accept it for how it is.
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Fencedude5609
 Posts: 5088 |
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Yes, how horrible that these artists didn't consult with Kikaioh, who's tastes are the only one who matters, before they drew their art.
The nerve of them! (also goddamn Kantoku why are you so amazing?) |
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Kastel
 Posts: 172 Location: Chicago |
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Indeed, no cute girls exist there in Akihabara. Just mechas and shonen stuff. |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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Oh man, you guys really are too defensive, lighten up! It's like you're trying to look for something to argue about. I don't dislike this art, I was just surprised at the subject matter. Nothing to get in a hissy-fit over. 
And of course, there are lots of cute girl advertisements and merchandise in Akihabara too, but there's also a lot of other genres and series represented and for sale too (which was my point). |
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Kastel
Posts: 172 Location: Chicago |
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Whenever I go to Pixiv.net, a website comprised of doujin artists including the already mentioned Kantoku, I don't expect to see a cute girl. They're ugly and shouldn't be drawn, especially for a purpose like to represent a country whose current fascination is cuteness. |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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It seems the sarcasm is strong in this one, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't entertaining. The thing is, the article simply says that illustrators were asked to provide their "view of Japan", and anime/game illustration in Japan obviously isn't limited to just cute young girls. That's why I was wondering if there wasn't some sort of over-arching thematic to the event that wasn't mentioned in the article, or if there was something inherently similar about all the artists that were asked to participate in the event.
It's sort of like, if you had a similar event in California, and you asked 100 American illustrators to paint their vision of America, and almost all the pictures turned out to be of soldiers. It would make you wonder if there was some additional thematic to the event that wasn't mentioned in the article, or if somehow all the artists were thinking the same thing when they thought about America. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Well you're right they're cute, but only a couple might qualify as actually prepubescent |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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You may be right about that, a number of recent series have art styles that have confused me a bit as to the ages of the characters (for some reason, it seems like characters in anime these days are a bit ways shorter than they were in the 80's and 90's --- I remember being surprised when I first heard that Sailor Moon was only 14 years old, when I thought she looked tall enough to be at least 17). |
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Fencedude5609
Posts: 5088 |
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I'm not the one shocked, SHOCKED! That an art exhibition in Akihabara containing art from anime and game character designers mostly consists of drawings of cute girls. Also knock it off with the passive-aggressive smileys. They just make you look smug. |
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Fencedude5609
Posts: 5088 |
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Oh yes, "back in the 80s" no one ever drew cute girls. Nope. And they certainly didn't look nothing at all like their purported ages. Again, never. Not once. You are such a disingenuous hack. |
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Juno016
 Posts: 2386 |
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Let up on him, guys... D:
It's not surprising that cute anime-esc girls are the focus of an art show in akihabara. What's surprising is that it has a focus on only cute girls when Akihabara, as otaku-central, is also focus to other otaku pastimes and obsessions--mecha, tokusatsu, and even "fujoshi"-targeted works. That said, my problem is that this is meant to be shown to the rest of the world. What is Japan trying to accomplish? 
To be honest, while the level of detail is striking, the art itself, including composition, color, value, space, and such don't really appeal to art critiques outside of Japan... |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I'm passive, but I'm not being aggressive. And if I seem smug, well, maybe your defensiveness is clouding your perceptions a bit, though it also might be because I'm just in a very good mood right now, so maybe it makes me seem uncharacteristically good-spirited in the face of a lot of negative reactions to my first post. 
And yes, I was surprised, partially because to me, anime and game illustration is more than just "cute girls", but also because it mentions in the article that this is supposed to be a showcase to expose the art and culture of Japan to the world, so it seems strange that the artists would choose such a niche and specific subject matter to display on the global stage. Also, are you saying that this art was made by anime and game designers? I guess that wasn't how I read the article, it sounded like they were artists in the Akihabara area who were inspired by certain anime and games (maybe some clarification on this might help shed some light on the seemingly singular subject matter of the paintings).
Whoa, yikes, you're reading waaay too much into my posts again dude. I never said that "back in the 80's no one ever drew cute girls." Re-read my post --- all I said was that characters looked taller back then (to me, anyways). |
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