Japanese Box Art

I went to a great exhibition last Friday, taking in some really cool artwork that was used to promote plastic models in Japan in the last century. There were a lot of war machines, racing cars, motorbikes, monsters, superheroes, mecha and even some Gerry Anderson. Parts of the exhibition were very meta - art of things that really existed in scenes that never did used to sell something that will then be rebuilt and used to reenact further scenes that never existed. The artwork from the sixties in particular seemed to be very much in the vein of Moah! Moah!

Peruse, if you will, this dazzling scene -

You may notice that the artist finally ran out of things to add, and was probably a little bit upset when he realized there weren’t any guns left to paint going off.

Other parts of the exhibition were just plain cool; I discovered some hidden gems.

Take this guy -

His name is Diamond Eye, and he fights mythical beasts disguised as humans in the manner that Japanese superheroes have been fighting mythical beasts since the concept first appeared: he uses some kind of voodoo and transforms. He also has a Honda motorcycle, like any self-respecting, patriotic Japanese superhero, and a couple of snazzy weapons, as I learned from Japan Hero -

His sole weapon of choice is his [Diamond] Stick, a sword-like weapon, which he carries constantly in hand. In addition to using it as a stabbing and slashing weapon, from the base of its handle Diamond Eye can fire his “Noble Punch” special attack. His “Noble Punch” attack is a beam ray attack of incredible power that can stun and immobilize his enemies.

Sweet.

My favourite piece of art was probably this one -

- which turns out to be from a series named 戦闘メカ　ザブンぐル - Sentou Mecha Zabunguru, which turns up in Wikipedia as Combat Mecha Xabungle, putting me in mind of an anime starring Mike Patton. I’ve never seen or heard of the series before, but this picture is just so beautifully rendered, yet utterly mad - giant mecha on skis?!!!!!111 - its hard not to love it.

You have until the 20th May to pick your own fave, at the Shizuoka Prefectural Art Museum (Link to their website, which is shocking looking, as is the custom with all government websites across the globe.)

Monday, May 14th, 2007 Design, Entertainment, Japan, Japanese Culture, Japanese Products, Sushimatic Loves..., Things To Do Trackback URL for this entry