Do you love Streets of Rage 2? You know, one of the greatest beat-em-ups of all time? Well Ayano Koshiro was the art director on it, and pretty much the chief game designer too!
My brother @HokutoAndy and i wrote about Ayano Koshiro years ago in our article about notable women in the Japanese games industry. I should get that article back online!
Ayano Koshiro (@ayanokoshiro) was the art director on Actraiser 2 (1993), which in the 16bit era meant that she created a ton of sprite art herself!
You gotta understand, this was one of the most visually (and aurally!) spectacular games of the 16bit era! In 1993 Actraiser 2 provided the equivalent of AAA production values!
Here's some wonderful art of the development team behind Actraiser 2 from the game itself! I'm guessing this piece is actually the work of Hitoshi Ariga (@ariga_megamix) who was a teenager when he worked on this game! He would go on to draw the Mega Man manga (and marry Ayano!)
Future husband and wife Ayano Koshiro and Hitoshi Ariga!
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🧵The Western take on Yoshitoshi is that he was a tragic figure waging a lone war against industrialization and modernization. A war that he lost and thus the traditions he championed died with him. It's a romantic notion that also satisfies tons of biases.
🧵But it's so far from the truth. Yes Ukyo-e fell out of favor for more modern methods of reproduction like photography. But it never died out. For instance there was the Shin-hanga (新版画) movement of the early 20th Century, whose purpose was to keep Ukyo-e alive and evolve it.
1. Manga has been more popular than Marvel or DC comics in the west for decades now
2. Marvel & DC =/= All American comics. Dog Man is one of the best selling books (not just comics) in the US. Americans definitely still enjoy reading American comics!
In fact, there have been times where Dog Man has been the #1 best selling book in the US overall!
Dog-Man is the most popular comic in America, outselling any manga. But for some reason it's not really considered a comic by most, i guess cos it's for kids? Where are the articles about how Dav Pilkey is a threat to Superhero comics lol
Listening to this nice piece on the film "Living" and how the author, British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro was inspired by the Akira Kurosawa film "Ikiru," an internationally beloved classic whose title means "To Live." npr.org/2023/03/06/116…
The piece drops the ball at the end tho, when the narrator says that the film "is not just a remake" and they have a Brit critic that goes "'Ikiru,' by Kurosawa, seems to be a film about Japan, 'Living,' by Ishiguro and his colleagues. seems to me a film about humanity"
Like WTF
What does that mean? Ikiru has been widely regarded as one of the "great films" internationally for decades. It's obviously very universal in its appeal. How is it that "Ikiru" being set in Japan makes it "about Japan" but "Living", being set in the UK, makes it "about humanity"?
Sometimes I think about when Hail To The Thief dropped & this one music critic called it pretentious pap saying Thom Yorke simply screams the words "PENETRATION" over and over in 2+2=5. But the actual lyrics are "we are not even PAYING ATTENTION" lol
Oh man this album rules. It brings back so many TERRIBLE MEMORIES lol. But in a good way!
I think There There is one of Radiohead's best singles. Such a rich, downbeat, groovy, anxious sound. And what a perfect message for the times. "Just cos you feel it, doesn't mean it's there." Tough pill to swallow. But sometimes you really need to hear it
I'm overdo for a food post! I hit up some nice places in Chiang Mai recently. #ArtEaterEats
Dirty Mocha from ... Google Maps has them listed as "Cutlater Cafe" but I could swear they had a Japanese sounding name. Probably rebranded without updating google. Anyhow it was a very good cup of coffee and a beautiful cafe! #ArtEaterEats
In addition to great coffee this place specializes in wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets, which go perfectly with a hot drink (really I should have just gotten an Americano or cappuccino instead of a sweet drink to go with these!)