The trend of "Asun", a hot animation work that has caused topics in Japan, continues to this day. Throughout the whole work, all aspects shine with the light of the Showa era. This article will briefly talk about Showa elements in Asun's animation.
The bold and fairy-tale color matching style of Asun animation is closely related to the Showa era. The cover of the original bamboo library version of teacher Akasaka's "ぉそくん" is also very bold in color matching, especially the volume 17.
As you can see, the old cover looks very bright and dynamic. Although it is an antique, its fashion value is no less than that of today's comics.
According to the interview with Naoki published in April issue 16, part of the inspiration came from the cartoonist Yi's "Painting Collection". Yu Yokoyama used to paint oil paintings, but later he turned to comics. His works are praised for giving up stories and emphasizing the communication between readers and pictures. The style and color matching are extremely strange, which fascinates readers and makes them linger. In the cover of Yu Yokoyama Pictures below, we can see the collision between bright colors and large color blocks, which is the origin of the color matching style of the feature film Asun. Xing Zi, the color designer of animation, also pointed out in the April issue of MDN 16 that under the influence of the knowledge of "cuteness and arrogance coexist" and the works of two masters, Staff made a color scheme that not only followed the original Showa style but also had a postmodern flavor.
Compared with the animation style in recent years, the minimalist materials without brush strokes, the collision of large color blocks, sharp edges and corners, distorted modeling and aggressive color matching, combined with the texture of paper and carbon coloring under the background of Asun, have formed a strong visual impact, giving people a sense of absurdity, decadence and madness.
This unique artistic style is inspired by Takeru Satoh Shou's photo album "Wonderland Heritage". Heritage of Wonderland is an album that Takeru Satoh Shou spent five years traveling around the world and recording "the wonderful people and places in the world". The similarities between the two styles can be strongly felt from the cover. The material used in the animation background is more telling. Let's give two examples:
Hand chair
The mysterious object floating freely in op 1 has been placed in the harmony room of Matsuno's home for a long time. However, it seems that no one has sat on it, and its peculiar shape and color make it stand out in this small harmonious room. In fact, it is the work "Hand Chair" by Taro Okamoto, a famous modern artist in Uchida, Japan, who was active in the Showa period.
Decorative tower in the park
Another work by Okamoto, The Tower of the Sun. The tower of the sun designed by Taro Okamoto has four masks, symbolizing the past, present and future of the world. It is the landmark building of Osaka World Expo 1970 in Japan. In the animation, this is the burial place of a pine tree's self-awareness, and it is also the place where Tilia amurensis will pass when running in the morning. Random and messy shape combinations mean unknown branches and tentacles, giving people a sense of absurdity and madness.
"Art is an explosion!" It's a famous saying of Taro Okamoto. Okamoto's works, originally in the name of "anti-polarization", were further absurd, symbolized and strengthened, and finally formed the "explosion art" in the Heisei era.
The new animation of Asun not only incorporates many modern elements, but also pays tribute to the older generation. The "violent" artistic style formed by the combination of Showa and modernity adds a lot of charm to the works.
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