The styles of six virtual idols, one modern-day illustrator, and one legend of Japanese art history come together in beautiful ways.
Earlier this week, we took a look at a new project for Hatsune Miku that’s steeped in the Japanese tradition of high school extracurricular clubs kicking things up a notch in the summertime. But now the original virtual idol is getting even more traditional, as she and her Vocaloid friends are stepping into the works of Japan’s most famous painter, ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai.
The third contributor to this creative crossover is illustrator Rella, who’s served as an artist for previous official Hatsune Miku projects. While the new initiative is called “Katsushika Hokusai x Hatsune Miku Rella,” it could have also been called “Katsushika Hokusai x Hatsune Miku Kagamine Rin, Kagamine Len, Megurine Luka, Meiko, Kaito Rella,” since there are a total of six Vocaloids featured in the collection of artwork and merch.
As the most famous of the Vocaloid bunch, though, Miku is the star of the show here, given a place in both regular and super-deformed proportions on The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the most widely recognized of Hokusai’s woodblock prints, and arguably the best-known Japanese painting of all time.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa is part of Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, a sort of visual travelogue of eastern Japan in the early 1800s. Another painting in the series, Reflection from Misaka Pass in Kai Province, is graced by Kagamine Rin…
…and also by her twin brother, Len.
▼ Twins share everything, even, apparently, ukiyo-e environments.
Megurine Luka makes her appearance in Gotenyama Shinagawa Along the Tokaido, where the pink of her hair pairs nicely with the bull-bloom cherry tree blossoms between her and Mt. Fuji’s snow-blanketed peak.
We have more complementary colors as Meiko sits beside the Akafuji/Red Fuji of Fine Wind, Clear Morning, looking more than a little like a giantess in the process.
And finally, showing her caring and magnanimous attitude towards her younger brethren, Miku lets Kaito hang out on The Great Wave too.
In total, there are 12 illustrations, with regular and SD versions for Vocaloid. There’s also an impressively wide array of items on offer, with the artwork presented on clear files, key holders, acrylic standees, and pins.
For larger-scale displays, there are also bath towels, tapestries, tote bags, and cloth posters, though the first of those three seem to be limited to just the regular Miku illustration.
Also included in the lineup are zippered pouches, a slick squared-off pen case, and a folding fan, the last of which seems especially appropriate given the classical art connection.
However, while the merch lineup and prices have been announced (with nothing mentioned above over 4,000 yen), Presence, the licensing company behind the Katsushika Hokusai x Hatsune Miku Rella project, hasn’t yet said when the items will go on sale, or what channels they’ll be sold through. Still, when they do appear they’re going to look very cool, and considering that The Great Wave off Kanagawa was originally painted all the way back in 1831, a few more weeks or months doesn’t seem like too long to wait for the Hatsune Miku update.
Related: Presence
Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Presence
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