Announcement: After this, I'll be out of country until March 10/11. I may have access to my Twitter and contact e-mail, but I would not bet on it. I wanted to get one last video out before I depart. The next video then likely won't be until the end of March or start of April! I hope everyone stays well until then. ...I should play Rogue Galaxy at some point. Dark Cloud series are some of my favorite videogames.
Even as a child, these images gave me whiplash after an episode of Outlaw Star. I remember trying to piece together what they represented more than the show itself.
This is really interesting. You showed his illustration for the story 'War 81-Q' by Cordwainer Smith. It actually seems to be a collection of stories since what the cover is illustrating is a "Manshonjagger" from Smith's story 'Mark Elf', it's a killing machine left over from some Nazi resurgent element thousands of years into the future. What's interesting is that the Outlaw Star illustrations do bear a striking resemblance to things in Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality stories, with a medieval-esque feel to the universe. Outlaw Star itself also has some in-show references to Smith's work. Just thought I'd bring that to your attention.
I always had a love for those end scenes. I always felt like they had a Phantasy Star vibe as well. The mixture of Futuristic/ Medieval themes was always a treat
I like it a lot! Probably in my top five. I do think the main plot sort of collapses at the end, but I couldn't come up with a better solution (I do like the series conclusion though). I was always curious if there were plans to do more with the MacDougall Brothers. I do know there were plans for at least an OVA sequel, but what I read of the ideas were not very interesting. I would have focused on Gene and basically written off everyone else.
I used to theorize that these paintings were meant to represent an idealistic vision for melfina, what she could have been and what she could do. Exploring the cosmos going on all kinds of adventures, free and happy.
What an unexpected treat. The ending themes from Outlaw Star have stuck with me all my life; when I need to sing someone a lullaby, Akino Arai's are the first that come to mind. These images introduced me to the idea of an anti-story: sometimes catching a glimpse of another world and asking questions nobody can answer _is_ the story. What's important is that you looked into those haunting, welcoming eyes and cared enough to ask. I always seem to fall in love with artists stepping out of their comfort zones; Hicaru Tanaka testing the waters of anime, Yoko Shimomura trying her hand at electronic dance music in Parasite Eve, etc. It's bittersweet, realizing that Shimomura doesn't typically make electronica, or that so many of Tanaka's works are lost to digital preservation. I hope the originals are treated well, at least.
I think "Anti-story" is a really good word for them. I did try to acknowledge all the theories people have about them, but I don't think one answer is true. The important part is imaging why they are important on your own terms. Its a teaser for something that doesn't exist. Personally, I like the theory they represent a sort of forerunner civilization in the Outlaw Star universe, it adds to how much is refrenced but never seen in the show. If people like this video, I'll definitely take a look at more artists doing unconventional things for their careers.
@@Pseudiom I think my favorite part is how much ‘not knowing’ is a theme in Hiru no Tsuki. “nani ge nai kono omoi nee, hito ha donna kotoba de yondeiru no … atatakai kono omoi nee, hito ha donna namae de yondeiru no” “This serene feeling... Tell me, what's the word people use for it? … Such a warm feeling... Tell me, what's the name that people give to it?“ The way it’s phrased is almost alien, like Princess Kaguya asking the people of Earth. I think Tanaka’s art made us ask the same questions.
Not sure if anyone has said this, but c or an exact phonetic analog don’t exist in Japanese. There’s k for the hard c sound, s for soft c, and ty for a ch sound. If a Japanese person spells their name in English (Roman) letters with a c or other characters that aren’t used in Japanese, it’s always an attempt to look distinctive, cool, or otherworldly.
11:12 He seems to like monochrome art specifically. In 2002 he was nominated for a Chelsea award in the monochrome category for his "Knight in Grey" work.
The closing theme of outlaw star was very striking to me back in the day. Beautiful but also kinda disturbing... These illustrations just seemed so disconnected but oddly appropriate... Maybe also worth noting the contribution of the music
Emerald is a twist on The Accolade by Edmund Blair Leighton. It made me think he was creating an alternate history. I wonder if any of the other images are twists on classical art. These illustrations are a major part of why I got into illustration.
Despite having watched Outlaw Star I don't really remember these images. It's probably due to my habit of skipping intros and outros of shows after seeing them once. Cool rabbit hole.
@@Pseudiom I'm not an artist so this is going to miss a bunch of detail, but my take was they were a combination of 70/80's pulp space science fantasy and the topic of 'romance' with some early character art of Melfina. The ships and structures look to be from that era. Interpretation is trickier as that's much more dependent on the viewer. To crunch my own down into a sardine can; 'a beautiful fantasy in space'.
Stuff like this is why more than ever we have to save these websites from being deleted. Stuff like the art shown in the video can become lost media quickly. It's another reason why the creator of Outlaw Star disappears from the anime industry after Yugioh 5DS (More so due to one of the voice actresses ended up in a cult which the final last season had to change the storyline quickly) I wanna see a good video on the guy who made Outlaw Star and why he left the industry right when the anime industry was gonna be mainstream due to SAO and AOT.
I've actually thought about doing a video on the whole Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds cult controversy. I did do some very preliminary research on it and the fallout, and how real it exactly was, but I decided I needed to improve my Japanese first. Maybe in the next few years I'll look at it again.
@@Pseudiom It's a sad end to the creator of Outlaw Star because he just disappeared off the face of the internet many people think he pulled a Japan’s ‘evaporated’ people or in Japanese word for johatsu-sha which is basically people disappear on purpose because some can't end their lives so they just go off grid being homeless and I don't wanna think that is what he did. OOF
Would be disappointing if he did take the "evaporated person" route, but Ito really seems to have disappeared post-5Ds. He was somewhat of a name since he did work on Gunbuster, Patlabor, and Yu-Gi-Oh, even if he was just a design assistant. One could be more optimistic and argue he did just retire from the industry. Maybe will get more Towards The Stars material one day?
@@Pseudiom I just hope that is the case too because we get too many missing reports lately for a lot of people and coronavirus being a thing I just hope he wasn't one of the victims of said virus.
Very nicely made video, thank you. These images and the songs they're paired with really bring me back to sitting in my room at night watching Outlaw Star on Toonami the Midnight Run in 2001 and Adult Swim action in 2002-2003
Hello, What a lovely video you have made. Hicaru Tanaka has always been a fascinating artist for me and finding more info about him has been extremely difficult since I don't know Japanese. Do you know if he has shared more of his artwork? I know his old website is defunct, but I do bring a bit of good news! A long time ago I saved every picture from those galleries. I have them in a folder, but unfortunately they are not organized by what gallery they came from. After learning from your video that no record exists of them, I would like to share what I have so that others might see, but be warned that the quality of the pictures on his old website weren't exactly HD.
Why the hell didn't I see this in my Subscription feed? I remember I used to watch Adult Swim late at night with all the lights off alone in the living room, trying not to wake my folks, lol. And it was always so surreal yet not unpleasant experience when the outlaw Star ending came on. It was just such a different vibe from the show you just watched. Not quite anime, but detailed so intricately, and the music was just so somber. I was always flabbergasted by how incredible these looked. The second I saw that artwork in the thumbnail I would have clicked on this, immediately, even if it wasn't one of yours, Pseudiom (though knowing that I'm looking forward to it even more.)
Everyone has a unique reaction to these illustrations. I think its the contrast to what Outlaw Star actually is that makes it so complex. Another commenter used "nebulous" to define the emotion they create and I think that is accurate. I'm sure there's probably a more concrete term in Japan Philosophy to describe that emotion.
Outlaw Star is a series I really enjoyed and would look forward to seeing those end illustrations after every episode, I always found them oddly alien and haunting in a pleasant way, nice to know a little background to them.
thank you so much for this. the guy's art is so hard to find or buy. the ending theme illustrations will always hit me hard. along with the amazing music and vocalist Akino Arai. perfect fit.
Sure Roy, just hit me up in e-mail or wherever. I'm working on two longer videos right now, but, if you think I'll be interested in something, send 'em to me and I'll let you know once I have enough time.
