Takano is a Japanese illustrator and manga artist. She is best know for her presence in the 'Superflat' movement and the Kaikai Kiki art group, the same group of artists in which Takashi Murakami is a member (the founder of the Super flat movement).
What I like about her work:
I love the characters' facial expressions! The simple lines are brought out by the use of intentional messy tones in the colour, while still keeping to the idea of a flat image.
With some of her work such as the example above and to the right, there seems to be an impressionist influence in the painting of material and backgrounds.
I also like how childlike the female characters look, yet still keeping mature confidence. From previous knowledge and stereotypical assumption, most strong women portrayed in commercial Japanese anime styles are 'heavy chested' to show their desirability, yet somehow they still appear shy and easily embarrassed as this is deemed "cute".
Takano's girls are mostly topless, revealing a flatter bust, yet they don't really seem to care- it is natural to them. I prefer this approach of not being bothered about seeming less desirable in a commercial world.
Subterraned (2004):
Takano created a short comic book called 'Subterraned'. Not much information can be found on it. However, from the extracts I found in the 'Drop Dead Cute' book, it seems to follow a quaint story about a fish girl who spends her time travelling the ocean to pass the time until her mother returns home.
[Vartanian, I (2005). Drop Dead Cute. California: Chronicle Books LLC. 92-92.]
Spaceship EE (2002):
Spaceship EE again isn't very well known in the western world and isn't very widely read because it was only printed in Japanese.
The idea behind this story is a 23 year-old office worker who, to help escape from reality, plays space-themed video games. As her real life becomes more mundane and stressful, she drifts in and out of her sci-fi dreams and begins to feel free.
Because most of Takano's commercial work is mainly painted, some people found 'Spaceship EE' a shock: some foolishly found it disappointing. This was because the colour work was done in quick watercolour but most of the comic was printed in black and white or greyscale.
Personally, I find this equally attractive because it shows Takano's flexibility in technique and also gives the feeling of being trapped in a bleak world, unable to make life seem as exciting as reality.
NOTE: The source of these examples are off a website where you can view the first chapter free and it has been translated into English as much as possible. Personally, I don't think it looks as good in English...but at least you can read it...
[ Takano, A. (-). Space Ship EE / Chapter 1. Available: http://manga.animea.net/space-ship-ee-chapter-1.html. Last accessed 25th Sep 2012. ]
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