A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 30, Makoto Fukuchi, producer of creative company “Whatever”, planner of Creative Lebel “nor”, and media artist, was introduced by Yasuyuki Kanazawa, photographer and representative director of “Oni” Inc. We asked Mr. Fukuchi, who has won numerous awards both in Japan and abroad, about his T-shirts and stickers, his thoughts on the latest techniques and technologies such as generative AI, and about works he has found inspiring recently.
INDEX
T-shirts and Yokai hologram stickers using AR
Takano (MC): Yesterday, Mr. Kanazawa called me a “fellow otaku.
Fukuchi: We are also friends who watch anime together, but we also work and camp together.
Celeina (MC ): We are hobby buddies. Fukuchi-san is a producer for the creative company “Whatever” and a planner for the creative label “nor,” and he is involved in various creative activities both professionally and personally. You actually brought one of your works with you today, didn’t you?
Fukuchi: Yes. I am wearing an outfit today, and there is a chip like a game cassette in my arm.
Celeina: In your pocket.
Fukuchi: By touching it with your smartphone, you can walk around wearing the expression “AR” without the need for a dedicated app.
Celeina: So you don’t need an app or anything?
Fukuchi: Yes, because it uses Instagram filters. If you’re Japanese, you’re on Instagram.
Takano: Can I try it on my cell phone?
Fukuchi: Of course.
Takano: (Trying it out.) Oh, wow!
Celeina: That’s right! A notification pops up on top, and you can easily open the filter by clicking on it?
Fukuchi: If you look at it and get a little closer, it will recognize you.
Takano: “Please project your face.” …… Oh, it glowed! Wow, I’ve grown wings! I’ve transformed!
Celeina: You are having so much fun! (laughs) You’ve transformed.
Takano: Wow! I want one! (laughs)
Fukuchi: We all had conversations in the past about what kind of superpower we wanted, right? I’m trying to create something like that, something you can wear and walk around in naturally.
Takano: Interesting!
Celeina: Is this T-shirt one of nor’s projects?
Fukuchi: No, but it is a product called “XRT (XRT)” by HKSK, a company I am personally in charge of producing as a whole.
Takano: It is amazing that you personally created this.
Celeina: Can I buy this?
Fukuchi: I can’t buy it yet, but I am talking with the IP holders of anime and games about how fun it would be to have various different abilities from a T-shirt. Also, I said “individually,” but of course there are many creative teams behind the scenes, and it feels like we are working together.
Takano: Earlier, the expression was like a feather fluttering in behind you.
Fukuchi: Yes, there are. For example, there is a ring of flame on his back, or water swirling up from below like in a certain anime. It could also have swords coming out of it, and many other things could be expressed, so it would be fun to see what the future holds.
Takano: I want one!
Celeina: No, really. Can this technology be used for something other than T-shirts?
Fukuchi: Yes, it can. The base is a well-known technology called “AR” or augmented reality, so of course it can be used for other things.
Celeina: That’s great. And is there another sticker that you have found interesting recently?
Fukuchi: (Showing the sticker) It’s this one, isn’t it?
Takano: Is it a square sticker in the size of a black business card?
Fukuchi: There is a neighborhood where people make their own stickers. There are people who are making new hologram stickers, which have been featured on the Internet radio station “DOMMUNE” about four times. This is one of the stickers made by an artist named AGAWA.
Takano: It’s amazing! The characters move so much! It looks a bit like a Bikkuriman sticker, but the holograms really make it look like an image. The characters move when you change the angle.
Celeina: This is not a screen anymore. They are stickers, right?
Takano: It’s moving in fine layers.
Fukuchi: That’s right. The “lenticular” technique, in which two or so different types of pictures are switched to form a hologram seal, has been around for a long time, but now that the layers can be chopped finely, the expression was very digital, but this is the opposite. But this is the opposite: something like an image is moving in a world where there is not a single digital image.
Celeina: I want this again. ……
Takano: They all look cool.
Celeina: Is this called “Yokai Hologram”?
Fukuchi: Yes, it’s like one series of AGAWA’s works.
