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.
INDEX
How to deal with the latest technologies such as generative AI
Takano: How do you come up with ideas for your works?
Fukuchi: I am always inspired by ideas, but personally, I place great importance on how to use technology. For example, if it is a T-shirt, I would like to see an expression of anime, or if it is a sticker, I would like to see what would happen if I tried to make something else with it. For example, if it’s a T-shirt, I would like to see this kind of expression in animation, or if it’s a sticker, I would like to see what would happen if I made something else with it.
Takano: I see! There are various technologies, such as AR, but the first step is surprise and fun.
Celeina: Like feeling first.
Fukuchi: Yes, that’s right.
Celeina: Also, since you know so much about technology, I’d like to ask you about generative AI, which has been a hot topic recently. What do you think about this?
Fukuchi: I think it’s a hot topic in many fields right now, but I personally think it’s still limited to learning assets that people have thought up until now and producing something that looks as close to the original as possible. I believe that interesting results can be achieved by having humans work hand in hand to provide what are called “prompts,” or directions as to what kind of pictures should be produced. So, for me, it is one of the tools, just like Photoshop. Conversely, of course, there is a sense of crisis that creators will be left behind if they don’t know how to use these tools.

Takano: You mentioned that it is important what kind of instructions are given, but the ability or sense to choose what comes out is something that can only be done by a human being.
Celeina: But isn’t that just for now? What will happen when generative AI is further developed?
Fukuchi: I think it will be 10 to 20 years from now to see how far it will be able to think like humans, but for example, even if the same thing is created at a glance, I believe that it will be possible to distinguish between things created by humans with various thoughts and contexts in mind. I don’t feel much of a sense of crisis because I believe that we need to aim for that kind of creativity in the first place.
Celeina: I guess it’s all about feeling first.
Takano: Mr. Fukuchi, I would like to hear more, but I would like to interrupt one song. Mr. Fukuchi, I asked you to choose a song that you would like everyone to listen to together at this time.
Fukuchi: “Beagle” by in the blue shirt.
Celeina: Why did you choose this song?
Fukuchi: It was a song that I remember listening to in the evening when I first came to Tokyo, so I introduced it to you.
Takano: I like it. Let’s listen to it.