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 September 25, illustrator Kae Tanaka will appear. We asked her about her passion for the characters she draws, the artists who have influenced her, and the appeal of professional wrestling, which she has recently become addicted to.
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Ever since I was a little girl, various genres of drawings have always been by my side.
Celeina (MC): First up for the week is this person recommended by the program. She is illustrator Kae Tanaka. Please give her a hand.
Tanaka: Nice to meet you, my name is Kae Tanaka.
Takano (MC): Kae has uploaded many illustrations on her SNS, so I would like to encourage everyone to check out her SNS. Currently, she has 38,000 followers on Instagram and 26,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter). And I hear that you have many followers not only in Japan but also overseas.
Tanaka: That’s right. I used to be in a Netflix show called “Queer Eye,” and I also produce soft vinyls, so I often get followed by people overseas through that.
Celeina: I see. Here is a brief profile of Kae Tanaka: Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1995, she graduated from Tama Art University’s Department of Information Design, Media Arts Course in 2017. After graduation, she started her artist activities while working as a company employee. Recently, you have collaborated with Nogizaka46 and MomokogumiCompany, as well as Onitsuka Tiger, BEAMS, New Japan Pro Wrestling, El Desperado, and designed the TV show “Bakusho Hit Parade 2023,” which is a really diverse genre. The first thing I noticed is that we are the same age.
Tanaka: We are the same age.
Takano: That’s nice, like we are a little closer just by being the same age.
Tanaka: Like we share the same culture that we have walked through.
Celeina: I think we are close.
Takano: You have collaborated with various genres, and Kae’s illustrations are really wonderful.
Celeina: They are cute, aren’t they?
Tanaka: Thank you very much.
Takano: Moreover, they have something more than just cute and cuddly. I feel a gentle sense of emptiness.
Tanaka: That’s a nice word.
Takano: There are many elements in this song, so I think it will be easier to understand if you look at the illustrations on Kae’s SNS while listening to this radio show.
Celeina: I was wondering, looking at your illustrations, what kind of culture were you exposed to in your family?
Tanaka: When I was in kindergarten, my parents drew pictures of my favorite characters on my slippers and my mother drew picture books. My mother drew picture books. In that way, I have always been involved with drawing, and I always felt that I was always around. Around junior high school, I became more of an otaku and came into contact with painting in a different way, but I feel that I have always been involved with it.
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Large socks and horns keep the balance of the picture.
Takano: I think you often draw girl characters, but I really like the fashion. It’s like a fun way of cataloging coordinated outfits.
Tanaka: Thank you very much. I like the clothes. I think it is cute to have big feet and a lower center of gravity as a balance when I draw them. I have big feet myself, but I always want to wear very big shoes, and I prefer to wear shoes that are large in both length and width, so that is reflected in my drawings quite a bit. But I’m not good at drawing shoes, so I often don’t wear shoes.
Takano: So that’s how it is.
Celeina: It sure looks like a big sock.
Tanaka: I once exhibited at a shoe store, but I almost didn’t draw shoes. They allowed me to do so, but I was sorry.
Celeina: Your own fashion, too. Oh, really, you wear very massive sneakers.
Tanaka: They are called “grounds,” and pretty much everyone is wearing them now.
Takano: Wait a minute, I’m wearing grounds too. They are nice, aren’t they?
Tanaka: They are easy to wear and don’t have the weight of thick soles. I can put them on with Velcro.
Celeina: They are easy to wear and fashionable.
Tanaka: They are really good. The center of gravity is down.
Takano: I understand that you have some artworks and goods with you today.
Celeina: Cute!
Tanaka: The stickers.
Celeina: Are the stickers in a package?
Tanaka: The person who made them was very particular about the packaging.
Celeina: The stickers are in the form that you open and take them out of the package.
Takano: And this is a soft vinyl.
Tanaka: There is a GACHA GACHA series called VAG, and we have about three of them now. I try to make sure to include brownish girls in the series. I also wanted to create a more multicultural image, like a “gyaru” feel.
Celeina：I get the impression that you are very particular about the horns in your illustrations. When I looked at the illustrations, I got the impression that there were horns, ears, or something growing out of the head.
Tanaka: It makes the picture very well-balanced. When I look at the printed version, it seems as if the space above would be lonely without the corners.
Takano: You were certainly talking about the volume of the feet, but that balance could be good.
Celeina：I would say a little accent on the head and feet. Going back to what Mr. Takano said about fashion catalogs, I think I could incorporate that in my fashion. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit ordinary and boring. I think I’ll give it a try by creating one particular look on my feet or on my head.
Takano: Wear loose socks and grounds, and come tomorrow with horns (haha).
Celeina: Wait, wait, wait, quick, quick. Let me take it in a little at a time.
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Why the characters don’t laugh.
Takano: There’s another thing I’ve been wondering about. Many of the characters you draw are very cute and two-dimensional, but none of them are smiling. Are you particular about this?
Tanaka: I dislike my own smiling face so much that I can’t draw smiling faces. When I make goods for idols, I sometimes draw them with smiling faces, but I try not to make them smile in my original drawings. It is a reflection of my complex, so it does not help me in any way.
Takano: But I think that is one of the originalities of Kae’s characters. I don’t know what he is thinking, so I think it is a point that draws us in through our imagination.
Tanaka: Aren’t smiling pictures scary?
Celeina: When you say it like that, it looks different. It makes me want to take a closer look at the smiling pictures.
Tanaka: I think the smiling picture is definitely scary. I think it would be better without smiling.
Takano: It’s interesting because it led me to change the way I look at various works. Who are some of the artists who have influenced you?
Tanaka: I include them in my profile, but I think Osamu Tezuka and Hideo Agatsuma are my influences.
Takano: “Disappearance Diary”.
Tanaka: That’s right. I started with the non “Disappearance Diary” and there was a time when he drew more normal manga, so I like those manga better.
Celeina: That’s pretty old-school.
Tanaka: I was influenced by my parents, but I dug deeper on my own and ended up with Agatsuma and Tezuka.
Takano: But I feel the DNA in your style. I’d love to hear more, but let’s interrupt for a song. I asked Kae-san to choose a song that she would like to listen to with everyone on the radio at this time.
Tanaka: It’s a song called “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” by Travis Scott. It is on the album “Utopia”.
Celeina: So, you’ve been talking about various things, and you landed on Travis Scott.
Tanaka: I got hooked on Travis Scott because of his fashion. He has a great brand called “Cactus Jack,” and right now Cactus Jack is really at the forefront of my mind, and I also listen to a lot of music.
Takano: Let’s listen to it then.
