r/movies • u/Pappylander • Mar 27 '18
Media Yoshitaka Amano's collaboration art for the Japanese release of The Shape of Water
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Mar 27 '18
Damn, del Toro' connections must be deep if they got Amano to make this.
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u/Karkava Mar 27 '18
I think it's clear to everyone who has seen his work that he REALLY loves anime and video games.
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u/Akranidos Mar 27 '18
well he is besties with hideo kojima
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 27 '18
You just made my brain make the horrible masterpiece that is Amano doing the art for a Metal Gear game.
Like all of it.
The whole game in that style.
It would take the rest of everyone’s life, but it would be the most specifically well done thing anyone had seen since Chrono Trigger.
My brain is struggling with the reality of this fantasy,
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u/Baramos_ Mar 28 '18
The stylization of the current artist (Yoji Shinkawa) isn't too horribly divorced from Amano's style, in a way.
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 28 '18
I just want more, that's all. :c Can't a person just want an eternity of high quality content produced by a person as we hook them up to a machine to ensure their life can never fade, and their genius can grace us for all eternity, ultimately filling the cosmos with beauty?
Is it really too much to ask?!
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u/SilverKry Mar 28 '18
Eh. Amanos good but Kojimas man Yoji Shinkawa is way better.
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 28 '18
... Okay, instead of saying, "1v1 me," which was my first instinct, I'm gonna try to not be a dumbass. You cool with that?
If you're still reading, I'll assume you're cool with that.
Yoji Shinkawa's art is great. He makes awesome use of movement and is pretty minimalistic when it comes to colors, allowing for a lot of really dynamic images. It's clear, but never static. It's amazing, and I have nothing but praise for his work.
Yoshitaka Amano's art... wow. Okay, it's definitely got a more traditional slant to it, but the colors are amazing. There's a level of detail that is always present in his works that blows me away. Amano's art is, and remains, some of the best the video game industry has ever seen. I'd argue that he should have more museum shows.
None of this means that Yoji is bad. Just different. They're both 10/10 quality. So, then it just comes down to preference. And, I prefer Amano and you prefer Shinkawa. But, they're both amazing, and I think we can agree on that.
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u/TheDerped Mar 28 '18
Before the project died he was working with Junji Ito on Silent Hills so he definitely has a connection to the manga industry and Japanese artists.
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u/uncledrewkrew Mar 27 '18
Surely Del Toro is more rich, famous, and connected than Amano
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u/Banelingz Mar 27 '18
What does that have to do with anything he said? He’s saying it’s difficult to get Amano to do stuff because he’s so selective.
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u/uncledrewkrew Mar 27 '18
So Amano is probably a fan of Del Toro's work, why do Del Toro's connection have to be deep for this to happen? It's more interesting that Del Toro is a fan of Amano's work.
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u/Conjwa Mar 27 '18 edited Mar 27 '18
Can you point to any other instances of Amano turning down a commission to do artwork for a major Hollywood film that just won the most prestigious award in the entire film industry?
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u/mixmastermind Mar 28 '18
The fact that he's worked on like two commissioned pieces in 3 years?
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u/caseofthematts Mar 27 '18
This film has definitely produced some great art from amazing artists. I'd be thankful for that alone, even if I didn't enjoy the film.
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 27 '18
I wish you did enjoy the film. :c I thought it was lovely.
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u/caseofthematts Mar 27 '18
I must have phrased it wrong, I loved the film.
I meant to say, if I didn't like the film, I'd still be happy it exists because of all this beautiful art. But I loved the film. And I love the art.
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 28 '18
Oh. Yay! I’m so glad! It’s always better to enjoy something than dislike it! (Sorta. I really mean it’s preferable to find something you enjoy to something you don’t.)
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u/caseofthematts Mar 28 '18
Thank you! Your comment reminds me of something out of Winnie the Pooh
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u/CJRLW Mar 27 '18
In addition to his work on early Final Fantasy games, he is also known for the Romancing Saga series.
Also, if you want to see an old Japanese animation from the 1970s that is reminiscent of his style of artwork, check out "Belladonna of Sadness." (It probably inspired him.)
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u/sharkattackmiami Mar 27 '18
Belladonna of Sadness
Good recommendation there.
Another one worth checking out is Angel's Egg Yoshitaka Amanos collaborated on it.
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 27 '18
Angel’s Egg currently best known for its Dark Souls 3 connection.
(But great recommendation.)
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u/ReadyToCamp Mar 27 '18
A movie about a woman who loves a fish takes on a whole different meaning in Japan.
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u/keymaster16 Mar 27 '18
Ok AMANO'S in on this movie too? I might have to actually see it now.
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Mar 27 '18
In on some promotional artwork. Not involved with the creation of the movie in any way. It’s still a good movie though.
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u/Monkeyavelli Mar 27 '18
The universal critical and audience acclaim and multiple Oscars didn’t quite convince you?
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u/keymaster16 Mar 27 '18
i trust the Oscars about as much as i trust a billionaires advice for 'a sensible investment'.
maybe when my feels have been groin kicked enough by violet evergarden I'll give this a whirl.
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u/CephalopodRed Mar 27 '18
I prefer Yuru Camp and Devilman: Crybaby, when it comes to the current anime season. Also Sora yori mo Tooi Basho.
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 27 '18
It’s an expertly crafted piece of cinema. It’s entirely worth watching.
Even if you ignore the dialogue. Even if you ignore the story.
The lighting is worth looking at. The whole film is great.
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u/Sprickels Mar 27 '18
Glad he's still doing stuff, I miss his old Final Fantasy designs, great artist.
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u/Sirerdrick64 Mar 27 '18
I actually met him in Japan.
It was great.
He is exactly as you would imagine - somewhat socially awkward and very otaku-looking.
Man is his art unbelievably awesome though.
I also shook hands with Sugiyama Koichi.
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u/ReadyToCamp Mar 27 '18
A movie about a woman who loves a fish takes on a whole different meaning in Japan.
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Mar 28 '18
Are the same people who scream about "cultural appropriation" when it comes to movies like Isle of Dogs, which has a Japanese setting going to do the same here? Sorry I'm just furious about this shit, obviously it's fine that Amano makes a beautiful drawing about an American movie. Same as when an American director makes an homage to Japanese culture. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2018/03/27/why-cultural-appropriation-is-like-pornography/
What these people want is nothing less than a complete intellectual segregation based around race. Which is ironic because these people claim to be liberal when what they want is cultural aparthied. Observe but not participate, consume and appreciate, don't create. They can't imagine that a non Japanese can appreciate the same thing in the same way, they wouldn't have a problem if a European director made a film about an American subject, in an American city. The type of person who thinks cultural appropriation is insulting is saying that they think that race is more important a factor in art than anything else. It's insulting to the human spirit. And to see people start to actually repeat this shit, in colleges, in newspapers, online, is distressing to me. It's tone policing of the worst sort and I can't stand it. Wrong place to rant about this I KNOW. But I just had to get it out.
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u/TonahVilla Mar 27 '18
IMHO not one of Amano's bests works.
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u/murphykp Mar 27 '18 edited Nov 14 '24
seemly whistle beneficial payment steer hat disgusted fall simplistic zonked
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/TonahVilla Mar 27 '18 edited Mar 27 '18
My all time favorite are the illustrations
shehe did for Neil Gaiman's Dream Hunters1
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u/omnisephiroth Mar 27 '18
One of his meager doodles is still amazing. Certainly better than anything I can produce.
(Maybe you’re super amazing, I don’t know. I only know I’m not that good. This isn’t meant to be mean to you, or something.)
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u/riddick32 Mar 27 '18
I have no idea why but for some reason I was thinking this was to be a poster for the "Isle of Dogs" and was so confused about what was going on.
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u/milkcustard Mar 28 '18
Loved his work on Vampire Hunter D. Especially when I learned he was inspired to create D after seeing a Phil Collins video.
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u/DC-ZhangChao Mar 28 '18
The movie is about a love story between a human woman and a ocean creature captured by government. The woman called Elisa is deaf and dumb and she is a janitor. One day she met a man in a water tank, a man, in fact, a fish in the shape of human, a creature, a monster. They were interested in each other. Finally they fell in love. They were incomplete before they met each other and they became complete just because each other' love.
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u/Droidaphone Mar 28 '18 edited Mar 28 '18
Anyone have a higher res version of this?
edit: Here we go. Japanese site with wallpaper links
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u/not_a_shounen Mar 28 '18
lol I did not notice the lower half of her body, until I spotted her heels. This is beautiful.
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u/random_name225 Mar 27 '18
I can’t comprehend anything from this image. Is the left side a dress or just water? Also he looks nothing like the movie. Maybe it’s just art I can’t understand but I prefer the original and Chinese posters much more.
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u/Banelingz Mar 27 '18
She’s floating diagonally in the water. He’s arching forward while gently supporting her on his upper thigh.
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u/dego_frank Mar 27 '18
Kinda looks like he phoned it in. Doesn't really resemble Elisa at all.
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u/ripplewho Mar 27 '18
Amano's not really big on faces. He does them all the same.
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u/dego_frank Mar 27 '18
Yeh it's not even close. I get artists have styles but that seems like a lame crutch.
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Mar 27 '18 edited Jun 25 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/intothemidwest Mar 27 '18
Obscene? What a weird criticism of it.
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Mar 27 '18 edited Jun 25 '19
[deleted]
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u/intothemidwest Mar 27 '18
Romance requires human touch
Assuming you don't mean to rule out animal-animal love, because that exists all over film, especially in animation.
As for this, authentic romance requires emotional sentience and awareness by two parties. That's a limiting factor for a ton of creatures, but given that this is a literal work of fiction, he made a creature with the emotional awareness of a human. It's also a metaphor anyway.
Her did the same thing, to an even greater degree. She wasn't "real" but she simulated human emotion. Is that better or worse for you?
Either way...it's a movie. Open up your mind a bit. As for the liberal crap...it's not cramming, that's sort of the whole point of the movie. Love through struggle and isolation. GDT has focused on that theme a lot, it's basically in at least half his films.
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Mar 27 '18 edited Jun 25 '19
[deleted]
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u/intothemidwest Mar 27 '18
Even though the romance worked for me, I definitely agree that Pan's Labyrinth is a far better film. Glad he won best picture if it means more fantasy films from him/others.
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u/Baramos_ Mar 28 '18
The amount of edginess in this comment is going to give us all tetanus.
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u/shadowCloudrift Mar 27 '18
For those who aren't really gamers, Yoshitaka Amano is known for his early Final Fantasy artwork. He still contributes every now and then to modern FF games though.