Inoue Takehiko: The LAST Manga Exhibition

[Eluvei]

I don't doubt it, and don't get me wrong, I think I speak for the other folks here when I say that you've done a lot to help show off so much of Inoue's work. Your efforts are very much appreciated, and if a better shot of Oda's illustration is out there, it must be tucked away in a shadowy and obscure cranny of the Internets.

Thanks a lot Grail, but really, it's no big deal; all I ever do is post images and info I find on Google, blogs or stuff like that. Actually, Griffith's the one who has the hard job of updating the Information Desk with this stuff afterwards, so we should thank him instead! Thanks Griffith!

This is what I got from an email I sent the guy who has catalogs and a dvd of I think one of the exhibitions

Well at least he gave you a little discount, when I contacted him he sounded like he had the last catalogue in existence; well, it's been a few months since then. Anyway, I'm really afraid of paying so much for something that gets a wide release afterwards. And as we've been speculating on this thread, I'd say it's very likely, since next year the exhibition will happen in Osaka and stuff.

 

[Griffith]

The owner of this blog seems to, sometimes, translate interviews from Naoki Urasawa (the Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto mangaka), and has expressed some interest in translating Inoue's interview. We should beg him to do it for us!

Good idea, have you been in touch with him already? That whole magazine looks great, though I'm particularly interested in the conversation between Inoue and Oda. Also, nice pics of those crossover images, reminds me of when Miura and Chika Umino did their alternate covers.

I don't doubt it, and don't get me wrong, I think I speak for the other folks here when I say that you've done a lot to help show off so much of Inoue's work. Your efforts are very much appreciated

I second that emotion.

Haha, now that is one hell of a wall scroll! To see that in person would be kind of surreal.

I'll say, you just don't see a lot of two-stories tall Vagabond posters hanging around California. Though I think it would look grand hanging in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art! =)

Thanks a lot Grail, but really, it's no big deal; all I ever do is post images and info I find on Google, blogs or stuff like that. Actually, Griffith's the one who has the hard job of updating the Information Desk with this stuff afterwards, so we should thank him instead! Thanks Griffith!

Ha, thank you, but these places are only as good as their members make them, and as Grail noted, you're making the Inn a much better and even a special place for Vagabond with this thread.

Well at least he gave you a little discount, when I contacted him he sounded like he had the last catalogue in existence; well, it's been a few months since then. Anyway, I'm really afraid of paying so much for something that gets a wide release afterwards. And as we've been speculating on this thread, I'd say it's very likely, since next year the exhibition will happen in Osaka and stuff.

We can only hope, and I might have misunderstood, but it seemed to me that Inoue was talking about augmenting the exhibit for future showings?

 

[Eluvei]

Good idea, have you been in touch with him already?

Actually, I was hoping you would. I'm afraid of sounding rude or too desperate for some reason. Also, you can speak for all of us and further promote the Inn, being the Innkeeper and all.

That whole magazine looks great, though I'm particularly interested in the conversation between Inoue and Oda. Also, nice pics of those crossover images, reminds me of when Miura and Chika Umino did their alternate covers.

Yeah, that's the part I'm mostly interested in, too. The interview in that magazine is that one where he announced Vagabond's end was near though, so it's probably pretty cool as well.

I second that emotion.

Ha, thank you, but these places are only as good as their members make them, and as Grail noted, you're making the Inn a much better and even a special place for Vagabond with this thread.

Thanks, man!

I'll say, you just don't see a lot of two-stories tall Vagabond posters hanging around California. Though I think it would look grand hanging in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art! =)

You have so much hope of the exhibit coming to Los Angeles that it almost brings tears to my eyes, it's truly beautiful. I really doubt Osaka will be the last time the exhibit happens, let's just hope it keeps being as successful as it is now and the chances of it coming overseas will just get bigger and bigger. Since his three major works are published in the USA, and considering the fact that he used to live there, the idea of it happening is not such a crazy one, I'd say.

We can only hope, and I might have misunderstood, but it seemed to me that Inoue was talking about augmenting the exhibit for future showings?

I'm not sure, all I know is that he has to make several adjustments for each exhibition because of each museum being totally different from each other. So, for example, if in Ueno there was a huge room and Inoue decided to make only one huge painting for that room, and then a year later it didn't fit Kumamoto the same way it did in Ueno, he would have to remake that part of the story, or tell it differently through several smaller paintings or something like that. At least that's what I understood from what we've read so far, I can't be sure though. I hope you're right, of course.

 

[Griffith]

Actually, I was hoping you would. I'm afraid of sounding rude or too desperate for some reason. Also, you can speak for all of us and further promote the Inn, being the Innkeeper and all.

Done and done. I shot him an email asking about the interview and inviting him to join the Inn.

BTW, I thought his other post about Inoue's evolving artistic style was a good read: http://www.gottsu-iiyan.ca/gib/index.php/2008/07/31/vagabond-still-rules

Yeah, that's the part I'm mostly interested in, too. The interview in that magazine is that one where he announced Vagabond's end was near though, so it's probably pretty cool as well.

Well, we've heard that before! Inoue can maybe see the ending, but that doesn't mean he's going to get there anytime soon, or won't get sidetracked. It's my theory that his style is great for improvised creativity but by the same token it's not easy to conform to an ending, he just keeps branching out. Anyway, I hope he continues until he's exhausted the story possibilities to his satisfaction, my fear is he'll just sort of "break it off" at some point, and I'd hate for that to happen.

You have so much hope of the exhibit coming to Los Angeles that it almost brings tears to my eyes, it's truly beautiful. I really doubt Osaka will be the last time the exhibit happens, let's just hope it keeps being as successful as it is now and the chances of it coming overseas will just get bigger and bigger. Since his three major works are published in the USA, and considering the fact that he used to live there, the idea of it happening is not such a crazy one, I'd say.

Yeah, that's why I don't think it's crazy either, just unreasonable!

I'm not sure, all I know is that he has to make several adjustments for each exhibition because of each museum being totally different from each other. So, for example, if in Ueno there was a huge room and Inoue decided to make only one huge painting for that room, and then a year later it didn't fit Kumamoto the same way it did in Ueno, he would have to remake that part of the story, or tell it differently through several smaller paintings or something like that. At least that's what I understood from what we've read so far, I can't be sure though. I hope you're right, of course.

Yeah, that makes sense, but it would be interesting if he went beyond adapting it for the different venues and also added things, like entire scenes even, in a sense continuing the story as the exhibit continues to travel, a sort of living, evolving tale.

 

[Eluvei]

Done and done. I shot him an email asking about the interview and inviting him to join the Inn.

Nice!

BTW, I thought his other post about Inoue's evolving artistic style was a good read: http://www.gottsu-iiyan.ca/gib/index.php/2008/07/31/vagabond-still-rules

A good read indeed. We should make a big thread about Inoue's art in general. There's plenty to talk about, from Musashi's face evolution to Slam Dunk's plagiarism accusations (which is absurd since all he did was use famous pictures as references to a few panels or covers, as you can see here: http://www.geocities.jp/slamdunk_trace/)

Well, we've heard that before! Inoue can maybe see the ending, but that doesn't mean he's going to get there anytime soon, or won't get sidetracked. It's my theory that his style is great for improvised creativity but by the same token it's not easy to conform to an ending, he just keeps branching out. Anyway, I hope he continues until he's exhausted the story possibilities to his satisfaction, my fear is he'll just sort of "break it off" at some point, and I'd hate for that to happen.

Well, I sure hope he doesn't get sick of making Vagabond. I really wasn't satisfied with Slam Dunk's ending. Minor spoilers (I describe how its ending felt to me)

Spoiler

It felt like it was just the end of a chapter or something, not the end of the series. Like he just needed a break from Slam Dunk and would finish it properly some other time.

But I guess I shouldn't worry since it's been so long and his storytelling capabilities have grown so much since the end of Slam Dunk.

Yeah, that makes sense, but it would be interesting if he went beyond adapting it for the different venues and also added things, like entire scenes even, in a sense continuing the story as the exhibit continues to travel, a sort of living, evolving tale.

Maybe that's how it happens. One day we'll know for sure, right?

 

[Griffith]

A good read indeed. We should make a big thread about Inoue's art in general. There's plenty to talk about, from Musashi's face evolution to Slam Dunk's plagiarism accusations (which is absurd since all he did was use famous pictures as references to a few panels or covers, as you can see here: http://www.geocities.jp/slamdunk_trace/)

Wow, neat link, but did people really have a problem with this, Inoue using basketball photos as reference for his basketball manga? I think it's pretty cool. Anyway, it sounds like you've got a pretty good vision for such as thread and the material it should cover, so I say go for it.

Well, I sure hope he doesn't get sick of making Vagabond. I really wasn't satisfied with Slam Dunk's ending... But I guess I shouldn't worry since it's been so long and his storytelling capabilities have grown so much since the end of Slam Dunk.

I still haven't read Slam Dunk (which made quoting that spoiler coded part tricky... finally just had to delete it =), but I've heard it had sort of an ambiguous ending, which can be done well and to great effect of course, but of which I'm generally not a big fan. I wouldn't think Vagabond's ending would be like that either since the facts of Musashi's life and even of his legend are already so well established that it's hard to leave it open-ended (the subject of this thread also casts doubt on it). In any case, I hope you're right that Inoue will at his writing peak for the conclusion of Vagabond.

Maybe that's how it happens. One day we'll know for sure, right?

Haha, certainly!

 

[aufond]

Griffith you should really read Slam Dunk, as passionate as you are about Inoue's work. It shows his development as an artist, like Berserk does with Miura. It's also really well written, has some of the greatest characters of all time, and probably the most hilarious series I've personally ever read.

This exhibition looks amazing! What I wouldn't give to see it in person.

 

[Griffith]

Griffith you should really read Slam Dunk, as passionate as you are about Inoue's work. It shows his development as an artist, like Berserk does with Miura. It's also really well written, has some of the greatest characters of all time, and probably the most hilarious series I've personally ever read.

I know, and I'm also a basketball junkie, so it's something I really have to read, but I feel kind of stuck in limbo with it. I really want to jump in, but only up to volume 6 is out here, so I'm kind of just waiting for a larger chunk to be available.

This exhibition looks amazing! What I wouldn't give to see it in person.

Yeah... maybe we should start a letter writing campaign?


UPDATE:
Got a reply from gottsuiiyan, author of The Eastern Edge blog which occasionally focuses on Vagabond. He said he's indeed going to be translating the Inoue/Oda interview, after he takes care of a couple of other things, and will let us know when the first part goes up!

 

[Eluvei]

Got a reply from gottsuiiyan, author of The Eastern Edge blog which occasionally focuses on Vagabond. He said he's indeed going to be translating the Inoue/Oda interview, after he takes care of a couple of other things, and will let us know when the first part goes up!

This is amazing news, thanks for getting in touch with him and letting us know, Griff! I'm really looking forward to it.


Whoa, I actually found another pic of Oda's Musashi. It's not a perfect scan, but we can see it a lot better now.

The guys making the Osaka version of the exhibit made a little blog to keep us updated on stuff. Too bad Google translator does such a bad job translating Vagabond-related news.

Check it out, there's a few pics too: http://www.flow-er.co.jp/osaka/ishibashi/

 

[Griffith]

The guys making the Osaka version of the exhibit made a little blog to keep us updated on stuff. Too bad Google translator does such a bad job translating Vagabond-related news.

Check it out, there's a few pics too: http://www.flow-er.co.jp/osaka/ishibashi/

Haha, awesome, the logo made me laugh:

Damn, it looks interesting, too bad there isn't a better translation, I couldn't find an email, but I did submit a comment asking if it would be possible for them to translate the blog into English. Anyway, I'm not holding my breath, it'll be fun to get the pictures and interpret the updates anyway.

 

[Eluvei]

Damn, it looks interesting, too bad there isn't a better translation, I couldn't find an email, but I did submit a comment asking if it would be possible for them to translate the blog into English. Anyway, I'm not holding my breath, it'll be fun to get the pictures and interpret the updates anyway.

Nice going contacting them, but I really doubt they'd take their time to translate something that only exists to promote a Japan-exclusive exhibit. Oh well, it's worth the shot I guess.

Anyway, check this out: http://urah-official.blogspot.com/2009/11/museum-of-contemporary-art-tokyo-public.html

That mini-exhibit turned out to be just one gigantic painting, which we can see Inoue making in the above blog post. He paints while looking at the progress on a TV screen in front of him, pretty cool. That painting is probably the best thing I've ever seen Inoue work on. Amazingly beautiful.

Wow, this thread is getting really illustrated!

 

[Th3Branded0ne]

Really Nice! It's just amazing how detailed it looks. I would not mind seeing those in a mural where graffiti used to be.

 

[slan69]

Wow that is just absolutely beautiful and I am only looking at it from the computer. It must be a sight to behold if you really saw it up close, to bad though I don't think I will ever get the chance to do so.

 

[Grail]

Thanks for finding that better version of the Oda illustration, Eluvei. You can see the details and differences in tone much more easily, now.

And that painting is amazing. Just the thought of Inoue making such a large illustration is vertigo-inducing.

 

[Uriel]

BRB -- going to Japan.

 

[aufond]

My god, that painting brings tears to my eyes!

 

[Griffith]

I must pay my respects to that amazing painting, I agree it's one of the best Inoue has ever done, and certainly among the most grand. It's like Vagabond made for the Sistine Chapel.
That said, a little instant sacrilege, doesn't it look like Musashi is giving the finger?

 

[Eluvei]

That said, a little instant sacrilege, doesn't it look like Musashi is giving the finger?

Hahahaha it does!

...

Well, thanks a lot man, now you've completely ruined the painting for me. I'll just laugh when I look at it. And one day I won't find it funny anymore but won't be able to like it like I did before. I won't find it funny nor beautiful. Thanks.





The Osaka exhibition's website is now online! http://www.flow-er.co.jp/osaka/

And the Flower website has been updated to add it, with a nice picture in front of the museum. http://www.flow-er.co.jp/

 

[Griffith]

Hahahaha it does!

...

Well, thanks a lot man, now you've completely ruined the painting for me. I'll just laugh when I look at it. And one day I won't find it funny anymore but won't be able to like it like I did before. I won't find it funny nor beautiful. Thanks.

Haha, sorry man, I'm sure it's merely a product of the photograph. =)

The Osaka exhibition's website is now online! http://www.flow-er.co.jp/osaka/

And the Flower website has been updated to add it, with a nice picture in front of the museum. http://www.flow-er.co.jp/

Wow, the accompanying website video background are very cool, especially the one for Draw.

 

[Eluvei]

Haha, sorry man, I'm sure it's merely a product of the photograph. =)

I sure hope so!
Check out the blog for a new small picture of Inoue painting that colossal awesomeness: http://www.flow-er.co.jp/osaka/ishibashi/

Wow, the accompanying website video background are very cool, especially the one for Draw.

Yeah, it's the best. Inoue's chair looks so comfortable. Osaka's video's pretty relaxing.

 

[Griffith]

I sure hope so!
Check out the blog for a new small picture of Inoue painting that colossal awesomeness: http://www.flow-er.co.jp/osaka/ishibashi/

Cool, hopefully we'll get to see a bigger, better image of the finished painting some day.

Yeah, it's the best. Inoue's chair looks so comfortable. Osaka's video's pretty relaxing.

Yeah, the Osaka makes me think I'm supposed to be having some kind of zen moment, or that I'm at the end of a Hideo Kojima game. =)

 

[Eluvei]

Cool, hopefully we'll get to see a bigger, better image of the finished painting some day.

I hope it gets integrated on the exhibition from now on, so that when it comes to America we can all cry and hug each other in front of it.

Yeah, the Osaka makes me think I'm supposed to be having some kind of zen moment, or that I'm at the end of a Hideo Kojima game. =)

That's exactly the feeling. That "should I be crying right now?" kinda thing.

 

[Griffith]

I hope it gets integrated on the exhibition from now on, so that when it comes to America we can all cry and hug each other in front of it.

Haha, of course, some day... some day.

That's exactly the feeling. That "should I be crying right now?" kinda thing.

Yeah, it kinda reminds me of the plastic bag from the American Beauty.

 

[aufond]

The vagueness of that hand is odd for Inoue, but somehow it kind of adds to the beauty of that painting. I wonder if that painting is complete in that pic.. Either way, I really hope we get a better picture of this soon, one that doesn't have Musashi flipping you off.

 

[Eluvei]

The vagueness of that hand is odd for Inoue, but somehow it kind of adds to the beauty of that painting. I wonder if that painting is complete in that pic.. Either way, I really hope we get a better picture of this soon, one that doesn't have Musashi flipping you off.

I don't know if it's finished, but it probably is. In this pic you can see Inoue drawing the hand while the other half of the painting is not in the picture. So I suppose he completed both parts of what would later become the whole painting, glued them together and then just made final adjustments or something.

Also, the picture we're discussing for so long is taken from an apparently old television set (it's not even flat screen) that Inoue uses to see the whole painting from above, so let's keep in mind that the real thing is much clearer (and prettier) than that.



Update: yeah, it was finished, and it's already exposed as you can see here.

It's an illustration made in japanese paper (Washi, used for paintings) measuring 7.4 meters in height and 5.6 meters in width.

The painting is part of the Tokyo Cultural Transmission project, made as a partnership between Tokyo's Culture and History Foundation and Tokyo's government. The project's goal is to transmit to the kids the country's culture and to influence their imagination.

The painting is at the entrance of Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art, and can be seen for free. Along with it, Inoue exposes 12 other original artworks. They will be exposed until March 28, 2010.