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Anonymous
Well a little bird told me /hr/ is familiar with this man's artwork, so I wanted to ask -- what exactly is this style of art called? The genre, I mean.

I'm extremely reluctant to label it "cyberpunk" -- this kind of art is derivative of Blade Runner's influence, which existed before William Gibson wrote Neuromancer (which was supposedly when cyberpunk, as a genre, came about). And Blade Runner, in turn, was heavily influenced by the artwork of a French comic artist nicknamed Moebius. I would say cyberpunk art uses this genre, but this genre doesn't necessarily use cyberpunk, if you know what I mean.

And it isn't necessarily "science fiction"; I've seen plenty of art like this that features no science fiction elements at all (technology that doesn't exist in the real world), even though you know it's futuristic.
>> Anonymous
Blade Runner - Film Noir
>> Anonymous
>>428731

But so is Chinatown...
>> Anonymous
Not a specific genre. Paintings of urban landscapes can fall within any genre depending on the architectural styles used and technologies featured.

So in general, things like this are simply "fantastical cityscapes." Or "fantastic," I'm not entirely sure on the proper word, I've seen both variations used.

Most of Imperial Boy's work is inspired by Showa-era slums if I recall correctly, so it is neither scifi nor "fantasy," but rather a mix of elements of both to create an outlandish but familiar atmosphere. Some people refer to that as low or everyday fantasy, but I am not very familiar at terminology.
>> Anonymous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism_(art)
>> Anonymous
>>428729
Artist: Teikokushounen
http://tksn.web.infoseek.co.jp/
>> Anonymous
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something like this i guess
>> Anonymous
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I'm not sure what you could call it if it was to fit into a genre. It's the kind of vast cityscape rich with detail and texture you only find in anime and manga. Cyberpunk doesn't fit because it's actually devoid of many key cyberpunk elements, it's not exactly futurism because futurism is an embrace of clean fast looking shapes, and industrialism.

As>>428737says, these kinds of cityscapes are very much inspired by slums in China and Japan, that are very much a rejection of order and... permanance? Like, everything's just randomly bolted together, tied down, etc. It's just a slum on a large scale. An organic city almost. (though the size of it perhaps implies more money is involved, or perhaps rather, that that particular way of organising a city is not frowned upon by the government?)

I dunno, I'm babbling
you might want to check out the city of Kowloon, which was pretty much the closest thing to this until it was torn down
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

Also check out the movie Tekkon Kinkreet, it features a city similar in rich detail, though it's not got as many levels to it.
>> claycorn
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>> Anonymous
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>>429223
>Tekkon Kinkreet
Here's an entirely non-/hr/ screenshot just to illustrate my point
>> Anonymous
Though the genre rebels against attempts to categorize it, it would not be inappropriate to call this cyberpunk art. But the style has grown and been filled in since people began to call it that, so it extends in one direction to dystopia, another to oversaturation in city settings, and another, more pure direction to the "gritty underbelly" of the future.
>> Anonymous
Interesting thread, for a change. I'm also fascinated with this kind of work. I guess that Akira relates to that? I mean, Neo-Tokyo built on the crumbles of the old one and stuff. In fact you might wanna check out Cannabis' artwork as he was on the Akira staff...

http://www.anonib.com/artgalleries/index.php?t=212
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
thanks for suggesting that movie !

also please moar hr science fantasy cities ;_;
>> Anonymous
>>429223
>>429237
Those two pictures are both from the same animation studio, I believe
I think the first one was from a short film called "Noiseman"
>> Anonymous
>>429223
What the fuck, I would have loved to have visited Kowloon before it was demolished. If properly maintained, I think it would be an amazing experience to even visit there, let alone to live in.
>> Anonymous
The genre is called "anime faggotry"
>> Anonymous
TekkonKinkreet - Treasure Town, motherfucker.
>> Anonymous
>>428729

What's with the dude in the bear costume?
>> Anonymous
>>431726
And...you would be wrong. The first picture you referenced is by the same Imperial Boy (Teikoku shounen) as the OP's pic. The second is Tekkon Kinkreet.
>> Anonymous
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>>432553
>The first picture you referenced is by the same Imperial Boy
Ah, you're probably right. You can't deny they look very similar though.
>The second is Tekkon Kinkreet
No shit.