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INTEREST: Takashi Murakami's Mascots Join Macy's Thanksgiving Parade




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Twilightmaster



Joined: 24 Aug 2008
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:08 pm Reply with quote
Of all the anime things that could have gone in the Thanksgiving parade, this made the cut? What the hell? I've never even heard of this before.
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PBsallad



Joined: 19 Dec 2009
Posts: 338
Location: Phoenix
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:15 pm Reply with quote
I haven't heard of them either, and they look ugly too. Sad
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ladykibble



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:18 pm Reply with quote
Darn it...I read the "Kiki made into balloon float" part first and was hoping it was talking about Kiki's Delivery Service...now THAT would have been a cool float.

These are kinda meh.
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belindabird
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Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 134
Location: Minneapolis
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:40 pm Reply with quote
Sorry, but I think these are great! It's interesting to me to see something much less commercial and iconic transformed into a balloon and I'll certainly be looking forward to it on television. I think Murakami's crossing of the boundaries between art and commercialism are really interesting, and this is just another example.

For those of you not familiar with his art, I suggest looking Takashi Murakami up by name or doing a Google search for the "Superflat" movement to get a better picture of the type of artwork this entails. Since it's an art movement based partly on the aesthetic of anime/manga, it's worth it to fans to know a bit about it Wink
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Ryusui



Joined: 22 Jun 2004
Posts: 463
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:50 pm Reply with quote
The names Kiki and Kaikai immediately brought to mind the old game Pocky & Rocky. >_>

Am I the only one who thinks Kiki looks creepy as hell? Not just the three eyes, but the fact that the middle one is off-center.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 5:51 pm Reply with quote
Takashi Murakami is awesome. He parodies Japanese culture and actually becomes well-known for it--more well known to Westerners than much of the stuff he's parodying.

At least it isn't "My Lonesome Cowboy" being made into a balloon float. (Though it'd be hilarious if that happened.)
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:41 pm Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Takashi Murakami is awesome. He parodies Japanese culture and actually becomes well-known for it--more well known to Westerners than much of the stuff he's parodying.
Well you know what they say; there's no such thing as bad publicity. Wink

Quote:
At least it isn't "My Lonesome Cowboy" being made into a balloon float. (Though it'd be hilarious if that happened.)
That was my first thought when I read the headline. I said to myself, "naa, they wouldn't dare." Laughing
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trunkschan90



Joined: 08 Aug 2002
Posts: 594
Location: California
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:49 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
At least it isn't "My Lonesome Cowboy" being made into a balloon float. (Though it'd be hilarious if that happened.)


How would you explain that balloon to a kid? Laughing
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Lucca_Ashtear



Joined: 07 Oct 2007
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:51 pm Reply with quote
Murakami's art isn't for everyone (as shown by many of the reactions in this forum) but as someone who digs the satirical nature of his work I'm really excited about this.
It also won't be the first time Murakami's art will be seen by millions in NY. Back in 2003, there was a large art installation right in the middle of Rockefeller Center. It was quite a spectacle.
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Denys



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:54 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Update: The Slamxhype website posted a video of Murakami's team of artists working on the Versailles exhibit at their studio.


Actually this footage is from Le Figaro Madame's website

This article features interesting pictures of Murakami's studio too.

Anime smallmouth
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:55 pm Reply with quote
Can you please explain how this float is satirical?

Cause it just looks generically cute to me.
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1685
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:12 pm Reply with quote
trunkschan90 wrote:
Quote:
At least it isn't "My Lonesome Cowboy" being made into a balloon float. (Though it'd be hilarious if that happened.)

How would you explain that balloon to a kid? Laughing


At least you know where the ropes would be attached. Very Happy
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blarg01



Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:50 pm Reply with quote
wait wait wait, people actually tune in to watch the parade?
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6397
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:08 am Reply with quote
blarg01 wrote:
wait wait wait, people actually tune in to watch the parade?


if this is not a joke or sarcasm, yes they do, more then a million people watch this parade and this is one real reason to watch this year Thanksgiving parade after reading this article. Finally, other anime character display (beside Pikachu, am I missing any other anime character beside Pikachu that's been on Macy's Thanksgiving parade) on Thanksgiving parade. This is very exciting for me. Very Happy
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FanFicGuru



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 159
PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 1:23 pm Reply with quote
mdo7 wrote:
blarg01 wrote:
wait wait wait, people actually tune in to watch the parade?


if this is not a joke or sarcasm, yes they do, more then a million people watch this parade and this is one real reason to watch this year Thanksgiving parade after reading this article. Finally, other anime character display (beside Pikachu, am I missing any other anime character beside Pikachu that's been on Macy's Thanksgiving parade) on Thanksgiving parade. This is very exciting for me. Very Happy


One million? Try closer to 45 million between live audience and television. The Macy's Thanksgiving day parade is a staple of American "tradition", so getting these floats into a stage as large and important as the Macy's parade is huge.

That being said, I'm disappointed that it's not something a bit more mainstream-friendly like Totoro or Kiki (from Kiki's Delivery Service).

Still, big congratulations to Takashi Murakami.
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