Illustration features decades of Western animation icons drawn in Japanese style.

Not so long ago, loving Disney or anime was sort of an either/or option in many people’s minds. As both anime and Disney have broadened their appeal, though, there are more passionate enthusiasts who love both of the animation icons, including Pakistani artist Mari Maryam.

Recently, Maryam has been earning the admiration of fans around the world with a series of gorgeous illustrations of Disney’s famous princesses done in an unabashedly anime/manga style.

Maryam is as thorough as she is talented, with her portraits stretching all the way back to Disney’s very first leading lady, Snow White.

Another classic star, Alice, made the transition to the Japanese-influenced art style so easily she looks like she’d fit right in with the anime idols of Love Live! should she ever get bored of life in Wonderland.

Likewise, the oft-forgotten Kidagakash/Kida looks completely natural after her makeover, which isn’t too shocking considering that the visuals of Atlantis: The Lost Empire had more anime influences than just about any other Disney film.

While the princesses’ larger, more vividly colored eyes are their most immediately noticeable anime touch, Maryam has also given many of them the slender, swan-like neck of a shojo manga heroine.

It’s also interesting to see a double-remix of the CG Tangled’s Rapunzel in both hand-drawn and anime style.

And finally, as the first Pixar character to have official Disney Princess status conveyed upon her, Brave’s Merida has also served as one of Maryam’s muses.

Maryam doesn’t limit herself to just single-character illustrations, though, or only animated subjects. She’s also done a piece of heart-warming fan art of Malificent and little Aurora, with the former obviously modeled after Angelina Jolie, who played the title character in the 2014 live-action film.

You can keep up with Maryam’s newest creations, including purely anime-inspired fan art, through her Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Source: Grape
Top image: Instagram/mari945 (1, 2, 3) (edited by RocketNews24)

Origin: Disney Princesses get stunning anime makeovers from Pakistani fan artist 【Pics】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

• Beautiful Disney princess greeting cards fit for any regal occasion
• Fancy seeing the Disney girls and DreamWorks boys in Korean hanboks? So do we!
• These Disney princess live-action movie posters aren’t real but we’d pay for them anyway
• Disney Girls turned into beautiful bite-sized cakes with sweet collection from Cozy Corner!
• Japanese Frozen fan transforms herself into Anna with amazing results

Does this character fan art from The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls invoke fairy godmother magic, or is there more to this trick than meets the eye?

A Korean artist by the name of H13 Woomin recently tweeted an illustration of Mayu Sakuma from the popular app-turned-anime series The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls.

▼ A sample of official Mayu artwork

H13 Woomin’s illustration, shown below, is a great piece of fan art, and certainly better than anything I could ever hope to achieve, but why exactly are netizens raving over it? Go ahead and give it a click (or two)!

마마유 https://t.co/jiMvXW6SCS

—
H13 우민 (@chawoo1357) March 01, 2016

Notice anything different? That’s right! Mayu’s face suddenly goes from super cute to suuuper creepy!

While it might look like magic, Woomin’s illustration is likely based on a trick used by doujin artist and Twitter user Grande, whose original color-changing image made waves on the social networking site last month.

▼ “Her tights change from white to black.” (Be sure to give this two clicks, too!)

白タイツから黒タイツに変化します https://t.co/RTiwmHV6IA

—
ぐらんで (@gggrande) February 09, 2016

Grande was kind enough to explain the mechanics behind the illustration’s illusion, likely inspiring other artists to create their own versions of the trick.

▼ “After adding a transparent layer to the tights and then saving the image file in PNG format to maintain its transparency, when you upload it to Twitter, the transparent background will turn to black, which is why the tights appear to be a light shade of black when you click on the image.”

@vgmtstill タイツの部分だけ透けたレイヤーにした後、画像の拡張子を透明度を維持するPNG形式で保存した後アップロードすると、Twitterで画像を見た時透明だと背景が黒くなるので、その透けたタイツの部分だけ薄く黒が映るという仕組みです。

—
ぐらんで (@gggrande) February 09, 2016

Because Twitter defaults transparent backgrounds to black when you click on them, your mileage may vary if you try it out on other social networking sites, but in the future these types of images may possibly become just as popular to tweet as memes and gifs.

By the way, if you’re a fan of Cinderella Girls, be sure to check out these elegant umbrellas inspired by the series.

Source: Twitter/@chawoo1357, Twitter/@gggrande (1, 2) via Togech
Top image: Twitter/@chawoo1357 (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert image: Smartphone Game Matome Antenna

More Idolm@ster goodness:

Traditional Japanese umbrellas feature designs inspired by The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls

Origin: Korean artist’s cool color-changing fan art leaves Japanese Twitter users amazed
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

• What do Magic: The Gathering and Idolmaster have in common? Apparently, quite a bit!
• Bonding through bondage – Anime fans in Japan slap collars on pictures of their 2-D crushes
• Can a simple ribbon give magical anime-style boob uplift? Girls of Japanese Twitter investigate!
• Tokyo clinic’s Cinderella Breast Augmentation will boost your bust, but only for a single day
• Smoking while walking near kids or wheelchairs? Why not just swing a knife around?

Everyone is getting a new yet ancient suit, in Captain America: Bromance of the Three Kingdoms.

It’s been a real cinematic treat for comic book fans in recent years as movies in this genre have turned the corner and gone from terrible to terrific. Led by Marvel, their cinematic universe has driven regular movie goers and superhero aficionados alike to grab a bag of popcorn and head to the theaters. The next big superhero movie is the highly anticipated Captain America: Civil War, but as this will be the fifth movie to star Steve Rogers in some way, it’d be nice to see him and his buddies in a different form.

Luckily, our friendly artist Tik Ka has been hard at work since his gorgeous Star Wars greeting cards to give us a taste of how the Marvel heroes would be dressed if they starred in a Chinese opera. The results are classically Tik Ka, cute as well as creative!

▼ Captain America

▼ Iron Man

▼ War Machine

▼ Thor

▼ Vision

▼ Hawkeye

▼ Spider-Man

▼ Ant Man

▼ Falcon

▼ Black Panther

▼ Black Widow

▼ Scarlet Witch

▼ Winter Soldier

▼ Hulk

▼ Deadpool

If Marvel wanted to put out an Avengers Assemble comic in this style, we definitely wouldn’t be against the idea. Be sure to check out more of Tik Ka’s art on his Facebook page as he’s always got a fun new picture or 15 to make it worth your while.

Top image: Facebook/Tik Ka 迪嘉 (edited by RocketNews24)

Origin: Marvel’s A-list is donning some ancient Chinese attire to look their very best【Fan art】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

• Artist reimagines alternate universe of Captain America: Civil Wok
• Adorable Avengers, assemble! Marvel’s heroes getting the Tsum Tsum treatment in new mobile game
• Traditional Chinese art mixes with Star Wars characters to celebrate the New Year
• Big Hero 6 gives Japan its first Disney hero 【Video】
• Metal Gear movie finds scriptwriter, presumably prepared to write dialogue including “Snaaake!!!”

Illustrated English teacher suddenly has legions of fans and even an unofficial theme song, but her visual creator is hoping the good-time ruckus won’t lead to a backlash by parents and educators.

With the school year getting underway in Japan, earlier this week language learners and anime fans across the nation suddenly noticed that Ellen Baker, one of the illustrated characters in the new edition of widely used junior high English textbook New Horizon, is pretty darned cute.

はぁ？新しく中学校に入学した弟が持って帰ってきた英語の教科書。 登場人物可愛すぎない？？？特にエレン・ベーカー先生。惚れた。 https://t.co/5EUzNWoWDi

—
そーちんは難聴予備軍 (@haiyore_audio) April 05, 2016

Locked on to a new 2-D crush, the country’s amateur artists sprang into action, with almost instantaneous fan art…

エレン先生に可愛いって言って困らせたい https://t.co/63PL2hayLv

—
ももいろね (@irone0_0) April 06, 2016

,,,parodies of the baseball-loving Ms. Baker’s enthusiastic bat-swinging pose…

超大型巨人を駆逐するエレン先生 #エレン先生クソコラグランプリ https://t.co/8hiwtBcGmL

—
わったん... (@WATTAN1_8) April 06, 2016

エレン先生 vs セイバーオルタ エレン先生圧勝しそうだな https://t.co/2RA5cheAJs

—
$kY (@S9k0Y) April 06, 2016

…and even handmade figurines.

手乗りエレン・ベーカー先生作りました。 https://t.co/WrKjcVrbpX

—
ねり子@例大祭【と-31a】 (@neriko_nerineri) April 06, 2016

Budding musicians have been inspired too. Nico Nico Douga user Gun-SEKI created and uploaded an unofficial theme song for the character, with the synthesized voice-sung lyrics all in English, in honor of the character’s native language and subject she teaches within the storylines of the New Horizon text.

▼ Although with lines such as “I like every classes” and “Because I’m sure of your dreams will come true,” having an actual English teacher proofread the lyrics would have been a good call.

Meanwhile, YouTube user Akkii created a slightly different audio/video tribute to Elen-sensei with this hyper-charged pop number.

While the video is reminiscent of the up-tempo opening sequence of an anime series, Akkii had an even more specific image in mind, as the video is titled Ellen-sensei: An Erotic Video Game-Style Opening. In addition, the tweeted fan art seen above, with Baker looking flustered, was shared along with the message “I want to tell Ellen-sensei she’s cute and see her be at a loss for what to do.”

Now it’s a well-known fact that any darling of the Internet or anime fandom runs the risk of being used as fuel for sexual fantasies. But the fact that Baker is a character whose primary purpose is to appear in textbooks for adolescents means she’s in quite a delicate position.

Denchubo, the artist behind the design of Baker and the rest of the updated New Horizon’s cast, recently touched on the subject in an interview with Buzzfeed Japan. While the artist said he was incredibly happy to see Baker getting so much attention, if the character starts getting too much notoriety for things other than her academic contributions, parents and guardians might not take kindly to it. One imagines their complaints would be all the louder if Baker becomes fodder for sexually explicit artwork, and in an unusual case of a fictional character having to worry about her job security, a sufficiently negative reaction from parents and teachers could theoretically lead to Miss Baker being deemed no longer fit for the position of (fictional) English teacher and being removed from the next edition of the textbook.

In other words, while it’s great that the character’s booming popularity is also making people more enthusiastic about the text and its subject material, if fans want to see more of Baker in the future, it’s probably best for them to keep their admiration chaste, and focus on things like latte art instead of huggy pillows.

ラテアート【エレン先生】＠ NEW HORIZON とりあえず描いてみた。 #エレン先生 #NEWHORIZON #ラテアート https://t.co/sVVetybqyf

—
ベルコルノ＠ラテアート (@BELCORNO) April 06, 2016

Casey admits to feeling a little sad that no one wrote a song about him when he taught English, but at least he’s got a Twitter account.

Related: Denchubo website
Sources: Narinari, Jin (1, 2, 3), Buzzfeed Japan
Top image: Twitter/@irone0_0 (edited by RocketNews24)

Origin: As fan art pops up for anime-style English textbook character, original artist asks for restraint
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

• The anime-style English teacher Japan has fallen in love with has a live-action version too
• Live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service film’s 2nd trailer previews Jiji
• Dark Horizon textbooks go beyond “Hello my name is…” to “Who are you calling a bitch, bitch!”
• Live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service film’s new images feature Tonbo, Osono
• Why Korean and Japanese people can’t speak English, in their own words【Video】

No hair? No problem! Especially for this gathering of super-powered follicly-challenged anime men.

There are plenty of tropes in manga and anime, but one that doesn’t get enough love is the strong bald man trope. Think of your favorite series and you’ll probably find a character who would be a good candidate for a Rogaine (hair growth…for men) commercial.

But what they lack in lustrous hair, they surely make up for it with immense strength. Are you picturing such a character now? See if you can spot him in this piece of awesome fan art that throws together some of the best bald (“hage” in Japanese) and balding characters in manga.

▼ No need to be ashamed of baldness when you see all these amazing characters together!

While certain characters would probably have some issues with one another, it’s almost magical to think of them all getting together for a Hairless Anonymous support group. You can definitely see @dragongarowLEE’s artistic talents on display as each of the characters match their original art style. Could you find your favorites in there?

Here are a few of ours that might be a bit harder to pick out.

▼ Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop

▼ Dhalsim from Street Fighter

▼ Dr. Wily from Mega Man

▼ Alex Louis Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist

“Bald characters” isn’t the only group fan art @dragongarowLEE has drawn. He’s also done assembled collections of muscular characters, school uniforms, and “older brother” characters.

▼ Macho Man Series

▼ School Uniform Series

▼ Older Brother Series

We really love how well @dragongarowLEE captures the feel of each character in the portraits. If you like his work, check out some of his other stuff that he shares on his Twitter feed. He sometimes even posts 30-second videos of him drawing a character.

Whether you connect with the baldies group or one of the others, we definitely like this idea and hope there’ll be even more group art in the future (all signs point to yes). Might we suggest a kick-ass female character series?

Source, images: Twitter/@dragongarowLEE (1, 2)

Best of all, you can fold your own for just a couple of bucks.

It can be extremely tricky to render anime and manga-style characters in anything other than a 2-D form. The extremely stylized dimensions and proportions of Japanese character design often translate poorly into three-dimensional space, and can result in awkward–looking CG models and plastic figures.

But Hong Kong-based fan art group Pepasweet has not only handled the 2-to-3-D transition elegantly, it’s done so using the notoriously difficult medium of folded paper.

香港のペーパークラフトサークル、見たけどどう見てもクオリティおかしい… https://t.co/kyEDacSllx

—
だい＠なんだかおもしろい中の人 (@nandakaomo) July 29, 2016

Japanese Twitter user @nandakaomo noticed Pepasweet’s amazing paper craft being displayed at a fan art event in Hong Kong. The meticulously folded maidens originally hail from Japanese mobile game RPG Shironeko Project.

香港のペーパークラフトサークル、見たけどどう見てもクオリティおかしい… https://t.co/kyEDacSllx

—
だい＠なんだかおもしろい中の人 (@nandakaomo) July 29, 2016

▼ Excelia and Rapyusel

▼ Marl

▼ Lucce

▼ Noa

▼ Tsukimi

More of Pepasweet’s amazing craftsmanship can be seen on the group’s Facebook page, but if you’d like to have these lightweight lasses sitting on your shelf, Pepasweet’s do-it-yourself kits can be ordered through online retailer Taobao, with prices ranging from 35 to 40 yuan (US$5.25-$6). Lucce can be found here, with the remaining characters here.

Oh, and if those low prices aren’t enough to entice you…

重要なこと書いてなかった！実はこのペーパークラフト、動くんですよ…！ https://t.co/Sd0DylUVq6

—
だい＠なんだかおもしろい中の人 (@nandakaomo) July 30, 2016

…the Tsukimi kits moves!

Source: Hamster Sokuho
Featured image: Twitter/@nandakaomo
Insert images: Taobao (1, 2, 3, 4) (edited by RocketNews24)

And no, black isn’t even one of them.

While the titles of the Pokémon video game installments have now evolved into such fancy things as Omega Ruby and SoulSilver, back in the beginning they bore decidedly mundane names. The first games were called Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan, which were quickly followed by enhanced versions Blue and Yellow.

Those colors also correspond with the four available starter Pokémon in the games: fire-type Charmander, grass-type Bulbasaur, water-type Squirtle, and electric-type Pikachu. And as Japanese Twitter @mojacookie recently demonstrated, that iconic group of four can be drawn using a set of colored pencils no more complex than the simply-named titles in which fans first met them.

赤・青・黄色の3色の色鉛筆でポケモン描いてみた動画 (ヒトカゲ・ピカチュウ・フシギダネ・ゼニガメ) https://t.co/ewZQsnVMXd

—
もじゃクッキー (@mojacookie) August 02, 2016

As a matter of fact, @mojacookie doesn’t even need a green colored pencil, as she can mix that color from her even severely pared-down palette of just red, blue, and yellow. In the time-lapse video above, the artist starts by drawing the overall outline and facial features of the group in blue.

After that, she grabs her red pencil for more linework before getting to work shading the illustration.

You might be wondering why @mojacookie decides to make the tips of Pikachu’s ears red at one stage, but to reiterate, the only colors she has to work with are red, blue, and yellow. So in order to create black, she has to combine multiple hues in the same area.

▼ The rare red Charmander and blue Bulbasaur…

▼ …transform into their standard orange and green after laying down a layer of yellow.

In the end, @mojacookie’s artwork serves as an eloquent metaphor for Pokémon’s special appeal. Yes, the games have no shortage of complex strategies and secrets, but all of them are grounded in the pure, straightforward fun of catching and raising the adorable little critters, just like this illustration ends up being far more than the sum of its modest, three-color parts.

You can find more of @mojacookie’s artwork on her Niconico Douga account, her Pixiv account, and her Instagram account. And don’t miss this awesome colored pencil illustration of Hatsune Miku from earlier this year!

Source, images: Twitter/@mojacookie

We would definitely be willing to spend a lifetime catching all of these.

To no one’s surprise, Pokémon GO is one of the most talked about games on the Internet right now. While the game itself is going through its ups and downs, it still manages to become a focal point in some family’s lives.

With the craze still strong around the world, (except in Iran), it’s only fitting that these beautiful and completely realistic re-visualizations of Pokémon characters are causing some serious buzz on the Internet. The artist behind these fantastic images goes by the name totomame (stylized as totoまめ), and he’s definitely the very best, like no one ever was.

▼ This Ivysaur looks like it could hide in a pond with ease

▼ The Venasaur is still menacing despite the gigantic pink flower.

▼ A Blastoise snapping turtle could bite you up close and shoot you from afar!

▼ A fierce-looking Charmeleon shows everyone how he feels about an “itty bitty living space”.

▼ This Pidgey pretty much already exists in real life.

▼ Meowth has a present for you, and it’s not the gold coin on its head!

▼ Pika-dorable!

▼ That Meowth better watch out for this electrifying Raichu!

▼ A wild Lapras chilling with its Tentacool buddies.

▼ If this Vulpix existed in real life, it’d be the most popular pet.

▼ Good ol’ Mew looking cute before it gets down to any genetic experiments.

Besides the recreation of the original 150 Pokémon, totomame has also drawn a few of the newer Pokémon with equally dazzling results.

▼ Plusle and Minun form the perfect yin-yang of Poké-bunnies.

▼ Ho-oh is ready to strut its stuff if anyone approaches.

▼ Lucario looking ready to take on all comers in Smash Bros.

▼ This Marill would hide perfectly in the water.

Even though these images were drawn a few years ago, it’s no wonder they are experiencing a resurgence thanks to the revival of Pokémon through Pokémon GO. With such amazing results, all we can say to totomame is…you gotta draw’em all! And be sure to check out totomame’s Pixiv page for even more of these amazing Poké-creatures!

Source: Dorkly via DesignTAXI
Images: ©totoまめ from Pixiv

Why pick between falling in love or falling for chocolate, when you can do both?

With over 200 flavors of Kit Kats in Japan, some of which we’ve shown you in the past like melon and cheese, butter, and sake, you could say that there’s a flavor for everyone.

But now the reverse of that statement, “a person for every flavor”, is also true, thanks to an artist who goes by the handle Cioccolatodorima and turns popular flavors of Kit Kat from around world into anime characters.

Here are the flavors he’s reimagined as people so far!

▼ Regular, Dark, and White (see below for larger versions of White and Dark)

▼ Orange, Cookies & Cream, and Mint (see below for larger versions)

▼ There’s also a version of Matcha (Green tea)…

▼ …a version of Strawberry!

Reception of the “KitKat Bros” series has been quite positive, with commenters hopeful that Cioccolatodorima will try his hand at recreating some of Japan’s limited flavors, like red bean and bakeable Kit Kats.

This cute series follows other gijinka, or “anthropomorphication”, work he’s done, like those of the characters from Winnie the Pooh.

Not much is known about the artist, other than he resides somewhere in Asia and seems to like pizza. If you’d like to see more of his work, you can follow him on Twitter, Pixiv, or DeviantArt.

Source: Facebook/Ciocolato-kun (1, 2), Twitter/@Rosel__D (1, 2)
Featured image: Twitter/@Rosel__D

We’re more than a tad disappointed we’ll never be able to catch these fusion versions in any of the games.

In the past, we’ve seen cosplay inspired by Pokémon fused with other games, but it turns out that there’s a whole other world of fan art featuring Pokémon fused with other Pokémon, too.

Artist and Twitter user Nintendobratkat has been making these Pokémon combos since 2014, and at one time had the goal of fusing Pikachu with all 150 original anime characters. The task proved a bit too tedious, however, and she decided it would be more worthwhile to devote her time to taking requests instead.

Just take a look at these cute combinations, and you’ll see just why she’s gotten so many points on popular image sharing site Imgur.

She’s even created some cool evolution fusions, like:

▼ Bulbachu → Ivychu → Venachu

▼ Charchu → Pikameleon → Pikaizard

Things get a little crazy with three-in-one fusions like these:

Quite a few more can be found in her full gallery, which is available here.

You may be surprised to find learn that Pokémon fusions are so popular that they have their own subreddit, and there’s even a market for making Pokémon fusion plush dolls on Etsy and other sites.

Tentaish (Tentacruel + Oddish) Fusion Plush on Etsy, by theBlackLory

Considering that there are over 720 official Pokémon now, I would imagine many of the animators are exhausted from coming up with new original character designs. In the future, Pokémon fusions could be just the breath of fresh air needed to keep the franchise going.

By the way, if you’re interested in asking Nintendobratkat to draw any fusion ideas you may have, you can reach her on Imgur or DeviantArt.

Source and featured image: Imgur/nintendobratkat
Insert images: Etsy/theBlackLory

The virtual birthday cards she’s been receiving online show the popular virtual idol in a number of poses and scenarios.

Forget cakes and making wishes while blowing out candles for your birthday – when you’re a virtual pop star you get showered with images of yourself in a wide variety of poses and creative scenarios. Japanese vocaloid Hatsune Miku is the birthday girl, and while she’s just turned nine in vocaloid years, her fanbase is already filled with a huge number of talented artists who can’t help expressing their love for her through their preferred medium. Let’s take a look at some of the impressive birthday cards the virtual star received to celebrate her ninth birthday.

#初音ミク生誕祭2016 初音ミク、9歳の誕生日～！ おめでとうだぜ！！ ✌ ('ω' ✌ )三 ✌ ('ω') ✌ 三( ✌ 'ω') ✌ https://t.co/wReyXAoz35

—
Siva (@Siva1270) August 30, 2016

This fan has Miku biting into a big slice of shortcake as part of her birthday celebrations.

ハッピーバースデーみくちゃん！！ずっと大好き！ #初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/jBqVlKZkG2

—
桜木蓮@コミトレ2号館ノ21b (@sakuragi_ren) August 30, 2016

▼ While here she’s being showered with colourful macaroons.

ミクさんおめでとー！ #初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/UKFjPGtNtK

—
黎(クロイ) (@kuroi0) August 30, 2016

This futuristic aqua-hued image pays as much attention to the stunning animated background as it does to the pretty star herself.

今年は描けましたｗ　#初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/DhuPag5fbm

—
119 (@119now) August 30, 2016

And this image celebrates nine years of Miku with nine different “types” of Miku, including one gleefully clutching an oversized green onion.

ミクー！！誕生日おめでとう！！ 9周年ということで、9人(？)のミクさんを描きました #初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/Sis5ExlLPk

—
⌖˚✩うい⚛˚◌˳ (@uiteaaa_oO) August 30, 2016

▼ Here, Miku appears like an angel in a gorgeous off-white outfit.

ミクちゃん今年もおめでとう！！大好きだ～～　#初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/tG7608K1OT

—
みなせなぎ◆僕ラブ13 木06 (@nagi_37se) August 30, 2016

▼ There are also some stylised gothic versions of the star too.

初音ミクと出会えたから今がある。おめでとう！！ #初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/EF7gCVZVnx

—
ஐ⋆*❁夢苺Alice❁*⋆ஐ (@yumeitigoalice) August 30, 2016

Whether she’s singing, dancing or playing dress-up, Miku brings a sense of fun to everything!

#初音ミク生誕祭2016 #8月31日は初音ミクの誕生日 ミクちゃんお誕生日おめでとう；；；！！これからも素敵な歌声を皆に届けてください😊💕ミクちゃん大好きだ〜〜〜〜！！！！！！！！ https://t.co/OM4dfn88xt

—
無限@ミク誕だ〜！！！ (@shigule0925) August 30, 2016

はっぴーばーすでーミクちゃん！！！　#初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/T8nwQbQz8X

—
葉月ナツ (@natu_k_) August 30, 2016

▼ Flowers are always a pretty fit for a pretty star.

ミクさんおめでとうございます！ #初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/JDZ8GttDP9

—
せんたろ (@sentaro207) August 30, 2016

ミクちゃんおめでとー！　#初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/aQb6gwlmRC

—
いつきゆう*イラスト画集 (@itsukiyu) August 30, 2016

Happy birthday, Miku! You were first released into the world on 31 August, 2007, and now, nearly a decade later, you’re still loved by fans across the country. And judging from the look of these beautiful images, they’re some of the most talented folks around!

描けた〜。お誕生日おめでとう✨ #初音ミク生誕祭2016 https://t.co/zcXGDBZ1d5

—
上条衿 (@erikamijo) August 31, 2016

If you have a picture you’d like to contribute to Miku’s dazzling collection of virtual birthday cards online, be sure to hop on to Twitter and add the hashtag #初音ミク生誕祭2016 (“Hatsune Miku’s Birthday Festival 2016”) to send her your regards!

#初音ミク生誕祭2016 ミクさんおめでとう（´；ω；｀） https://t.co/5jXyt7fIPX

—
マスもふ@台風 (@ery_0503) August 30, 2016

Source: Kai-You
Top Image: Twitter/@kuroi0

Read on to find out what kind of skeletal structure, lifespans, and breeding habits Pokémon would likely have if they were real.

If you’ve ever struggled to pay attention in biology class, perhaps Christopher Stoll’s art will inspire you to hit the books. A long-time fan of anatomical structure, he’s been creating body form-based art ever since he was a child.

Originally from the U.S., he moved to Japan in 2011 to study at Kanda University and then, in 2013, relocated to Fukuoka. 2013 is also when Stoll began his career as a freelance artist, earning recognition and international attention for his renditions of Disney Princesses as Avenger characters.

Since then he’s published three illustration books through crowdfunding on Kickstarter, including A Natural History of the Fantastic, depicting the anatomy and evolution of mythological beings often seen in works of fantasy.

Following last month’s release of the much-anticipated Pokémon Go, Stoll began a new series of anatomically correct Pokémon illustrations, called PokéNatomy, which has quickly become another viral hit. It’s easy to see why, too! Just look at his take on Pikachu, which is even more amazing than this Japanese professor’s sketch we featured last year.

If that’s not enough for you, here are just a few of our other favorites:

Not only are we impressed with Stoll’s creativity and amazing attention to detail, but it’s hard to believe that each drawing was completed in four hours or less on an iPad.

Though the series is still a work in progress, Stoll says he plans to eventually illustrate all 151 Pokémon, and fans of his work can vote for which characters they’d like to see completed next on his DeviantArt page.

Source, images: Imgur/ChristopherStoll, DeviantArt/Christopher-Stoll

This is about as much love for the classic anime and manga as you’ll ever see stuffed into one piece of artwork.

You know those mosaic-style photo collages where every piece is made up of a smaller picture of something related? Like maybe you take dozens of cat pictures, then have a computer program arrange them in a way that when they’re viewed from farther away, they form a larger cat.

Well it turns out there’s a guy in Hong Kong who can do that with just a pen. Over the past couple of weeks, illustrator Ah Leung has been sharing photos of one of his latest projects, a picture of Goku, the hero of perennially popular anime and manga Dragon Ball. The finished product came out incredibly well, capturing the cheerful adventurousness of the character during the opening arcs of the franchise.

But while one of the most common characteristics of manga artwork is the sparing use of clean lines, Leung’s Goku has swirls all over his face, clothing, and hair. At least they seem like swirls at first glance, but a closer look reveals something incredible.

The illustration of Goku is made up of drawings of other Dragon Ball characters! Just about the only space that’s exclusively used for the star himself is his lower right jawline.

▼ Even his pupils serve double duty, as they’re actually the boot soles of another, smaller Goku.

After laying down characters that take up a lot of real estate, such as wish-granting dragon Shenron, rampaging giant ape Ozaru, and future father-in-law Ox-King, Leung next turned his attention to the more compact cast members.

▼ All of the characters are from the early, non Z era of the Dragon Ball franchise, because really, there’s no space left for later arrivals.

Japanese pop culture isn’t Leung’s only muse, either. He’s also produced a series of awesome Star Wars illustrations, such as these portraits of Darth Vader and Boba Fett made up of images of urban life.

It’s his Goku artwork that’s getting the most attention online, though. Hopefully that means we can look forward to a follow-up with the grown-up Goku and his Dragon Ball Z-era friends and foes.

Related: Instagram/Ah Leung, Facebook/Ah Leung
Source: Spotlight
Featured image: Instagram/ahleung_illustration

Suddenly, we’re really frightened by the game’s promise that there are Pokémon all around us.

Phenomenally fun as it may be, developer Niantic’s Pokémon GO can be a little rough around the edges, especially compared to Nintendo’s highly polished mainline Pokémon games. That’s not entirely Niantic’s fault, though. As a smartphone title, the company doesn’t know the exact hardware specs for any individual Pokémon GO player, which can sometimes lead to glitches, especially when the game is trying to synch with the phone’s GPS function.

For example, sometimes you might spy your avatar shuffling about the game’s map, even though you’re standing perfectly still. Another common hiccup is when the game mashes together the graphics data for two different types of Pokémon and spawns a single hybrid of the two creatures, which has inspired some eye-catching fan art from Twitter user @BrachyZoid.

▼ Water-types Staryu and Magikarp don’t look like they come from the deep sea so much as another dimension.

Thank you @SandStormer444 for the screenshot. https://t.co/TmukNfhStj

—
Brachy (@BrachyZoid) September 04, 2016

Because of the similar sizes yet variety in shapes of the game’s Pocket Monsters, the on-screen glitches often end up adding the appendages of one Pokémon to another, like when Rattata sprouts Pidgey’s wings and feathered crest.

▼ The exposed brain is kind of a step backwards, though.

Screenshot shared by @bryanvroom Really quick one cause I'm in a hurry https://t.co/Yua5u588eJ

—
Brachy (@BrachyZoid) July 30, 2016

Other times, the result looks more like some kind of symbiotic cohabitation, like when Doduo makes itself at home atop Krabby, giving him an afro in the process.

Funky Crabby https://t.co/qsCvlAiYUq

—
Brachy (@BrachyZoid) August 15, 2016

Much more disturbing than the possibility of disco making a comeback, though, is Weedle bursting out of Oddish’s corpse like it’s trying out for a part in an Alien remake.

▼ In Kanto, no one can hear you scream.

Screenshot shared by @MikePressmar Not enough to fuse but good enough for a scene. https://t.co/waLF500stg

—
Brachy (@BrachyZoid) July 30, 2016

But even that’s not as terrifying as Psyduck getting three holes in his head, courtesy of Dodrio.

screenshot by: @kagoshimato https://t.co/jrlwbPPvzP

—
Brachy (@BrachyZoid) August 15, 2016

Here’s hoping that one never becomes canon.

Source: Twitter/@BrachyZoid (h/t Kotaku)
Featured image: Twitter/@BrachyZoid

Lusamine is the recently revealed glamorous president who seems to have already garnered a massive fan club.

A new trailer for Pokémon Sun and Moon was released earlier this week and it revealed a fair bit of new information. Fans were introduced to the Aether Foundation, which appears to be a group researching Pokémon in the region and are somehow related to the new Ultra Beast Pokémon that were also revealed in the trailer. But none of that is as important as the cute and affable president of the Aether Foundation, Lusamine.

YouTube/The Official Pokémon Channel

Fans and artists have been quite taken by this new character and plenty of great fan art has already been drawn in appreciation of someone we’ve known about for barely a week.

ルザミーネさん～～たのしみ https://t.co/CZM5A3AOIM

—
しらたま (@unicokecocco) September 07, 2016

我慢できずにかいてしまったよルザミーネさん好みすぎて辛い；；；；； https://t.co/7LEvLdX6cF

—
うにっき (@tentekoma_i) September 07, 2016

▼ What else could be hiding under those luscious locks besides sparkles?

ルザミーネちゃんの髪の奥にこう、感じる、神秘 https://t.co/SEMCKrijpv

—
ネクシ＠東京展(9/9～9/16) (@vix3_ue) September 06, 2016

ルザミーネ描いてみた https://t.co/aq4kHxrIjq

—
魔乳狼犬太助☆三世@漫画描きたい (@m_e_t_k) September 06, 2016

ルザミーネ衝動描き…かわいい… https://t.co/6B47WAW6CG

—
夏山@ごろ寝 (@kayamazu) September 06, 2016

▼ Looks like she’s ready to take over for Spark as Team Instinct leader.

ルザミーネ https://t.co/dwH7SkB5Vs

—
リズ♦️ (@rizuNM) September 06, 2016

ルザミーネ https://t.co/Fa7k21s0jx

—
ほまる3号❖ (@HMR_EX) September 07, 2016

▼ Hatsune Miku should be glad Lusamine is a glamorous president
and not a glamorous vocaloid!

ルザミーネちゃん…あまりに可愛くてらくがいてしまった #ワンドロ https://t.co/n2z7i1CRbF

—
ERIMO・こみトレ1号館シ27a (@ERIMO_WKS) September 07, 2016

ﾙｻﾞﾐｰﾈさん https://t.co/tAHXgZkfza

—
†池† (@kouzukeike) September 07, 2016

This phenomenon is definitely something we’ve seen before, like when a cute ghost Pokémon was revealed in a magazine. Hopefully, Lusamine turns out to be a likeable character in the game, but there already seems to be some questions about her relationship to Team Skull’s Gladion due to the similar hair color. Only time will tell if she is a force for good or a force for evil!

Source: Kai-You
Featured image: Twitter/@unicokecocco

Cardigans may not match armor plating in protective capabilities, but they’re definitely the warmer, cuter option.

The hook of video game and anime franchise Kantai Collection, more commonly referred to as KanColle, is that it takes historical warships, primarily from the Imperial Japanese Navy, and turns them into cute girls, with costumes that contain turrets, rudders, and other nods to their military hardware origins. But now fans in Japan are progressing the evolution from battleship to schoolgirl even farther by popularizing the Twitter hashtag “It’s fall, so let’s dress the KanColle girls up in cardigans or sweaters!” (#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ).

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ　リクエストの叢雲。黒カーディガンと黒タイツが合わさり最強に見える https://t.co/4RDmAnp7db

—
めと（meth） (@meth2480) September 16, 2016

読書響っつぁん　#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/OEkPgvweC2

—
八太犬 (@Hachitainu0455) September 22, 2016

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ JK高雄ちゃん！ https://t.co/gepE45npMq

—
早川あかり⚓単行本発売中 (@hayakawa_akari) September 19, 2016

While a couple of the Fleet Girls, as the characters are properly known, retain vestiges of their official, in-game costumes, most of their combat accouterments have been scrubbed clean in favor of something actual humans might wear.

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ 浜風がこういう格好してると青春色濃い https://t.co/Ge7ASSCwIi

—
竜宮ヤッスー (@yassu08123) September 20, 2016

大淀氏２ 「提督…喉渇きません？アイスコーヒー買ってきましたけど…どうでしょう？」 #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/Y7ZnilYQom

—
よろろん (@yororonina) September 15, 2016

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ 秋はやっぱりこれですね プリンツちゃんに着ていただきました https://t.co/EY5y1W2Quc

—
ダイソン＠92式メーサー戦車 (@shms94566) September 19, 2016

Aside from bundling up the Fleet Girls in extra layers of clothing, artists have been adding some seasonal appeal by having their muses pose with roasted sweet potatoes, an autumn snack so popular in Japan that it’s sold by vendors who drive around neighborhoods in small trucks equipped with an oven to cook the treats.

ぱい #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/kvQF4e6mP6

—
瑞海BB (@mzumBB) September 21, 2016

秋 #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/R5lkDJMB2P

—
ぺんたごん㌠ (@RailgunKy) September 21, 2016

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/2F3KGloddD

—
ぜりさん (@dc_ravel) September 17, 2016

But are all those piping hot potatoes and warm knit clothing making the Fleet Girls uncomfortably warm? Either that or, the world of anime fan art being what it is, some artists realized that “It’s fall, so let’s dress the KanColle girls up in cardigans or sweaters” doesn’t say anything about completely dressing them in said garments.

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ ボタン修正版です・・・(´;ω;｀)」 場所がちがった https://t.co/K0eTF80MYb

—
ダイソン＠92式メーサー戦車 (@shms94566) September 25, 2016

▼ Also not mentioned in the hashtag: pants.

叢雲先輩にいろいろ教えてもらいたい♡ #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/Ravow5N2nW

—
ウンツエ (@tuetue13) September 18, 2016

Additionally, the hashtag doesn’t specify what type of sweater has to be used. So while school uniform-styles have been the most common, others are taking the more daring option of bringing back the boob sweater.

叢雲ちゃんに胸開きセーターを着せてみました。 #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/cfZO437bPz

—
双龍 (@Souryu_STD) September 22, 2016

あざと鹿島ちゃんの高火力(๑´ㅂ`๑) #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/7xwsfe2TN9

—
ウンツエ (@tuetue13) September 21, 2016

Meanwhile, cosplayers have also gotten onboard, with decidedly more reserved wardrobe choices.

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ 去年の街イベのやつ～ 那珂：大羅きららさん https://t.co/e0eYUXq61i

—
アゲハ@通販受付9/30迄 (@ageha_ulysses) September 15, 2016

#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ https://t.co/C7WC1qUh1R

—
紅音 とも@23日佐世保(鎮-18) (@kuon_0118) September 15, 2016

With the leaves just starting to turn color in Japan, there’s plenty of fall left, which means we’re likely to see much more autumnal KanColle fan art, until it gives way to Christmas themes, since anime fan art, like natural scenery, always changes in seasonal cycles.

Source: Kyupo
Featured image: Twitter/@mzumBB

If you liked these women before now there’s even more of them to love.

Disney Princesses, with their rainbow of color pallets and personalities, are the perfect lineup of models for artists who want to try out a new style or theme. We’ve seen everything from anime-style princesses to sinful princesses to even gender-bent princesses re-imagined as men.

And now Australian artist Ashleigh Beevers is showing off her new spin on the Disney Princesses (and a villain) by transforming them into plump pin-up girls.

▼ There’s Belle who has a bell-curve figure.

▼ There’s Ariel who is such besties with
Flounder that she got him tattooed on her leg.

▼ And then Merida showing off her
Scottish pride with a kilted skirt.

▼ Ursula somehow snuck into the lineup too,
having traded in her tentacles for a pair of curvy legs.

▼ Ashleigh also draws cute pictures of other characters, such as Batman’s Joker
and Harley enjoying some downtime between sinister plots.

▼ And Hulk and Black Widow taking a well-earned
Venetian boat ride after saving the world.

Ashleigh is selling her work online at her Etsy store. There’s more available there than we’ve shown here, so if you like what you’ve seen be sure to check it out!

And if you’re in the mood for some more pin-up Disney pictures, have no fear, we’ve got you covered. Just be warned that some of those are pretty sexy and you may want to wait until you’re home from work to take a peek.

Source, images: Etsy/AshleighBeeversArt

Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and other favorites inspire some new masterpieces.

It’s pretty common for fans to express their love of a series by creating fan art. Often the fan art starts small, a character here and there, but sometimes it graduates to entire scenes full of beloved characters. Some fans even discover their artistic talents when they are trying to copy something they’ve seen, be it a fuzzy, round Totoro or a majestic spirited dragon.

Luckily for us non-creative fans out there, artists are happy to share their takes on classic Ghibli stories. And just like how famed director Hayao Miyazaki can’t stop making features, artists can’t help but create new amazing pieces that continue to blow us away. Here’s just a few that we couldn’t help but share:

▼ Totoro has never looked so textured.

▼ This one may add fire to the (totally debunked) Totoro death god theory,
but it’s still a stunning piece.

▼One of the most beautiful scenes from Spirited Away expertly recreated.

▼ An absolutely gorgeous collection of art from several Studio Ghibli movies, like Princess Mononoke.

▼ Howl’s Moving Castle

▼ The Secret Life of Arriety

▼ This perfectly captures the mysticism and wonder of Spirited Away.

▼ A perfect example of how one can be mesmerized by straight lines.

▼ Sometimes artists are able to capture all of the emotion of a movie in a single freeze-framed image like this one of Sophie and Howl

▼ Or the child-like wonder in discovering a new world or a new person.

▼ Or the despair that comes when your friends get hurt

There are certainly even more artists out there who have amazed fans with their beautiful renditions of these great movies. Let us know your favorites or which ones we’ve missed in the comments below. We really can’t get enough of Studio Ghibli art!

Source: Bored Panda
Featured image: Facebook/Sagittarius Gallery

It’s not every day that one of the world’s most renowned authors sits up and takes notice of one of your illustrations.

The Harry Potter series of books and films might have a huge worldwide following, but some of the series’ most ardent fans reside in Japan, where they pay homage to the epic fantasy tale by cosplaying as Harry Potter himself, ride around in trains featuring the characters’ images and stock up on unique anime merchandise.

Now, with the latest addition to J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World franchise hitting shores last week, with the opening of the film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, fans in Japan have shown they have plenty of room in their hearts for more of the author’s imaginary tales. One talented Japanese fan perfectly illustrated this point with a beautiful artwork, showing the passing of the baton from one beloved character to the next, with Harry Potter casually walking out and Newt Scamander striding in.

▼ The anime-style drawing is titled “Hero, change”.

主人公、交代 #ファンタビ https://t.co/2Vk8SnTxqu

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 22, 2016

Posted on the day the new movie was released in Japan, the illustration was quickly shared online by fans who fell in love with the simple yet deeply meaningful picture. One fan brought it to the attention of J.K. Rowling herself, who surprised everyone by replying, eager to find out who had drawn the image.

@stilesboing Yes! Who drew it?

—
J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2016

The Japanese artist who’d drawn and shared the picture online, @kirikawa_juu, immediately replied.

@stilesboing Thank you,thank you...!!I'm kirikawa, drew this picture.I really appreciate what you've done. Thank you for letting me dream.

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 24, 2016

Rowling then sought confirmation that the image had been correctly attributed.

I'm being told the painting is by @kirikawa_juu, is that correct?

—
J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2016

Sounding understandably thrilled, @kirikawa_juu then replied to the author directly.

@jk_rowling I'm kirikawa ,Thank you for seeing my picture. It can't get any better than this!　I will be your biggest fan forever...!!!😭

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 24, 2016

Rowling then responded with this beautiful message.

.@kirikawa_juu Thank you for that beautiful painting. It really moved me! They're two characters that mean so much to me.

—
J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2016

@kirikawa_juu followed up with some words of support for Rowling’s new lead character…

@jk_rowling I am looking forward to the success of him from now on !!😂

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 24, 2016

And expressed sadness over Harry Potter’s departure, but also a welcoming attitude towards Newt; sentiments which were perfectly expressed in the beautiful drawing.

@jk_rowling I love Harry Potter very much from long ago.However,though I have begun to love Newt soon when I watched the movie 😭 →

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 24, 2016

J.K. Rowling then posted the picture on her Twitter account to share with her 8.75 million followers.

I love this so much. By @kirikawa_juu. https://t.co/ooSTcEOG03

—
J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2016

Following this unexpected interaction with the famous author, @kirikawa_juu then posted this sweet message of thanks to everyone involved.

“I actually spoke to my sister about this, and told her that the warmth from the ‘Harry Potter’ cluster of fans is out of the ordinary.
I never thought that drawing this picture would bring such happiness and create so many replies from people I’ve never spoken to. Truly, thank you.”

ほんとに姉ちゃんと話してたけど、ハリポタクラスタの温かさが尋常じゃない 話したことない人でも、自分のことみたいに喜んでもらえたり、リプくれたり、ほんとにこんなに絵を描いてて良かったって思ったことない…ほんとうにありがとうございます。

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 25, 2016

Now, J.K. Rowling’s tweet sharing the illustration is proudly pinned to the top of @kirikawa_juu‘s Twitter page, with the comment, “This is a memory I’ll never forget for the rest of my life”.

このことは人生で忘れられない思い出になるんだろうなあ twitter.com/jk_rowling/sta…

—
桐川 (@kirikawa_juu) November 24, 2016

The power of the Internet to connect fans with famous authors and creators is always a heartwarming thing to behold. Sometimes, even creators reach out in an attempt to connect with fans, and when that happens, we need to make sure we have a box of tissues nearby to cope with all the emotion!

Source: Net Lab
Featured image: Twitter/@kirikawa_juu

Caterpie evolved into… a human girl?!

We’ve seen before what it would be like if people, not Pokémon, battled it out in the Poké-world. The results were… interesting… but maybe that’s just because the humans weren’t Pokémon enough.

But Korean artist Tamtamdi has taken it to the next level and drawn what hundreds of Pokémon might look like if they were turned into humans. Here’s just a small selection of some of our favorites from the drawings of the first generation of Pokémon:

▼ Blastoise, known for his power to keep relationships together,
getting down on one knee with a sparkle in his eye.

▼ I never imagined Caterpie as a bespectacled girl in a green dress before,
but now I can’t see it as anything else.

▼ Winter is the perfect time to put on puffy coats, scarves,
hats, and turn into a Sandshrew at the playground.

 ▼ I’m not sure how this kid got her hair that way, but it probably took
all the dedication of the world’s number-one Bellsprout fan.

▼ Some days you just want to loaf and lounge around and be a Slowpoke.

▼ Starmie looking way more badass than I ever imagined possible.

▼ Are we sure that Taurus isn’t just a Pokémon version of this guy?

▼ Magikarp finally getting the dignified look it
deserves for having one of the best names of all Pokémon.

▼ The pointy costume on this anthropomorphized Zapdos has
the same legendary feeling as the electric bird itself.

▼ Dragonite always did strike me more as a
fun-loving, sassy Pokémon than a fighting brute.

What we have here is only the tip of the ice-type, so be sure to check out the rest of Tamtamdi’s designs at their official Facebook page.

And if you want to see another interpretation of Pokémon as humans, take a look at one other artist’s re-imagining of them as young men dressed in unique ways. I still haven’t gotten the images of that Zubat and Metapod out of my head to this day, in a good way.

Source: Facebook/Tamtamdi via Ranker
Featured image: Facebook/Tamtamdi