anousagi (あのうさぎ) Yuta Sugawara Interview: The Arrow-Struck Rabbit, a Subtle Punchline That Hits the Mark!

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2023-09-13 17:10:20
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In 2022, a fascinating illustration surged in popularity online. A cute rabbit, with an apple on its head, seemingly volunteers for an archery stunt, only to have an arrow land squarely in its forehead. This simple and direct concept struck a chord with everyone's sense of humor. And the rabbit, named anousagi (Japanese: あのうさぎ, meaning "that rabbit"), instantly became a delightful piece that brought a knowing smile to people's faces. Curious, Toy People decided to interview this uniquely styled illustrator to share his interesting creative journey and the next mysterious project for "that rabbit."

Toy People: Could you please briefly introduce yourself, your background, and the origin of your creative work?

Yuta Sugawara: Hello everyone! I'm Yuta Sugawara. Born in 1989 in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, one of my current roles is as a Fancy Pop Artist (ファンシーポップアーティスト).

One of the reasons I started creating is because I've loved drawing since I was a child. I often drew characters from Ultraman, Kamen Rider, or Sanrio, and I also enjoyed drawing animals like penguins, pandas, and kangaroos. I've always loved various characters and cute animals.

Another source of creative inspiration was my mother. The picture books she bought for me and the character bento boxes she made all influenced my creative style. Recently, I even asked her to remake a character bento from 20 years ago for me to reminisce. XD.

In college, I majored in three-dimensional modeling and also took courses in painting and design. Although I obtained a fine arts teaching license, I didn't pursue a teaching career. Instead, I worked part-time while participating in exhibition activities.

At that time, with a "give it a try" attitude, I entered the character design competition of the "Illustration Note Exhibition" with my work "Fuwa Fuwa no Bubekuto-kun" (Fluffy Bubekuto-kun) and was selected as a finalist. However, the results of the competition were less than satisfactory, so I decided to find a full-time job. On weekdays, I worked at a facility for people with disabilities, but I continued my creative hobbies on weekends when I had free time.

Interestingly, while working and exhibiting simultaneously, my creative activities became more and more fulfilling, and I gradually built a loyal fan base.

During this period, I created the prototype for anousagi, and I gave this rabbit an interesting backstory:

'The master archer said, "Don't worry! I am the best archer in this village."
His confident demeanor made everyone believe he was the beacon of hope.
Thus, the fate of the village and the destiny of a young boy (anousagi) were entrusted to him.
Then, the released arrow flew as if drawn to its target...'

Because creation reveals a hidden side of my personality, I often end up with unexpectedly interesting content.

However, if I just stubbornly tried to convey my ideas through painting, it wasn't easily accepted or understood by everyone. So, I later tried producing some merchandise like postcards and badges. It was then that people started to notice my work, and I slowly found a possible future direction for my creations.

For example, during the merchandising process, I discovered that my usual colored pencil style didn't quite match the texture and tone of printed goods. Therefore, I started learning to create with Illustrator, and computer graphics began to transform my creative style.

Toy People: Could you share with us some of your favorite designers?

Yuta Sugawara: The first person that comes to mind is Jamie Reid. I got to know him through the "God Save The Queen" T-shirt. His designs are incredibly cool, stylish, and have a dark sense of humor that blew me away. I really love the artwork associated with the SEX PISTOLS.

The second is the sculptor Tohl Narita, who designed works like "Ultraman" and "Ultra Seven" (Japanese: ウルトラセブン, Ultraseven). I like monsters and aliens that are simple yet impressive.

And then there's Rockin'Jelly Bean. When I was a high school student, Rockin'Jelly Bean was already designing illustrations for Dr. Pepper labels. I absolutely love this American style of illustration and at one point wished I could draw like that. This is an illustration Rockin'Jelly Bean did for Dr. Pepper.

I'll also share a photo I took when I went to Mr. Rockin'Jelly Bean's signing event. I was so shy my face turned red...

Toy People: Besides creating, do you have any beloved collections you can share with us?

Yuta Sugawara: I like collecting soft vinyl figures because they have a retro, cute quality that I really like. Especially from "Ultraman" and "Ultra Seven".

I also really like "King Joe." It's a super robot created by the Pedan aliens that can separate and combine. Its design is very cool and cute. It also has a special emotional connection for me because it was the first soft vinyl figure my grandfather gave me, and the location of its life-or-death battle with Ultra Seven in the story is my hometown, Kobe.

Toy People: Could you tell us about the inspiration and behind-the-scenes secrets of the " anousagi " character?

Yuta Sugawara: The name anousagi comes from the Japanese "あのうさぎ," which means "that rabbit." I wanted the character to be a unique existence and to be widely popular, which inspired the name.

The initial inspiration for this character came from the legendary Swiss hero, William Tell. In the original legend, William Tell was a master archer, famous for shooting an apple off his son's head with a single arrow, and his actions inspired the people to overthrow tyranny.

At that time, I was going through a period where I felt that reality wasn't as perfect as the legends. So, I created this character that subverts the legend to express my dissatisfaction with reality, but unexpectedly, the character received a huge response.

Because everyone who saw the character would smile knowingly, it made me want to develop it further into a character that brings joy and is loved by people.

During my creative process, I encountered many precious people and things that helped solidify the image of anousagi in my mind, and my mindset also changed. No matter what others think of me, I will persist in doing what I love. The concept of "cute" has become important in my life, and it will be a key goal in my creations.

In the creative process, because it was being merchandised for printing on clothes, I tried to give it a bit of a fashionable feel. Although it might not be obvious, the style was actually influenced by Banksy.

anousagi is an introverted but frank and curious rabbit (gender: boy). He has a strong and energetic body, so he can stay lively even after being shot by an arrow. I feel he has a lot of versatile potential, so I don't want to limit his development with too many character settings. As long as he can simply and directly present a cute side, that's enough.

The image below is of anousagi with a backpack. I had originally planned to debut it at an exhibition in Australia, but due to the pandemic, the exhibition didn't happen as planned. This digital work was later sold at an exhibition in Japan.

This one is dressed as the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, but the pocket watch in his hand has been replaced with a time bomb!

Toy People: We saw on your Instagram and Twitter that you are trying to create a 3D version of anousagi. Could you share the current progress with us?

Yuta Sugawara: At first, I tried to create the prototype using materials like plaster and clay. I shared some of the process on social media and, to my surprise, received a very positive response from fans, which gave me the motivation to keep going.

Because I had no prior experience in turning a 2D work into a 3D one, there were many aspects that were different from what I had imagined, and I hit a bottleneck in the process.

Fortunately, by chance, I came into contact with a prototyping team from overseas who appreciated my work. With their help, we collaborated to try and perfect this piece.

During our collaboration, they came up with the idea of making the apple, arrow, and bandage into accessories, allowing for more variations of the character. I was very excited by this creative idea. We are now at the mass production stage, and I look forward to sharing more with everyone soon.