One of my fondest experiences (and certainly the best time I’ve ever had at a museum) was when the Masters of American Comics exhibit came to the Milwaukee Art Museum a few years back. Seeing original art by legendary America cartoonists was absolutely eye-opening but, maybe more than that, I just couldn’t get over the opposite day-like novelty of this art form getting the gold treatment from the artistic establishment.
In all respect to that exhibit, this yet-to-be-built Hanzhou Comics and Animation Museum that’s been profiled on Comics Alliance makes it look like a couple posters rolled up in somebody’s closet by comparison. If you were to ask an Otaku what his or her vision of paradise would be, my mind fails to imagine anything that could possibly fulfill that concept better than this.
Just watch the video, already, because I’m at a loss for words…
Watch it, again. Seriously.
It’s like something you’d only ever see in actual anime, isn’t it? What’s maybe even more astounding is that you can’t really doubt that the actual construction’s going to pretty closely approximate what you’re seeing in the model. Remember all those structures China built for the last Olympics?
If we ever feel low about how the world regards manga, anime, comics, cartoons, et al… we ought to just call those giant word balloons to mind and be immediately reassured.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here. Follow him on Twitter: @tompinchuk
It's a neat design, but all those curved surfaces look incredibly awkward for navigation and display. There's only a small portion of the floor in each building you could stand on, with the horizontal parts of the walls fairly far away. And how the fuck do you get anything from the upper shelves of that library without, you know, dying?
Basically, it doesn't seem like something that's going to exist in that form outside of a computer model, unless it's being done as more of an architectural art project in itself and less an actual museum.
I guess this is how they make up for Chinese Gundam...
you're not the only one at a loss for words... this is quite awesome, China.
Don't get too excited. Pretty renderings are deceptive. The cost for an organically shaped building like this is huge because you need to find alternative means to maintain structural integrity. There's a reason why most buildings still look like cubes.
I dont think any of that is going to be offical. China already has a Copyright infringing Disneylan that rips of more than just Disney. Hello kitty, Doramon. Tones of things so I think this is going to be very wonky.
The museum as a concept sounds great, but why China? They tried to ban many Japanese animes because they wanted to start producing their own anime to compete with that market. Though, I never took China seriously as an anime producer. Basically because of this. Could you ever imagine a series such as Code Geass ever coming out of Japan? A story about a civilian revolution against an imperial government?
This would seem better suited for Japan.
@jkuc316:
They also used lead-based paint.
Why couldn't it be in the U.S.!
I approve of this bootleg museum!
I would be in so much 'awe' in such a museum. The design is pretty sweet and outlying area would be a real sight to see. I also wonder why China would be the place for this. The US or Japan seem like the more obvious choices.