#alaac

An unused illustration for Manga Goes To School, a book I co-wrote and illustrated for!

There have been a lot of improvements. There’s an influx of talent and a generational shift that’s happened. The most important thing is not necessarily what I see on screen, but it’s behind-the-scenes work. When I started in the business, it was a little bit like, you know, when you went to a party, and you and someone else were the only two Asians, and you didn’t know whether you were supposed to talk to them or not. And now, the ethos is different. And I think now, we would likely say, “Hey, what’s your name? Let’s compare notes and get to know one another.” That’s an incredibly critical difference. What I hope, going forward, is that Asian American creatives are less bound by mainstream representation and responding to that but feel completely free in how they write or create, operating outside of the [mainstream] sphere of influence and stereotypes.

I think this is my retribution for finding 4 shiny pokemon in the same week

Going to ALA Annual Conference? (If not, registration is still open!) Here are some can’t-miss things to do!

Thanks bud 

It’s way too old for me to comment on accurately. I recall deviating the color palette from the standard for that particular piece. Kongou is drawn in a more chibi-ish style for comedic effect and the contrast with Mutsu. 

But with how far back you’ve gone, that’s really old art. Really old. It’s just an art change through the passage of time.