Akane Koide - Wrist Slit I will not lie, I was attracted to this painting by Akane Koide (artist at age 15) from the moment I saw it. As some may know, I have a fascination of stories that involve a struggle situated in a "real life" setting. Yes, the blood may seem a bit like much, but I'll get to that later on.
Okay... time to actually analyze this! When looking at this painting for the first time, the thing that caught my attention was the girl in the background (and surprisingly not the huge eyeball, go figure). This girl (which I'm going to call Girl B), though she is not the the main focus, had something about her that caught my attention. That something was the look on her face; from a distance/normal view, she looks frightened and concern, perhaps even worried for the main girl in the painting. However, when I had zoomed in on her, I had noticed that her eyes are looking straight at the audience. Could it be that she knows what is going on and maybe looking over it? As she is walking, she placed her hand up against the glass, presumably making a noise, forcing the main girl (Girl A) to turn around and look at her. They are both wearing similar uniforms, signifying that they are still in school. Girl B seems more conservative in the way she dressed compared to Girl A; skirt seems longer and she's wearing a cardigan which covers her up more than the short skirt (revealing some of Girl A's underwear) and opened blouse. Now, let's focus on Girl A. She has two eyes showing, one in the back of her head looking at the audience and one in its normal location also looking at the audience with narrow eyes. The normal eye, to me at least, show her displeasure and dislike towards the audience. It is also as though we were interrupting something and that is her way of telling us.
Let's move away from the girls and their clothing and looks and focus on (basically) everything else. I'm going to start at the front and work my way to the back. In the front, we notice the bandages on the Girl A's wrist - they are loose and undone. Probably used that razor in her hand to cut the bandages along with herself. Notice the new cut that she had created, it's longer than the significantly smaller cut, which the bandages had been previously covering. The blood is just pouring out of her wrist/arm similar to what we see in anime as well as movies like Kill Bill, meaning an unrealistic amount. However, what is in her blood is what draws the audience member in the most - book, lips, eyes staring up at Girl A, beauty supplies. These items have been notoriously known for being related to young females. During the junior/senior high school, these are the things that worry girls the most. They have pressure to do well in school/be intelligent, to look good, to have perfect lips/eyes, and (some cases) look sexy yet maintain that kawaii factor in young girls. Putting the pieces together, I would assume the Akane Koide is making a representation of how some girls handle the stress of being this beautiful object of desire; some cannot handle the pressures so they resort to cutting themselves.
Now connecting to the background. To me, Girl B is the same as Girl A. Girl A is more sexualized and materialized whereas Girl B is the complete opposite. She is more of a conservative kind of girl and placed near nature/the outdoors. To me, this is Girl B staring in at Girl A, deciding whether or not she wants to head down this path that most girls her age take. That may be one of the reasons of why she is looking past Girl A at the audience with her worried eyes.
Now for something happy ^_^
Mr. - The New Me So, no one can deny how adorably cute this is. Mr. is well known for his anime-inspired artwork. This painting is no exception. It has the same details that would be found in an anime: the big eyes, colorful hair, and anything and everything that would be classified as kawaii - animals, sweets, and multicolored backgrounds that hold a close resemblance to a rainbow. There are many options for this girl in the kawaii world as Mr. had depicted. This girl (I assume) is around the typical pre-teen to early teen age. During that time, a girl is at the transitioning period from childhood to adolescence. Should she give give up on the things she loved as a child or grow into a responsible and mature person? By looking at her face and look in her eyes, her decision is quite clear. She is excited by the cuteness and sweetness of the kawaii culture. This is projected into her eyes. It is interesting how Mr. flipped the images seen by the girl and the audience. It is as though her eyes are mirroring the kawaii nature to better illustrate how the girls (and Mr.?) view this trend among the young girls.
