From Grassroots to Global - How Doujin Illustrators Influenced The Aesthetics of Japan's Underground Music Culture

• Author: Kai Redfield

• Editor: Masha Zhdanova

Among the various niches that the anime subculture is comprised of, doujin music stands out as a unique oddity in discussions of its wider history. While it’s not a rare occurrence to see figures who started out in the doujin space eventually finding breakout success, like Type-Moon’s Kinoko Nasu and ZUN of Touhou Project fame, the elements behind the musical aspects of the 2000s and 2010s scene are comparatively often less discussed. A surprising chunk of history behind how doujin-adjacent music collectives established and later developed the culture is often resigned to needing to be in the know - knowing a guy who knows a guy, or being fortunate enough to ask someone who was in the trenches, as it were.

The inspirations and developments of doujin and Japanese underground music between the late 1990s and early 2010s shed some fascinating insight on why there was such a broad musical diversity, but one aspect that really stood out to me with more detailed research was the range of visual influences that this sphere of underground music utilised to formulate its own unique identity. Many Anime Herald articles on topics like modern fansub VHS trading and the influence of international attention towards series like Kagurabachi discuss the significance of a continually accessible internet towards the proliferation of contemporary anime and manga culture in much greater detail than I could elaborate on. Underground music was no exception to this rule, as you had European hardcore music units like the Italian Trance Generators using artwork from video games and anime throughout their early releases, something that caught the attention of early Japanese hardcore pioneers like DJ SHARPNEL as a sign of how wider anime culture was picking up the pace with how it went global.

Cover art for Rock To Da Beat (Atomic Alliance Vs. Trance Generators, 2001), featuring a number of characters from various Final Fantasy games.

With that in mind, it may surprise many to know that this close link between original anime/manga aesthetics and this field of underground music was not always so closely intertwined. If anything, it started off less “intertwined”, and more... “copyright infringement”. Many doujin and underground music releases featuring anime-styled artwork prior to the mid-late 2000s either featured very legally indistinct facsimiles of characters from existing works or, in a good number of cases, often just those characters themselves.

Cover art of フロム・ザ・はあと 地獄編 [From the Heart (Hell Compilation)] (SHARPNELSOUND, 1998), featuring a very recognisable sprite of Akari Kamigishi from ToHeart with her eyes censored.

This alone was hardly a rare practice, especially within the greater context of doujinshi and fan games often receiving fan works of their own, as would be the case with Touhou and early Type-Moon works like Tsukihime and Fate/stay night. However, the offshoots of underground Japanese hardcore that birthed many strains of doujin music struck a very fine line in this regard. Artists were generally less concerned about copyright infringement during the late 1990s and early-mid 2000s of J-core and doujin music because of the scenes’ niche appeal, providing a space for unlicensed remixes of doujin and rhythm games tracks within this music subculture. However, cease & desist orders from Konami in the 2010s threatened many music circles to change direction towards original productions, lest the people involved with these independent groups risked an eye-watering fine or court battle with wider legal ramifications for doujin music at large.

Many circles in the 2000s underground scene, like Diverse System, and those run by artists who comprised the early lineup of HARDCORE TANO*C, would remix tracks from Konami’s beatmania series or visual novel works like Air. This was a practice that slowly phased out in favour of more original works, as legal concerns and the rising interest in Japan’s underground hardcore music on an international scale caused artists to broaden the amount of inspirations they could take note from. As more original compilations and solo works began to see releases at events like Comiket and M3, there was an increased demand for higher quality, visually distinct album art that made music stand out a bit more. Many music circles shared spaces with illustrators and other creatives when releasing new works... so why not ask them for a hand if you knew where to look?

Remember when I started by saying a good portion of this field’s history is behind knowing a guy who knows a guy? This web of connections that the scene had woven in prior years is when doujin and freelance illustrators begin to enter the picture.

Blasterhead is credited in the historical retrospective “History of Japanese Hardcore Techno” as one of the artists responsible for kickstarting this collaborative effort between underground hardcore producers and upcoming illustrators in the early-mid 2000s. As the composer for the Kero-Q visual novels Nijuuei and Moekan, among other well-received titles from affiliate companies like H2O -FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND-, Blasterhead had a number of industry connections on hand for album art when producing his independent discography. Thanks to his time with Kero-Q, he was able to call upon former colleague 2C=Galore to create cover art for early music releases like Killbots-E.P., Chopping Mall-E.P., and his 2004 Microdisko set in Stockholm. Not only did this pave the way for other artists to follow suit by working with upcoming talent, it also suggested that there was no limit to the talent pool available for this style of artwork - provided you knew who to ask.

Cover art of the DVD recording of Blasterhead’s live set at Microdisko in Aug. 2004, illustrated by 2C=Galore.

This limit was quickly tested by Blasterhead himself, who called upon a diverse range of talents in subsequent years. RAVE-O-LUTION DMG-E.P. featured the work of Poyoyon♥Rock, who’s now better known for the chief animation direction and Monogatari character designs as Akio Watanabe, while the album art for Plasmadash-E.P. and ere daybreak-E.P. was illustrated by industry veteran Itaru Hinoue.

Yes, the Itaru Hinoue. The very same Itaru Hinoue who partially founded Key, and did the art for Kanon, Air, and Clannad.

Cover art of Plasmadash Remixes (Blasterhead, 2006), illustrated by Itaru Hinoue.

Blasterhead worked with a number of high-profile illustrators and vocalists during his independent music tenure, being cited as building the foundations for the modern independent hardcore music scene. Though a number of producers and circles would look more towards fellow freelancers and independent artists in absence of these heavyweight connections, many of the doujin and freelance illustrators who provided album art for the Japanese hardcore techno scene would later become influential in their own right.

In 2007, HARDCORE TANO*C would enlist the artist KEI to illustrate the cover art for their new compilation album, HARDCORE SYNDROME. He previously worked with TANO*C founder REDALiCE for the album Atomic Ray, but the former release is arguably considered one of his defining album covers during this period. Many will likely be more familiar with KEI as the illustrator for Hatsune Miku and other VOCALOID2 characters that have since gripped the anime subculture consciousness at large, but it’s interesting to see how these two stars aligned with establishing his professional career (aside from Miku V2 Standard and HARDCORE SYNDROME happening to share a release date.)

Cover art of HARDCORE SYNDROME (HARDCORE TANO*C, 2007), illustrated by KEI.

KEI continues to work on Miku and Vocaloid-related projects alike to this day, but what stands out about his contribution to HARDCORE SYNDROME is how this design (later known as DOROC) eventually became the mascot of the circle and what would be the HARDCORE SYNDROME series. Since 2007, he’s been the cover artist for every subsequent release, a history spanning nearly 18 years of work from TANOC’s early years to as recent as 2024 - it’s hard to deny that this series was responsible for putting KEI on the map, just as he was responsible for codifying part of TANOC’s visual identity. Hell, he even illustrated the cover for HARDCORE TANOC’s 20th anniversary release! KEI is one of the more known examples of a doujin/freelance illustrator being tasked with the cover art and designs behind doujin music releases, but he’s not the only one of note, either. It certainly helps that his imprint on Hatsune Miku & co. leaves a lasting impression on those who see his illustrations, as anyone familiar with his style will recognise that style as ‘the work of KEI.’

Cover art of HARDCORE SYNDROME 18 (HARDCORE TANO*C, 2024), illustrated by KEI.

Diverse System would occasionally enlist the help of KEI and other artists to provide cover illustrations for their compilation albums, especially as the circle focused more on original releases and self-contained remixes. That being said, there were a number of notable illustrators during the circle’s initial years that stand out for their works in the professional landscape - Hidari (character designer for Atelier Ayesha/Escha & Logy/Shallie) and orda/ordan (designer for Tokino Sora, Friend A, and Harusaki Nodoka of hololive) created a number of jacket illustrations for various early compilations, like Ourpath from Diverse System. Like with KEI and TANO*C, many of the artists who worked with Diverse System later developed a professional career while shaping the aesthetics of corresponding compilation albums. One interesting subversion to this rule is Kurehito Misaki, who did the cover art for JAPAN and JAPAN 2 after having illustrated and designed the characters for the light novel series Saekano - all four artists mentioned here returned to provide thematic illustrations based on their previous work for Diverse System’s 15th anniversary album RADIAL.

One of the best modern examples of a doujin illustrator who left a lasting impact on this side of underground music is Mika Pikazo, the designer of the AD:HOUSE mascot character Aya Oozora (who even has her own art book.) Outside of the doujin space, she was the character designer for Fire Emblem Engage and original character designer for World Dai Star, in addition to working on a couple of Pokemon TCG illustrations. The bold and vivid range of colours that she’s known for now matches with the midsummer aesthetic that the series attempted to capture in early releases, with her first Diverse System credit in 2015’s AD:HOUSE 4 establishing the album range’s perception as an upbeat, energetic kind of experience that’s perfect for the midsummer vibe. As someone often inspired by music when working on illustrations, Mika Pikazo stands out as a uniquely appropriate designer for a series like AD:HOUSE. She’s mentioned listening to genres like house when starting work on new pieces, with a unique approach of experimenting with different colours to fit with a perceived theme when tasked with original illustrations. This adds a fitting kind of doujin flair to the AD:HOUSE albums that contrasts with conventional perceptions of contemporary house music as a holiday/party mood maker, instead envisioning the genre as a representation of lively summer sounds.

Cover art for AD:HOUSE 6 (Diverse System, 2017), illustrated by Mika Pikazo.

A defining aspect of Mika Pikazo’s work that ties her contributions to the AD:HOUSE series together is the amount of detail behind the design for its mascot. In a Q&A with the development team behind Fire Emblem Engage, she was praised for drawing very detailed designs in rough drafts - this is an aspect reflected in a number of her past and present illustrations, especially this one. However, there’s an interesting contrast with the design for Aya, compared to what you’d see in other Mika Pikazo concepts like Hakos Baelz and Sei Shounagon. By comparison, the simple blue sundress and sneakers (with the Diverse System logo adorned on the front lip and sides) with a sunhat allows for a greater degree of freedom on the graphic design front, something used to great effect throughout many album covers as a striking compliment to the illustrator’s vibrant choice of colours. In this regard, Diverse System’s blend of graphic designs and anime-styled illustrations matches well with the detailed designs of artists like Mika Pikazo, upcoming professionals who have a clear eye to the ground in making music appeal to a wider audience from a visual perspective.

Cover art for AD:HOUSE 10 (Diverse System, 2022), illustrated by Mika Pikazo.

AD:HOUSE 10 would be Mika Pikazo’s last contribution to the series, marking the end of a seven-year-long collaboration between her and Diverse System. taiki would work on subsequent album covers for the mainline series, while PAN:D provided the illustrations for sister series AD:HOUSE Winter during the interim period between this transition. taiki is no stranger to high-profile works in the doujin-adjacent space, sharing a similar Fate/Grand Order connection to their predecessor as the designer for Lady Avalon. This link highlights an interesting shift in the modern doujin music space and its ties to freelance illustration - many contemporary designers commissioned for a series of compilation albums, or hired to work with an artist(s) for an extended period, often develop a professional portfolio of works at the same time.

The connection between Japanese independent/underground music and doujin illustrators has undergone an interesting development throughout the last 20 years. You initially see producers reach out to industry and freelance connections for album art as the scene moves towards establishing more original compositions, before moving towards a mixed pool of established and growing illustrators as the wider music scene consolidates and expands. Many illustrators who’ve contributed to underground and doujin music scene history eventually find themselves working on monumental projects, like Vtuber designs or video game concept art - but it’s cool to see that there’s a place for everyone to play a role in this part of the subculture, irrespective of where the future takes them.

Cited Sources:

Umegatani, Yuta, History of Japanese Hardcore Techno (MURDER CHANNEL, 2023)

Discogs, ‘J-Core Style Overview’ <https://www.discogs.com/style/j-core>

KEI website, ‘works’ page <http://www.kei-garou.net/work.html>

KEI entry, Discogs <https://www.discogs.com/artist/3823128-KEI-32>

Diverse System, AYA -AD:HOUSE Character book- (2018)

Pixiv, ‘"Being true to what you love is essential." - Interview with Popular llustrator Mika Pikazo’ (archive, 2016) <https://web.archive.org/web/20230626141515/https://www.pixivision.net/en/a/1706>

Nintendo News, ‘Ask the Developer Vol. 8, Fire Emblem Engage—Part 2’ (archive, 2023) <https://web.archive.org/web/20230708161501/https://www.nintendo.com/web/20230708161501/https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-8-fire-emblem-engage-part-2/>