Art imitating life imitating art
typed for your pleasure on 6 April 2008, at 11.29 amSdtrk: ‘I want to be old’ by the Cure
Well, this is certainly innaresting, as Uncle Bill used to say. It seems robotics manufacturing firm Kokoro Co. Ltd haven’t been resting on their laurels at all, cos hot on the heels of Simroid-chan would be their latest charming Gynoid, Holon.
Rain and snow just roll right off her head!
Now, there’s a reason for her anime-styled face: Holon-chan is a character in an upcoming anime series by Production I.G entitled ‘Real Drive‘, another one of those cyberpunk-styled series that Masamune Shirow is responsible for. In the series, she plays a secretary. Which is an interesting coincidence, as the real-life Holon-chan will ideally be put to use as… a secretary.
Her legs are designed to attract Robert Crumb
Personally, I’m not too keen on her plastic hair — what, the Kokoro staffers couldn’t cut a wig to look like the anime version’s hair? Plus her anime face will invite comparisons such as Holon is to Actroid, as a CandyGirl is to a RealDoll. But upon reflection, that’s okay. Cos not only are Kokoro and Production I.G embarking hand-in-hand on a pretty impressive marketing ploy, but I’ve always said that there’s a niche for Synthetiks with less-realistic appearances, as they bridge the gap between lifelike Gynoids like Actroid and the EveR series, and more machinelike robots, such as Wakamaru and the Tamanoi Vinegar Robot, and therefore make it easier for the not-quite-ready-for-Synthetiks portion of the population to get used to artificial lifeforms being in society over the next couple of decades.
Oddly enough, Kokoro doesn’t have any info on Holon-chan or Simroid-chan on their Japanese pages, so as soon as I track down and firmly grip any additional details, you’ll be the first to know. Well, second. Err, you’ll be in the top ten. In the interim, you can watch her introducing herself here, and here, and English information about ‘Real Drive’ would be found on the Production I.G site here.
Also, just so you know, ‘Lars and the Real Girl‘ is due out on DVD in the States 15 April
Random similar posts, for more timewasting:
Synthetiks-related news (Dec 2009): Prelude on December 7th, 2009
So many models to choose from on June 11th, 2008
April 7th, 2008 at 11.24 am
I’ve seen an actroid in person, I think the one on the main page of their website. (At least, it looked like that one and was dressed the same, iirc) It was realistic but perhaps trying too hard to be, I think I prefer the anime styling of Holon, though I don’t really like the plastic hair. It reminds me of Pinky St figures, I’d half expect it to pop off and be interchangeable with other hairstyles. Though on second thought, that might be fun.
(You must already know, though you didn’t mention it on the 23 page, that the Factory records release number for ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is FAC23. And since those words are inscribed on his memorial stone, and he died at 23, so.)
April 7th, 2008 at 2.21 pm
I think they should have invested in using something else for her hair; I mean based on the drawing, the original hair does not seem unrealistic like one from dragon ball.
Iver never heard of those two animes before, then again I really do not know a lot, maybe i will look for them some time.
Honestly, I think I would rather talk to a secretary like her; Compared to some of her bitchy unhappy and stressed out biological counterparts its like… I remember a movie once when the guy was getting irritated by this customer service woman over the phone and asked to be redirected to a machine instead.
Maybe, it is possible that people actually end up preferring those that do not look 100% human like because… maybe theyve really grown to dislike humans in general and they just want to distance themselves from them though they will still have to admit that they need something to fill in the space that they are ‘supposed’ to take and… … alright I was trimming it but…
what am I talking about…
April 8th, 2008 at 12.16 am
Wow, what a pedigree that creative team has! With Production I.G. behind it, this will definitely be an anime to watch out for. I’m not really that crazy about the R. Crumb-i-ness of the figure, but I echo your sentiments with regard to “bridging the gap”. Very good point!
I guess I’ve been watching too much anime, as Holon-chan’s face seems (pert-near) normal to me. Aside from the hair of course, though it does lend itself to the anime-effect.
But those legs… if true to the finished product, she’ll be thicker than 99% of all anime starlets, excepting of course Perfect Blue’s heroine’s manager :-O Nyaaahhh…
But anything portraying characters more realistically I’m in favor of; it seems larger persons are under-represented, generally speaking, in anime. Dunno if you saw Paprika, but there was a Very Large Fellow in that as well. Well, why not?
Next up: Jack Sprat!
April 8th, 2008 at 10.41 pm
Could eat no fat
April 9th, 2008 at 6.20 am
True, and his wife could eat no lean :-O
Talk about opposites attracting LOL
April 9th, 2008 at 11.53 pm
I hear they had a detergent effect on their dishes when their saliva combined.
April 17th, 2008 at 1.19 pm
SafeT –
So the spittle of Jack Sprat and his unnamed wife is like the opposite of the sputum that comes out of a Xenomorph? Instead of being acidic, it breaks up grease and makes dishes easier to clean. Huh! They should stop round to mine, then; there’s a sink over here with their names on it…
PBS and silicone babes –
She’s got some thighs on her, yes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the character designer for Real Drive was Tetsuro Ueyama, who was the manga-ka behind the highly-underrated ‘Metal guardian Faust’, the only volume Viz translated sits proudly on my bookshelf over there *points*. Although people’s legs look normal in that manga, so maybe he was going for something unique with Holon-chan. Or perhaps he got a kickback from Robert Crumb. 🙂
‘Paprika’, yes! A copy of it sits proudly on my DVD shelf over there *points*. That was a fine fillum! But then, it was by Satoshi Kon, so you kinda expect quality.
And it was a surprise to see the enormous Dr Tokita! You don’t usually see people — normal ones, not monsters or anything — that vast in anime! I dug the fact that whenever you saw him in a car, you’d see the car noticeably straining under his weight. A hefty man. 🙂
Hikaru Shiki –
Speaking of Gynoid secretaries, have you seen footage of Android SAYA? She recently moved to Israel, in order for a university to study her for their robotics department. Hopefully they’ll help her with her typing skills. 🙂
I’m on the fence with my personal experiences with secretaries (not Secretariat; we’ve never met), as two of my close friends are in that field. Well, one was an admin assistant, and the other’s a receptionist, but you know what I mean. In general, they can sometimes be bitchy, but I charitably chalk that up to their job requirements. Personally, my job turns me into a real shit on the phone, but then, I deal with shits 98% of the time at work. I’m sure if you took some Organik secretaries out of their oppressive work environment, they might be lovely people. Or not!
And lord, I’m sick of typing the word ‘secretaries’ over and over.
Desiree –
Ha, you hit the nail on the head with your ‘hair-like-a-Pinky-st-figure’ comment! Or maybe Holon-chan is like a 1/1 scale Playmobil figure! Either way, her appearance is more like those anime-styled CandyGirls. Not entirely off-putting, but like I’d said, she bridges a gap…
And you saw an Actroid?? Nice! Was it from a distance, or did you actually engage in conversation with her?
And you’re absolutely right on the Ian Curtis/Factory connection to 23… I am a fool for missing that out. Gotta go add those to the list — thanks!
April 18th, 2008 at 3.51 pm
She’s got a name! It’s “Mrs. Spratt”!
April 27th, 2008 at 5.19 am
And being a fan of R.Crumb I have to say she looks very fine to me in the sketch, reminds me of my B4 , she has very fine thighs too.
I like the little bit of chubbiness (nice word that) under the chin and else where.
To many skinny models around
And thanks for popping in at the tunnel, not much going on there for a while, must get finger out
Bye for now …..
April 27th, 2008 at 12.23 pm
Ray –
O, that Body 4 does indeed have some thighs on her, but there’s always the Body 8 to consider. Now that’s a substantial lass!
Not to mention there’s the Mechadolls and Party Dolls, for that matter. I’m surprised you’ve not taken the plunge and added one of them to your personal harem…
I’ve obtained the first two episodes of ‘Real Drive’, and yes, Holon-chan does have a bit of… how you say… ‘junk in the trunk’. Which is a wee bit surprising, as despite the fact that Masamune Shirow didn’t do the character design for the series, his Gynoids are usually pretty slender — Ghost in the shell’s Major Kusanagi immediately springs to mind.
And thanks for dropping round ‘Shouting etc etc’! You’re like a mysterious stranger that fades in and out of existence. *waves hands mysteriously*