Lucid SkinBengal
The next time you hear someone whining about American cultural imperialism, send them over to l’angle b. Sure, the globe is inundated with KFC, blue jeans, and bad Hollywood movies, but after visiting Bengal’s portfolio, no one will be able to deny the global domination of anime.
Bengal’s art is a beautiful example of the quintessentially Japanese artform, celebrating a wide variety of playful, wide eyed young women infused with a dangerous mix of innocence and attitude. Science fiction dystopias, video game combat, and free-floating space all serve equally as backdrops to his lovely creations.
A young Catwoman is a recurring character, and she’s featured prominently on his opening page, and in crumbling cityscapes throughout his portfolio. She represents an anime favorite: the neko girl, entwined with the western comic book super, as portrayed by an extremely talented francophone artist.
It’s a small world after all.
Written by Jeff in May of 2005. Last edited March 2017.
dude, Bengal’s art is NOT anime! Sure, the characters’ eyes are somewhat large, but that’s the only thing that would connenct his style with anime or manga. I’d be offended if anybody would relate my work to anime or manga as I really dislike both. Bengal’s work is beautiful and a good source of inspiration.
It sounds like you’ve narrowed your definition of Anime down to not much more than Pokemon. In that context, I agree with you. Yet, the influence of Anime — and by extension, Manga — is much more widespread than cartoon monsters. Take a look!