Galverse # 20 - Harajuku fashion takeover!
Special collabo with LEVI’S®, sold out Secrets collection, and a Galverse gallery in the JR subway line!
Welcome to the twentieth Shinsei Galverse newsletter, shooting across time and space to make the galaxy a better place! Here’s the rundown this month:
1️⃣ LEVI’S® Harajuku flagship store takeover!
2️⃣ Sold out art drop Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」!
3️⃣ JR Japan Rail partnership puts Galverse in the Tokyo subway!
LEVI’S® Harajuku flagship takeover!
A huge moment for Team Galverse! We teamed up with LEVI’S® Japan to takeover their flagship store for a special Galverse themed fashion collaboration.
We’re making a mark in the heart of Tokyo’s fashion district on Cat Street, Harajuku!
The entire store has been decorated with the iconic main characters of Galverse rocking different styles of LEVI’S® classic denim, as well as art + anime videos specially prepared by Director Ayaka.
Ayaka kicked off the event with a special artist workshop over the weekend, creating hand-drawn customs with fans and visitors for two days!
The GALVERSE TAILOR SHOP is open until October 27th, allowing anyone to pick up a LEVI’S® item and customize it in store with Galverse heatpress stickers.
Major fashion brands recognizing the cultural impact of Galverse and Ayaka’s style is a special moment for Galverse, being inspired so heavily by Gal fashion culture!
More information can be found on the DESIGN ART TOKYO event website.
In Conversation With… Ayaka Ohira
Our friend Katie from the Archetype team sat down with Director Ayaka to talk about her journey as a creator in the anime industry, the genesis of Galverse, and what it means to be a Gal - beyond just the fashion!
Being a gal is about empowerment, self-expression, and confidence, and I hope that’s what people feel when they engage with the Galverse world.
This is a really engaging interview that covers Ayaka’s long and inspiring journey as a creator - from the very beginnings of her career, through the creation of Galverse, her vision for what comes next!
You can read the full interview here!
Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」!
We launched a byte-sized art collection, Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」, exploring nostalgia, memory, and the secrets we've carried from childhood into adulthood.
We asked people to let go of their secrets and watch them become part of something bigger...
Secrets is a fun collection where each NFT frame holds a fully playable Gameboy ROM, custom built by the WAGAMI Labs team!
Within, you'll find an anonymous confession from someone's youth, anchored to the games we played. Some are funny, some are sad - hopefully, they all make you feel something.
You can check out and play all 32 instances of Gameboy Secrets collection on the Highlight website. What’s your favourite secret?!
Read a great interview with the team over on the Highlight.xyz blog! As always, we love to dive into making-of and behind-the-scenes on our projects!
Cosmic Vending Machine IRL!
The Cosmic Vending Machine made its first appearance as a digital experience almost two years ago alongside Galverse VTubers - and now it has burst into existence IRL!
Ayaka worked together with our friends at 24karat to wrap a 100% real vending machine in amazing art of Zero for their recent event at NOX Gallery in Ebisu!
There are over 1,000 vending machines all over Japan where you can collect special Galverse artworks, so keep an eye out!
They’re playing snippets of Galverse anime too!
Galverse on the JR Yamanote Line!
The collabo hits keep coming! We’re also partnering up with one of Japan’s most recognized names, Japan Railways (JR)!
Thanks to Amane gallery in Akihabara, a special travel themed Galverse artwork will be on display at JR Shinanomachi Station on the Sobu Line before making its way to Akihabara Station on the Sobu + Yamanote line!
If you’ve travelled in Tokyo, you know that the Sobu and Yamanote Lines set the pace of life for a lot of commuters, so hopefully they’re inspired by Zero’s journey through space!
The Galverse artwork will be on display at JR Shinanomachi Station from now until the 22nd of January.
There’ll also be a special gallery event with Galverse merch + artworks for sale at Amane’s Akihabara gallery from the 15th - 27th November! You can find the Amane gallery inside Seekbase in Akihabara Station!
Anime update, straight from the studio!
We’re approaching the final stages of anime production on the Galverse pilot right now. It’s looking great and we can feel the excitement in the air!
Director Ayaka is currently in the middle of animation direction which involves checking every single cut to make sure the art quality is top notch and the style is consistent across the entire anime.
Ayaka’s corrected cuts will be sent on to the keyframe artists for final checks before the colorists and in-between artists take it on! We’re really close to seeing the first near-final animation out of the studio!
We had a question from the community about Ayaka’s typical daily schedule working on the anime. She is loaded with work at the moment across anime direction, creative direction of music and sound, promotional work like crafting key visuals, as well as all the other collaborations and projects we have on at the moment!
She drew this handy chart as a rough guide of her day. She sleeps a bit after midnight, and wakes up early to start work. The orange segments denote ‘Moopie’ - precious time with her cat Moo-chan. The green parts are ‘various things’ - there’s lots to do right now!
Ogura Koubou are doing a great job with background art and art direction, and we’ve received the majority of backgrounds from Ogura-sensei’s studio by now.
It’s really cool to dive into the breakdowns of each cut, with the figures from the layout superimposed over the final background art, and how Ogura and his team have thought about the composition of each cut.
We also received a draft animatic of the ‘eye catcher’ of the anime. These are a relic from the TV broadcast days of anime when there’d be an ad-break in the middle of a show. That’s 90’s style, right?
Ayaka drew an initial frame and the animators put the rest together. It’ll be accompanied by a catchy little sound-bite too!
Speaking of which, we’ve now received demos of every track on the Galverse OST this week and it sounds great. The final mix of the soundtrack will be ready in November, so stay tuned for the first previews.
Galverse holders get the first look in our Discord community, so jump in today!
Exploring Infinite Possibilities (with Vector Magazine)
Galverse was featured in the first edition launch of Vector Magazine alongside a lot of awesome creators from Japan and Asia.
Special thanks to the zine’s creators from wearesocial.xyz for reaching out and creating the beautful spread on Ayaka’s work and featuring community creator Meemo!
Gals in the Verse! Community Best!
Moppy showed off their custom LEVI’s jacket in store with Ayaka! Double denim forever!
Asami and Aoi recreating the standee pose! Amazing!
Superstar Gal Risa is rocking the black and white customs! Cool!
Chelsea went through Harajuku three times in a row! Amazing!
Oshimaru mastered their Galpi pose for a visit to Levi’s! Thanks for coming!
CONA shared the most kawaii picture of the next gen of Galverse fans! Gals forever!
Rockstar RIS-707 also showed up for the customs! Thanks RIS!
Mikan got a first hand glimpse of the Galverse vending machine, while wearing some awesome Galverse merch!
Thanks to Asami for dropping in on a panel that Ayaka gave on the Galverse journey recently!
Have you checked out @GalverseAnimeJP on Twitter? Fans have been asking Ayaka some questions about making anime - like how she draws with her long gyaru nails!
Jutsu is over 450 days into their Gal crusade! The original artwork is so good…
That’s all for this month! Join us in the Discord, check out the video for ‘I like u’, watch the ‘Might Just’ music video, and follow us on Twitter!
