In modern times when video games and other “non-essential” industries--among many others--are feeling the pinch more and more, the creative minds behind our beloved games and series can use all the support and awareness they can get!

Led by Takeya Akito, representative director at Myriashue, May 7, 2020 marked the first step to launch a so-called “game creator brand” with their custom-made T-shirts, featuring various video game creators, for both domestic and global markets.

The T-Shirts!

The first T-shirt will feature Matsuyama Hiroshi from CyberConnect2, which is known for such releases as .hack, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot among many others.

Matsuyama commented that he hopes to garner more interest toward game creators as though they’re no different than professional baseball players or huge movie directors; that’s the sort of world he’d like to support in which admiration and enthusiasm for game creators is genuinely valued.

”[Press Release!] Myriashue has just made the following announcement! We’re producing a new “Game Creators Brand” of merchandise and making it a global endeavor! Since we’re fans of gaming, we wanted to do something to, however slightly, support the industry! Please check it out!” --Takeya Akito, Myriashue

昨年頃の話。

「正式に松山さんをデザインしてＴシャツを世界中で販売したいんです」

ミリアッシュ竹谷がそう言った時にはいよいよ頭おかしくなったのかと思いましたが、jbstyleさんのカッチョいいデザインを見せてもらって認識を改めました。

これ俺が欲しいって思った。 https://t.co/IPeuSovXbJ

— 松山洋＠チェイサーゲーム (@PIROSHI_CC2) May 7, 2020

“Sometime last year Takeya from Myriashue said, 'I want to design a Matsuyama T-shirt and sell them all over the world!' I thought he was crazy when he said that, but he won me over after showing me the design jbstyle came up with. I felt like even I wanted one of those shirts!” --Matsuyama Hiroshi, CyberConnect2

The design and illustration of the shirt is by jbstyle, famously known for the art production from “TEKKEN 7”. They also won 2nd place in the “LIMITS” world competition for digital art. This cool design is a clear expression of popular manga styles that appeals to all ages. Teaming up with Hashiba Grand, a long-standing store with nearly 70 years of history, will be producing 7.1 ounce super-heavyweight T-shirts that are strong and durable with high-definition prints. Shirts are either black or white with full color, mono-color, or monochrome prints, so you can choose which combination best fits your style! 

* Tax and shipping not included.

Overseas Sales and Future Prospects

Since they’re hoping to push this project globally, they are promoting their Facebook page that has over 20 million likes with the motto “spreading happiness through Otaku culture!”. They also expect to promote overseas sales through Tokyo Otaku Mode to develop cross-border e-commerce. (The sales page is only accessible outside of Japan.)

The 2nd Shirt: Kodaka Kazutaka

Likewise, the 2nd T-shirt release will feature Kodaka Kazutaka, creator of the DanganRonpa series from Spike Chunsoft, and current works at Too Kyo Games including Death Come True, and Death March Club.

ABOUT MYRIASHUE

Myriashue is an illustration production company helmed by Takeya Akito, with a mission statement that wishes to “explore the possibilities of illustrations”. Although they mostly work on production illustration for video games, they also put great emphasis on the value and lifestyle of writers and place special care to the relationships and new needs of illustrations. 

Additionally, Takeya goes on to discuss his reasoning behind the development of this project in a recent Note blog post, which you can read in either Japanese or English below!

• Japanese
• English

Supporting the Game Industry

Maybe you’re a veteran gaming fan from the early days, or maybe you were introduced to them by your parents or friends. Many classic home consoles like the NES and other well-known franchises like Final Fantasy have turned or surpassed their 30th anniversary. As times change, as us gaming fans age, so does the industry. There have been many golden years, maybe back during the age of the Genesis vs. Super Nintendo feud, but as situations change, especially during the age of the Coronavirus, things have gotten hard for everyone. That’s why gaming fans not only want to support the games that we love, but also the people who make them. That is why this idea came about--to bring awareness and appreciation to all the creative minds behind the games.  

It’s a Myriashue Exclusive!

There were two main reasons why Takeya decided to go through with this pitch, simply stating that other companies wouldn’t release such a thing and that it’s an interesting idea! Both of these two points, well-aligned with the spirit of Myriashue, made it clear that they needed to make the final push to make this a reality. 

Regarding the “interesting” aspect of the project, this was entirely a subjective idea from the three members at Myriashue. As they went into further detail, they gave us an idea of where their loyalties lie regarding genre:

• Takeya Akito / Representative Director (CEO): RPGs & Horror games
• Terai Tomoyuki / Director: Beat ‘em Ups
• Sugiyama Go / Vice President (COO/Director): Fighting games

Takeya felt some pressure as the head of the company, plus it had been some while since the inauguration of the company, but just crushing the numbers from a business standpoint, it would still be difficult to pull off. That’s when Vice President Sugiyama chimed in with his idea of putting Matsuyama from CC2 on a T-shirt. Perhaps if they could feature prominent figures in the game development area, it could work!

And so he got together with jbstyle and Matsuyama, to which both said in no certain terms: Let’s do this!

“Rage Against the Dying of the Light”

While in the midst of thought, a quote from Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do not go gentle into that good night”, as seen in the movie Interstellar, came to Takeya’s mind. 

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

It’s not necessarily talking about anger as an emotion, but rather to not give in easily, to stand your ground, and always fight against anything that readily stands in your way. Takeya references such classic characters like Luffy from One Piece, Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan, or Goku from Dragon Ball. Each of these characters wasn’t necessarily strong from the beginning but was made strong through their continued struggle and strife until at last, they stood on the top. Perhaps “perseverance” would be a good term for this aesthetic.

He goes on to say how even those working in the creative industry can have similar moments of “perseverance”, even I came across this while studying Creative Writing in college. I had one professor who specifically told us that we were forbidden from writing anything in the Science Fiction or Fantasy genre. I was instantly taken aback and almost insulted, frankly, because he made it seem like this genre wasn’t a “legitimate” area of prose. He later explained that this was because he knew very little of the genre so he couldn’t speak much about it, but it still made little sense to me because, well… writing is writing, no matter the genre or subject matter. 

And still through it all, we still persevere. We still strive forward in spite of the dying light. These days are hard, but perhaps together, we can make it through!

But, I digress...

Last but not least, let’s end with this awesome quote directly from Takeya of Myriashue himself:

“Video Games connect the world!”