Hatsune Miku.

You're probably wondering why a virtual singer, Hatsune Miku, is appearing on a blog devoted to card games. The idea first occurred to me because of the second video I'll be posting up here, but this little news report revealed exactly how much of a miracle Hatsune Miku is. If you listen to the news report, then you can see how much thought went into Miku's character and aesthetic - her artistic appeals. They also used social networking sites, such as NicoNico, to promote their work, and even got the song played on the streets of Tokyo.

Given my own status as an artist, this naturally struck me as being necessary for card games as well. A card game should have a distinct aesthetic and character just like any other art form. For example, Pokemon generally has very light, cartoony art; this makes sense, as it is intended for children. You would NEVER see that kind of aesthetic in Magic: the Gathering- it has a far more mature feel, almost like D&D in card game form.

Manga-style series like "Battle Spirits," "Digimon," and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" have the hardest time getting their aesthetic and character shown to the fullest - with manga-style art, they are almost immediately slated alongside Pokemon, but that's a mistake. They are far edgier than Pokemon could ever be, sporting full teeth and nails instead of Sugimori's dulled points. The only reason that they are ever mistaken for Pokemon is that, for whatever reason (probably money) the companies try to market them like Pokemon - a decision that can be either epic fail or epic win. There is no in-between.

Oh, and if you ARE planning on making your own CCG, but think you're too much of an introvert...Hatsune Miku was made by people who first met on the internet. You have no excuse. Human pop stars, your days are numbered.

The end result was something that should be the goal of all card games:



YGO, you should be ashamed of yourself for making crappy spin-offs instead of investing in greatness.