In a way, Chaos*Lounge captured the strong left-wing sense of justice you see in post-war Japan. Consequently, it was at odds with the capitalistic activities of Kaikai Kiki.
─ Mr.

Beyond a traditional left wing context

Mr. : In my own personal history, I’ve never experienced a truly unrestricted “freedom”. And I was always within the apprentice system anyway – a vertically structured society. Chaos*Lounge is about horizontal relationships. That break was a shock to me and I didn’t understand at first why Murakami-san supported it. And then, in the end it collapsed. In a way, Chaos*Lounge captured the strong left-wing sense of justice you see in post-war Japan. Consequently, it was at odds with the capitalistic activities of Kaikai Kiki. But when it comes down to which is more real, I do understand that it’s the left-wing sentiment.

STAG : The counter stance of the left-wing is effective within the existing values of Japan but looking at the art market as a whole, it becomes just another sample set of Japanese subculture. The “newness” of it is felt only by the small number of people who are at the center of it. Until I heard Murakami-san speak about it, I had thought pixiv itself was the mainstream of present-day illustration, but now, having looked at it from a global standpoint, my views have changed slightly.

NaBaBa : I always try to keep a global perspective and on those grounds, I used to constantly criticize pixiv. It seemed like a small private circle and I hated the sense of exclusivity it created. I always thought, “Don’t get rid of all these good things just because they don’t fit in! Don’t get caught up in local rules! And Pixiv itself shouldn’t be stirring up and encouraging people in this!” But in fact, I’ve come to the realization lately that many of the things I believed to be good have also reached their fruition as small private circles so now my anger has expanded to include the entirety of Japanese subculture.

JNTHED : I think NaBaBa-kun is angry at the fact that when creating, most people have subconsciously already reached some point of satisfaction or placed a limit on their potential. Broaden your horizons and have a bird’s eye view of the entire structure. Let’s do something constructive from that.

NaBaBa : My goal is to achieve the powerful market scale and quality of content you see in games developed in Europe and America but I’m a long way away, which is why I used to be on pixiv. I didn’t know if my works were on the path to globalization or not so I just stayed in my local foxhole, madly creating works out of anger toward whatever caught my eye. That’s why I began working for a game company, so I wouldn’t have to stay stuck in my small circle, so that I would have a connection to the outside world and I would have a chance to enter a developed market, where I could work hard to be accepted. I do believe that what happens in the company is one form of justice. When a work I was involved with was placed on a major distribution system, released into the world and fairly well received, I was astounded. “So this is the strength of the ‘major’ market!” The amount of influence it had on society is not even remotely comparable to the time I spent smoldering on pixiv.

Mr. : It was so serious you thought, “Can’t play around any more?”

NaBaBa : Exactly. It was the magnitude. It hit home for me that even when creating a work that is part of the establishment rather than against it, there’s a power and influence that is all its own. The power of the work is unwavering.

Mr. : The points I take seriously are: 1. I live in Japan. 2. I create in a context that is directed at the outside world. 3. I analyze the otaku in Japan from an objective point-of-view. 4. War and myself.