Hello Kitty meets Cat Woman. Samurai Girl is the Japanese Lolita for the new millennium. Samurai Girl is the face of a new Japanese underground that will style the world. Samurai Girl is a psychedelic and playful collection of images by Tokyo-based fashion photographer and ex-Pop Idol, Julie. A 25 year old Japanese Otaku and descendent of an ancient samurai family, she re-mixes Japanese (sub)cultural photos with manga and video game graphics like an escapist DJ. One could almost talk about realism. A neorealistic exageration. In the end, the magical Tokyo that Julie photographs, where the imagined, everyday objects, and people continuously intertwine, is extremely realistic. Julie manages to profoundly immortalize an aspect of Japanese culture in all its richness, folly, and abstractions. The Samurai girls in Julies photography capture the contemporary aesthetic for real-life Barbie dolls, Fallen Angels, Godzilla school girls, cosmic superstars, video game superheroes, and super sexy pop idols. Samurai Girl combines Japanese youth fashion fantasy with radical trends, club culture chic, and manga design. Over one hundred photos and graphics, Juliep otographs and designs have reached cult status in Tokyo.
"Very interesting photography book from Japan featuring the work of "manga photographer" Julie.
The images are an exploration into the world of Japanese youth whose lives are absorbed in videogames, anime and pop culture. Many of the pictures feature scantily-clad models dressed as fetishsized anime characters.
The line between realism and hyper-realism is blurred and really goes to show the impact that pop imagery has and how it is projected into our identity." Giant Robot (USA)