Tokyo's Akihabara district is often labeled as a somewhat of a paradise for anime, video game, and tech enthusiasts. The bustling otaku hub offers a plethora of hobbyist merchandise, arcades, and maid cafes that keep the flashing lights and buzzing ambiance of the neighborhood buzzing deep into the night.

While it's hard to capture the exact aesthetic of Akihabara in any one particular art style, talented video illustrator and digital artist Keigo Inoue seems to be as close as any. With vibrant colors and dazzling effects, Inoue's futuristic anime style seems right at home with the constantly moving city of Japanese subcultures.

Recently, however, the streets of Akihabara have taken on a new atmosphere as people stay at home as safety protocol against the novel coronavirus. Particularly at night, Akihabara appears as an eerie neon ghost town, with colorful anime character signs shining and beckoning empty streets.

The awesome video illustrator Keigo Inoue took notice of how "lonely" Akihabara appeared late at night, and decided to breath some beautiful digital art life into it using his AR/VR skills, giving it a futuristic cyberpunk upgrade.

In what must have been a time consuming effort, Inoue imposed his embedded his own impressive digital artwork into the streets of Akihabara as gaudy futuristic signboards that he likens to a cyberpunk aesthetic. Only 5 seconds or so, the video is short but sweet, and provides a cyber and poppy blend of Inoue's gorgeous artwork and a nighttime Akihabara aura that seems inspired by Blade Runner.

For more amazing artwork, be sure to follow Keigo Inoue on Twitter and check in at his official website.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.