Manabu Koga, well-known for his "underwater knee socks," has been working on the latest form of "models that can only be made on a flat surface" (Hobby Industry Inside Vol. 45)

Have you ever heard of the proper noun "underwater knee-socks"?　It is a fetishistic photo work of a girl in a swimsuit wearing over-the-knee socks diving in a swimming pool, but according to the author, Manabu Koga, his recent works have become more and more "plastic model-like. According to the artist, Manabu Koga, his recent works have more and more of a "plastic model" feel to them. Many people may not have a clear idea of what he means when he says "......," so let's hear what he has to say (photo from his solo exhibition "Chiku-Tako" held at Asagaya Loft A).

Underwater Kneeso" is based on special effects photography using Gunpla.

Koga: You are famous for your "Underwater Kneeso" series, in which a female model swims in a swimming pool, but I heard that your roots lie in the special effects photos you took of Gunpla models when you were a sophomore in high school.

Koga: In 1989, I was watching "Gundam Sentinel" (a serialized modeling project in Model Graphix magazine), and I wondered "How can I make photos of Gunpla models look so much like special effects movies? I thought, "How can I make photos of Gundam plastic models look like a special effects film? I took pictures of the Gunpla I had made, printed them out, carefully cut them out with a design cutter, placed them on top of some calendar I had at home, and then placed a layer of glass over them to make them adhere closely to the calendar, (Laughs.) But I think it is interesting to look at it now.

──Did you ever think of making a cool mobile suit by itself?

Koga Of course I wanted to make them look cool, so I made a lot of modifications to the overall design. The back of the Jim's shield is completely flat, and it is not a shield but a propellant tank. When it attacks the Musai, it detaches the shield. I was a space century geek to the extent that I could imagine such a scene.


─ But your final work was aimed at the plane of special effects or photography, or printed matter, wasn't it?

Koga Yes, in 1993 I started a free paper, but I am sure that "Gundam Sentinel" was at the core of my admiration for paper and magazines.

Koga You were a regular contributor to Model Graphics magazine (1997-1999) with "assembly diagrams for nonexistent plastic models," weren't you?

Koga When I started working for Model Graphics magazine as a designer, I was asked, "Would you like to do something as a series? I proposed an illustration of the lying plastic models I was drawing at the time. But now, more than 20 years have passed since that serialization, and we live in an age where anything can be made into a plastic model. Even if it is not a plastic model, Kaiyodo has made even a shichirin into a Shokugan, so the gag of "there is no way such a product exists" is no longer valid. During the shokugan boom, I was out of the Kaiyodo business and .......


─ Before that, you were also working for KAIYODO, weren't you?

Koga Yes, I designed action figure packages. It was in the early days when Kaiyodo started producing finished action figures, such as "Fist of the North Star," "Tiger Mask," and "Armored Trooper Votoms. I also designed the cover and text for a figure magazine called COOL TOYS (Wani Books) at the same time.

T : So you made special effects photos of Gunpla in high school, and after that, you were involved in designing figure products and model magazines. Did you ever think of becoming a professional modeler by making Gunpla?

Koga At the time, some of the writers for model magazines were even in their teens, so I thought to myself, "Damn! I brought my own Gunpla to a model magazine. I am from Nagasaki Prefecture, and when I went to "Yume Factory '87" (an event held in Harumi, Tokyo) on a family vacation, I went to the editorial department of a model magazine by myself. Hobby Japan turned me away, but Model Graphics looked at my work. However, I wasn't thinking too seriously about my career path at the time, and I was making a coterie magazine about "Mobile Police Patlabor.

─ Is it a manga?

Koga No, it was a coterie magazine using photos of models. It was called "Reaver Magazine" and was a parody of a motor magazine. It was a fictional magazine that assumed that I was going to cover the Harumi Reaver Show (laughs). (Laughs.) We were playing with things that were almost the same as what we would later do as a job.