Fashionable Paranoia Artist, Shintaro Kago

Enter the chaotic, surreal and slightly creepy world of Shintaro Kago. He has quickly become known for his unique and extreme style of art. A true pioneer to what he calls his style of art: “Fashionable Paranoia”. Some artists that exist in the same realm are people like Junji Ito, known for the manga series Uzumaki, and Hiroya Oku known for GANTZ. GANTZ was a personal favorite series of mine even if Hiroya Oku art in that series would be considered more tame than Shintaro’s. Before diving into his work, Shintaro was motivated by films such as Monty Python which he would watch while in high school. His style is considered to have strong satirical tones while making designs that focus on Eru-guro, the bizarre and grotesque. His first works could be seen in 1988 when he debuted in Comic Box.

One of the most detailed interviews Shintaro Kago has done was with Vice where he proclaimed himself as a Kisou Mangaka. He also stated in the same interview that he believes that the creator should not dictate if what they make as art; It's up to the audience to call it art and him an “Artist”. He continued in that interview to talk about how he is simply trying to create art within the confines and limitations that he has been given. 

Shintaro Kago really made his presence known in the west when artist Flying Lotus asked him to design the cover art and other insert art for his album “You’re Dead”. 

Initially, his work struggled to be accepted, but as time went on, more of his work became internationally known. Originally, Shintaro didn’t want to work in manga as he was more passionate about live-action films and anime. He was quoted saying in an interview with RETROFUTURISTA that he “wanted to evolve it in another way. For example, developing independent movies, organizing exhibitions, etc.”

It’s clear Shintaro has set his own personal goals in his path as an artist and creator. We are extremely happy that he has chosen to partner with Popkiller to proudly share his works with a wider audience. Whether you’re a new Shintaro Kago fan or just learning about him, I think we can all appreciate the uniqueness in these pieces of work. If you want to stay up to date with Shintaro’s work make sure to check out his Instagram to see his latest updates and posts. If you want to see or purchase anything from his collection of apparel here at Popkiller just click the image link below!

Shintaro Kago's Collection