{"id":367747,"date":"2025-10-26T02:13:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T02:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"urn:uuid:4fcfb135-8fd1-4dd7-932c-82e668c62802"},"modified":"2025-10-26T02:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T02:13:35","slug":"gungrave-g-o-r-e-ikumi-nakamura-talks-ikumi-nized-approach-to-character-designs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/gungrave-g-o-r-e-ikumi-nakamura-talks-ikumi-nized-approach-to-character-designs\/","title":{"rendered":"Gungrave G.O.R.E: Ikumi Nakamura talks \u201cIkumi-nized\u201d approach to character designs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Badass gunslinging anti-hero Grave is back in the upcoming action-packed gun kata game Gungrave G.O.R.E, where you\u2019ll face a multitude of ruthless enemies, some with the power to evolve and transform into Superior versions of themselves. One of the most fascinating and deadly of these is without a doubt Yensen\u2026 <\/p>\n

Today we can reveal that legendary artist Ikumi Nakamura is working alongside developer Iggymob on a number of character designs, bringing her own unique, elegant style to the game with spectacular results. <\/p>\n

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What appealed to you most about working on Gungrave G.O.R.E? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nakamura:<\/strong> I used to play the PlayStation 2 version of Gungrave. Since I was a fan of Naito-sensei\u2019s Trigun, I naturally thought \u201cI will buy Gungrave\u201d. <\/p>\n

When Iggymob contacted me, I was happy to hear that it was an offer to work on a piece that I had once purchased. It was an honor to work with Naito-sensei indirectly.<\/p>\n

They told me that they knew how they would like to approach the visual aspect, but the core visual concept and its impact was not quite there. <\/p>\n

The fact that I could refine the visual concept was the most interesting part when working on Gungrave G.O.R.E. In terms of the actual work process, I had to think of how to transform and bring Naito-sensei\u2019s characters to life. This was both an appealing and challenging part of the project. <\/p>\n

Maintaining the main worldview of GORE and adding the \u201cIkumi-nized\u201d style was the most challenging of all. I used to think \u201cWow, what am I going to do?\u201d because of the pressure that I felt, but still moved on with the visualization. <\/p>\n

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Yensen is the boss of the Hong Kong branch of Raven Clan, a criminal organisation hell-bent on their goal of spreading the dangerous drug \u201cSEED\u201d across the world in an effort to control humanity. Yensen is hungry for more power within Raven Clan, and will go above and beyond to make sure he succeeds (and Grave fails). As a Martial Arts specialist he prefers things up close and personal, making him a tricky target for Grave\u2019s trademark pistols. <\/em><\/p>\n

What inspired the design of Yensen Superior? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nakamura: <\/strong>Everything is related to how Yensen was raised in Hong Kong. I was inspired by Bian Lian, the traditional form of Chinese entertainment where the faces would change in a split second. This translated into Yensen\u2019s movements during the battle to be unusual and eye-catching. I also had a vision at one point that Yensen Superior\u2019s mask would move like Rorschach from Watchmen. <\/p>\n

How did you approach mixing your art style with the style of the game? Did you have to approach the challenge\/work flow differently? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nakamura:<\/strong> I\u2019m also working on other characters and bosses\u2019 designs as well. Additionally, there is a special design of Grave that I\u2019m working on, so please stay tuned for the upcoming news. <\/p>\n

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Gungrave G.O.R.E will launch in 2022, published by Prime Matter. <\/p>\n

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