HARDWARE GIRLS

comment 1 For those of us who grew up watching anime, reading manga and playing computer and console games, these images are as stunning as they are familiar. When asked what the subject is, one might say it’s the girls. But this isn’t simply male fetish. After all, behind the camera is a young woman named Julie. Her focus, I believe, is the world as she experiences it. A beautiful, vulgar world of color, excess and stimulation. The girls in these images are surrounded by media and technology. They often seem to be absorbed into the background, becoming part of the larger composition.
In some ways, they come to represent the technological condition. At the same time, they gather and focus attention, providing constancy to chaos. Here, too, we see the otaku aesthetic: a free relation to technology opened through and grounded by the young girl.
Few can (en)frame the subject and reveal this truth as Julie has done.

Patrick W. Galbraith,
author of The Otaku Encyclopedia and Tokyo Realtime: Akihabara.

comment 2 Between tactile reality and the in-game world flicker, there exist a very real universe. Ask any player, it exists, there is is. “HARDWARE GIRLS” captures that fantasy world that hums beneath circuit boards and in cartridges. The ‘hardware girls’ themselves are personifications of this game realm -- the world controlled by joysticks, directional pads and buttons. You can't touch, but these photos beckon you to reach out and try.

Brian Ashcraft,
Kotaku.com

comment 4Obviously, since I'm male, I find myself at first captivated by the lovely girls on display. But if I temporarily put a lid on such erotic inclinations, I'm impressed by the touch of sadness and desolation these images evoke. The objects entangling the girls are 8-bit and 16-bit game consoles, virtual games found in video arcades, and numerous synthesizers and keyboards. What we see are good old scenes of 80s, but having been an undergraduate student back in the day, I can say for sure that girls such as these were nonexistent. So what you see in these photographs are really impossible...Still, I realize and feel dumbstruck by the fact that we're actually inside Julie Watai's head (when she was 5 years old).

Kazuhiko Hachiya,
Media Artist

comment 3The first time we met, her eyes impressed me. They looked elegant. I found out only later that she was none other than Julie, the multi-talented, samurai-girl artist who embodies the spirit of Cool Japan itself. When I met her for the second time for a piece I was covering for an adult science magazine, she had a soldering iron in her right hand. And here she is now, before my very eyes, reappearing as a media artist, wielding masterly command over microcomputers. I can't help but wonder just how many faces this child has. Still, her eyes stay the same. In her eyes, you can see "an enduring yearning for having fun." This must be the wellspring of her talent, don't you think? My generation calls this "KONJYO," or guts. It's that flame flickering deep inside the eyes of Huuma Hoshi.* This old man absolutely has a soft spot for such elegant eyes of such a woman. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on her from now on as well.

Shigeru Kaneko,
Editor of "Otona No Kagaku Magazine"

comment 5This collection features kitschy, pop girls, bathed in light with chemical tones. They stand out amid the milieu of old-school video arcades and other places where 8-bit goods, embellished in a medley of primary pastel colors, figure prominently as the apogee of family-computer culture. In yet another scene, which apparently seems to be an electronics parts shop (LED specialty store!?), we see them all tied up with LAN cables. This is undoubtedly one digital psychedelic work of art. It reveals a world that unfolds in the abyss of chaos. Just labeling it as a piece of game-enthusiast memorabilia will not do justice to it. These shots powerfully say ‘I like fashion, art, and cute girls!’ in such a uniquely evocative way. It’s distinctive to Julie's gaze.

Her style is certainly something you won’t find in your average Japanese photographic collection. For people who appreciate this type of thing, it's addictive, I'm sure. I'm one such person, and I believe those who bought this app are the same. It conveys the importance of shouting out with a smile, "I really like what I like." But the analog edition with the ALICE (PSK) sticker is unfair! It makes you want it so bad!

Ryota Musha,
(Made in 1971,Ryota Musha is a gadget writer who contributes to the Japanese edition of GIZMODO/Kotaku, in addition to goods-related magazines of MONO magazine).