Portrait of a RE:BEL

Mika Pikazo is rapidly becoming a household name, especially for fans of VTubers who know her as the designer and illustrator of Kaguya Luna and Hakos Baelz. Pikazo also provided the character designs for Fire Emblem Engage, imbuing the heroes with her signature vibrant colors and expressive features. Pikazo is also known for RE:BEL ROBOTICA, a mixed media project that started as a doujin and has gone on to encompass a serialized online story, two novels, as well as an upcoming TV anime from Amuse Creative Studio. We had the opportunity to chat with Pikazo at Anime Expo, where we talked about her illustration process, her inspirations, and her visions for the future.

ANN: First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. I’m incredibly excited about RE:BEL ROBOTICA. Before we talk about the project itself, I’d like to go back in time a little. I’ve always been fascinated by your journey as an illustrator because, in many ways, it feels like a dream career. You began illustrating as a fan, and now you’re involved in major multimedia projects. Looking back, what has that journey been like for you?

Mika Pikazo:
I’ve loved anime and games ever since I was a child, and illustration has always been something I enjoyed. What’s exciting now is that creating original works, including original animation, has allowed me to keep expanding my possibilities as an artist. I’m very happy that my career has continued to grow in ways I never imagined. I also feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity, as an illustrator, to create stories and bring them to life with the help of so many talented people.

Has your creative process changed over the years? Has the way you approach character design evolved?

Mika Pikazo:
Definitely. When I first started, I mostly thought about whether a character looked cute or visually appealing. Now I spend much more time thinking about what the character is feeling. If I were this character, how would I think? How would I behave? I try to understand them from the inside before I begin drawing them. I’ve always loved creating stories, so now those two interests have naturally come together. Storytelling and illustration have become connected for me.

Has that also changed the way you draw facial expressions? For instance, once you understand a character’s personality and background, does that influence the way they smile or react?

Mika Pikazo:
Yes, very much. I think carefully about what kinds of expressions each character would or wouldn’t make. For example, an energetic character might laugh with their mouth wide open, while a more serious character might only give a small smile. Even the way they move in seemingly casual moments can reveal differences in their personalities. Every character expresses emotion differently, and that’s become increasingly important to me. When I was only creating illustrations, I mainly wanted the single image to look beautiful. Now I think about the characters as though they truly exist. They’re living people, not just drawings. I’ve felt that way ever since VTubers first came into existence.

I learned something interesting while visiting your booth. I didn’t realize you spent several years living in Brazil. The last time I visited, what struck me most was how colorful everything felt. The landscape, the cities, even everyday life seemed incredibly vibrant. Has that experience influenced your artwork?

Mika Pikazo:
I was actually interested in Brazil even before I lived there. I loved Brazilian films, and what impressed me most was how colorful they were. There was a brightness and atmosphere that felt completely different from anything I had experienced in Japan, and I was captivated by it. The scenery was beautiful, and there were always so many different people on screen. That inspired me to visit Brazil myself. When I finally went, I was amazed by the flowers, the sky, and the city streets. I realized that the country isn’t trying to be colorful. Nature itself is naturally full of color. And the people, too, live surrounded by this colorful world. Those memories have stayed with me ever since, and I think they’ve naturally become part of the way I paint today.

One thing that always stood out to me was the street art. Something is fascinating about the way bold, modern artwork exists alongside natural landscapes, even something as simple as trees. It creates this almost futuristic feeling. When I look at your illustrations, especially RE:BEL ROBOTICA, I feel a similar contrast. It creates a really unique vision of the future.

Mika Pikazo:
I’m really happy to hear that. Of course, Brazil’s natural beauty is wonderful, but what impressed me just as much was the energy of the people. There’s this incredible drive to keep building and creating. New buildings appear, and then they’re covered with colorful paint, murals, or graffiti. Very different things coexist there, and together they create something uniquely Brazilian. I think that’s one of the country’s greatest charms, so it means a lot that you felt something similar in my work.

Speaking of RE:BEL ROBOTICA, I’d love to talk about where the idea first came from.
What was the original spark that inspired the project?

Mika Pikazo:
It actually goes back to when I designed Kaguya Luna. At the time, I met the producer of that project, and they told me that the future was about to change in exciting ways, becoming more and more like the world of science fiction. That conversation left a huge impression on me. It made me start thinking about what kinds of characters might exist in the future. Not just humans, but virtual beings like VTubers as well. How will they influence our everyday lives? How will we influence them? What new ways of living might emerge from that relationship? Those questions became the foundation of RE:BEL ROBOTICA. In many ways, VTubers were the biggest inspiration for the project.

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and one of the things I love most about the genre is that every generation imagines its own future. Science fiction from the 1950s and ’60s imagined flying cars and space travel. Some of those ideas came true, while others didn’t. When you imagine the future, what possibilities excite you the most?

Mika Pikazo:
When people hear “science fiction,” they often imagine dramatic changes, like humanity living in space or completely different ways of life. That’s not really the kind of future I wanted to depict. The future I imagine is one where our lives gradually become richer and where people have more freedom to choose how they want to live. I think that’s already happening today. We’re gradually gaining access to the kinds of conveniences we could only imagine 10 or 20 years ago. Technology and social media have expanded the ways people can find happiness and express themselves. That made me wonder what comes next. If society continues in that direction, how will people define happiness in the future? What will they value? That’s one of the central themes of RE:BEL ROBOTICA.

I think that’s fascinating because even something like VTubers would have sounded like science fiction twenty years ago. Now they’re simply part of everyday life. In a way, you’re creating the kind of future that previous generations only imagined.

Mika Pikazo:
That’s true. When you look back, so many things that once felt impossible have quietly become normal. I think that’s one of the most exciting things about imagining the future.

One thing I’ve always found interesting about designing VTubers is that, once you create the character, they almost develop a life of their own. Another performer gives them a personality, and suddenly they’re no longer entirely yours. With RE:BEL ROBOTICA, though, you had much more influence over who these characters are. As an artist, what did that experience teach you?

Mika Pikazo:
Interestingly, I don’t actually feel that different. Even in animation, the characters eventually grow beyond what I originally imagined. When you’re working with a team, everyone brings their own interpretation of the character. Through those conversations, the character naturally changes and develops. In that sense, it feels very similar to the world of VTubers.

Once the character leaves my hands, they begin to grow on their own. I can’t completely control them, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, I think that’s where new discoveries come from. Sometimes the character behaves in ways I never expected, and when I see that, it makes me want to draw them even more. I always end up watching them with the feelings of a parent.

You spent much of your career working independently as an illustrator. Were there any challenges that surprised you when you shifted into a collaborative medium like animation?

Mika Pikazo:
Definitely. When I’m creating something on my own, the most important thing is trusting myself. I simply ask, “What do I think is interesting? What do I love?” and I pour all of that into the work. That’s how I approach my illustrations and exhibitions. Animation is very different because it’s built from the ideas of many people. Every creator brings something they’re passionate about, and together those ideas become one project. That was a completely new experience for me. Instead of insisting, “This is what I want to do,” everyone contributes ideas until we reach something that we all believe is the best solution. At first, that was difficult because it was unfamiliar. But it also taught me a great deal. Working together like that became one of the most enjoyable parts of the process.

When audiences meet the characters of RE:BEL ROBOTICA and experience this world, what do you hope stays with them after the story is over?

Mika Pikazo:
I hope people take the opportunity to think about where their own happiness comes from. We’re surrounded by so many different people throughout our lives—our friends, our classmates, our families, our coworkers. Sometimes we’re happy, and sometimes we feel lonely. Sometimes we feel like we don’t belong. On top of that, we’re constantly surrounded by messages telling us what happiness is supposed to look like. Advertisements, social media, society… they’re always telling us, “If you become this kind of person, you’ll be happy.”

But I don’t think anyone else can decide that for you. Whether your answer is ordinary or unusual, whether other people understand it or not, I think it’s important to recognize what you truly want. I don’t think those feelings should ever be denied. And sometimes, the answer isn’t something you arrive at by thinking it through carefully. It can come from simply realizing, “This is how I feel.” If RE:BEL ROBOTICA encourages people to stop and ask themselves, “What really makes me happy?” then I think it will have accomplished something meaningful. Everything I hope for is contained in this project.

Speaking of happiness, I love seeing how passionately people connect with your work.
When you see fans cosplaying your characters, what goes through your mind?

Mika Pikazo:
It makes me incredibly happy. One of my dreams has always been to hold an exhibition or attend an event and see lots of people dressed as my characters. My characters are born from observing the people I encounter in the real world and imagining idealized versions of them, so it’s incredibly fun to see fans bring those characters back into the real world through cosplay. Whenever that actually happens, it feels like a dream come true.