Great artwork is a dialog. It’s not simply “here’s this thing I painted, take a look at it and go home.” It strikes you. It sticks in your thoughts, and maybe influences you in methods each seen and never. Those who’re in different artistic professions might discover that it informs their work in a roundabout way, and will even reference it occasionally within the backs of their minds.

Some artists hold their influences quiet, whereas others want to shout them from the rooftops. Bel y Bel is a artistic studio pushed by its two founders, Carles Bel and Jesús Bel (no relation). Like many design creatives within the present period, alongside the way in which, they found their shared appreciation for the works of globally-renowned manga and anime grasp Katsuhiro Otomo. 

Since founding Bel y Bel in 2005, the pair have largely centered on upcycling scooter and basic automotive elements into new, purposeful designs. Many are workplace furnishings, just like the Vespa workplace chair or the Sofa 600, which is constructed from the entrance and extra items from a Seat 600 Model D. The upholstery itself was taken from the seat of one other Seat, the Seat 124.

That’s one major goal that drives Bel y Bel, however it’s removed from the one one. In 2020, the agency determined to carry the Akira Toriyama-penned Bulma’s Capsule No. 9 motorbike and Lunch’s monowheel to life as full-size creations. Here you may see a video shot on the twenty fifth anniversary version of the Manga Barcelona conference held in 2019:

Kaneda’s Bike from Akira

In 2023 and into 2024, Bel y Bel has been engaged on a prototype of what is arguably some of the well-known fictional bikes of all time, Kaneda’s bike from Akira. The first model was a hybrid design utilizing a 250cc Yamaha combustion engine paired with an electrical motor.

However, the present model is all electrical, and the group is working to include reverse functionality into the construct this time round. (Having spent numerous time using a Zero with reverse, I can affirm that it is an extremely helpful characteristic to have on an electrical bike.)

After prototyping, Bel y Bel have been within the strategy of constructing two Kaneda bikes to order. However, the plan after that’s to make a restricted sequence accessible for folks to buy someday in 2024, based on Mundo Deportivo. It’ll value €20,000 (about $21,863 on the time of writing), however you can arguably spend much more on one thing that will not make you smile as a lot as this does.

 

We’ve included a hyperlink to Bel y Bel’s web site in our Sources, or you may try the corporate’s Instagram to speak about perhaps constructing you the Kaneda bike of your desires.