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As you walk the streets of any city, chances are that you'll see some graffiti. If you walk specifically in the streets of TOKYO, in the past few years, chances are that you'll see some Uyu.
The tags and symbols people use for graffiti can literally be anything. It's a topic that's surprisingly heavily discussed, and the respective art community for it is one of the most creative and welcoming around. It seems that not everyone who graffitis does it with poor intentions, however. (Or should I say, I find the irony of Uyu being graffiti telling people not to do illegal stuff funny.)
This is Uyu (also known as Alpha Uyu). Uyu is a graffiti symbol; a very cute anime girl-shaped one. She's the chairman of the TFC, and represents order, asking people to follow the rules of society, wear a mask, put your bottles in the recycling can, etc. I find the concept charming, as someone who cares about environmental issues.
Her stickers are often placed nearby signs of importance, such as instructions.
What's the TFC? They're a project, a committee, but more accurately they're a group of artists. They seem to go for a specific style, one that captures the youth and appeal of Uyu. She's meant to be stubborn, focused, determined and hard working to make the area around her better. They've held various exhibitions and galleries featuring Uyu, and made merch of her as well. They haven't debuted any other characters or anything yet, we'll have to wait and see what the future from this group might look like.
The artist also says:
"Beneath its cute exterior, the drawing raises questions about Japanese society, which is governed by a whole host of outdated, inappropriate formal guidelines that give everyone a false sense of morality and security."
On this level, perhaps the irony I'd picked up on was intentional. Uyu wants us to follow the guidelines, but even if she convinces you to, is doing so because graffiti called to you a good reason to follow them? What does it say about the influence of moe culture?
I was initially drawn to this character due to the universal appeal of the eye symbol combined with the rebellious nature of graffiti. The concept of a fictional character watching over you to make sure you behave has been done countless times before, but obviously, most people instantly think Big Brother from the book 1984 by George Orwell. One of the sticker designs featuring Uyu is even called "Uyu's Watching". It seems most artwork of her is in reference to something or another.
Uyu has her own figure now, thanks to this past Wonfes, based on what's definitely her most famous piece of art, the pointing sticker.
Though it didn't seem to gather much interest, which I'd blame on the fact that they weren't exactly clear about who she is. I'll admit her design is somewhat generic, for a figure of her I'd personally like to see a more dynamic base, maybe some informational signs, or a more stylized figure utilizing more of a "graffiti" style. She's a hot topic currently, so I wouldn't be surprised to see another figure of her in the future. (She does have a popular bunnysuit design sticker...)
Hopefully my article has been entertaining and informative. <3 What do youuuu think of Uyu? Are you into graffiti? This is a shorter one but I just wanted to write about her lmfaooo. I'll add the other merchandise of her if I can find the proper info, their website has a weird password requirement and their socials are reallyyyy bare bones (another reason that nobody bought the figure, probably...)