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Anyone who knows me knows that I love my Sega racing games more than anything else. Even though I am very young, I still remember being fascinated Sega Rally 2’s packaging when the game dropped 25 years and five days ago as of this writing. Most racing games of the time used real-life photos or stylized images of crude 3D models moving wheel to wheel to entice shoppers perusing the racks at Electronics Boutique, but Sega Rally 2 was different. Simple in concept but powerful in execution, its cover featured a beautifully illustrated Lancia Stratos posed still but leaping from an almost pure white background. It was and still is wonderful. Sadly, the artist behind it and so many other pieces of automotive art passed away on November 17th.
Kazuhiro Ikeda, better known by the pseudonym “Onion,” died of lymphoma earlier this month after a seven-year battle with throat cancer; he was 78. While my generation probably knew Bowe best for Stratos, he was a prolific artist in Japan, creating thousands of pieces for various fashion, lifestyle and enthusiast publications. But immortalizing cars was undoubtedly his specialty.
See, Bowe’s illustrations graced the cover of every issue Automobile magazine It was published in Japanese for four decades until it retired in mid-2018 to focus on healing. When he withdrew from this duty, Car continued to honor the aesthetic he created with expressions of real cars on a white background. A Jalopnik article since 2015 citing an interview with Bow that he conducted Bicycle world in 1996 mentions that he enjoyed illustrating motorcycle racing the most. Moreover, there was no doubt that Luk would do his job; the artist saw an illustration of a 1949 Ford pickup truck at the age of three, and from that moment on, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Looking into Car reverse catalog it’s like walking through an exhibition. I don’t know anything about art, but there is something natural, warm and idyllic about the way Bowe depicted cars, old and new, in watercolor. Cars in his world were certainly objects of beauty, but they were organic artifacts—accessible, vibrant characters of everyday life.
After his death, persons involved in Sega Rally 2 developers began sharing stories about how Bowe’s work ended up promoting the game. Translated by X, SR2 produced by Kenji Arai said he traveled to Bowe’s studio in 1997 or 1998 to negotiate permission to use the Stratos piece. Like anyone who played the original Sega Rally will tell you Lancia Stratos is idolized in this game, and clearly Luke’s part has earned him the respect he deserves.
“Of course Bowe readily agreed as a car enthusiast,” Arai wrote. The game’s lead designer, Kenji Sasaki, offered his own insight into what Bow’s Stratos brought to the experience.
“Speaking of the (Dreamcast) and PC versions Sega Rally 2the image of this Stratos artwork sets it apart from other Sega games a bit.” Sasaki wrote. “It seems to me that there is a more mature atmosphere here. It’s hard to find these days, though Sega Rally 2 the arrangement CD (soundtrack), which uses the same artwork, has an adult feel and is highly recommended. If you get a chance, give it a listen.”
I cannot agree with both the point that Bowe’s work creates a “mature atmosphere” and Other records CD recommendation. This album has great jazzy arrangements of the game’s songs that will blow your mind if you’ve never heard them before, as I hadn’t until I blogged about it.
It would be remiss of me not to add this Sega Rally 2 the cover was particularly distinctive in North America. Before the Internet broke down global barriers to things like advertising, Japanese games like SR2 change (read: destroy) its subtle, tasteful box art out of a desire to better appeal to Western audiences. Big tourism definitely became a victim of this phenomenon in the early days, though perhaps the best the worst there is an example what the American division of PlayStation did with the cult adventure game Ico.
The Sega Dreamcast felt like a different kind of gaming console, driven by unbridled creativity and a desire to have fun above all else. It was a peaceful place to play. Likewise, Bow’s Stratos is as peaceful a piece of automotive art as any mid-engine Italian exotic from the 70s. It left a six-year impression on me, though not as deep as the Ford truck of 75 years ago. And wasn’t the automotive world better off for it?
Want to talk about racing games? Email me at adam.ismail@thedrive.com
