Artist's commentary
Landau (Howie & Landau)
This is a fan art of Landau (蓝兔/Lantu) from the 2006 Chinese animation series Howie & Landau (虹猫蓝兔七侠传/Hongmao & Lantu: Legend of the Seven Swords).
Howie & Landau tells the story of 7 swordsmen fighting evil in ancient China. It features cute anthropomorphic animal characters, but the story is unbelievably dark for a children’s show. Both the heroes and the villains go for the throats of their adversaries, all the time. They don’t hesitate when it comes to extreme measures, and their actions have realistic consequences. There are many spectacular battles of physical strengths as well as psychological wits. The story has great suspension throughout, sometimes even intense.
Landau is the heroine of the show, she is a blue rabbit swordswoman specialized in ice techniques. She is one of the most well-written female protagonist I ever know of. She is a capable fighter, charismatic and smart, and has a noble and incorruptible mind. She carries her team to victory in a hopeless situation, outsmarting a cunning enemy much stronger than her. She reminds me of Sally Acorn from Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.
Not just Landau, every character in this show are also well-developed. Although the show doesn’t have the best animation, the story and character make it worth watching.
I think the writer perhaps wrote the original script as a Live-action TV drama for an adult audience, and it was adapted by the animation.
I didn’t watch the show when it was first aired. I actively avoided it because it was a Chinese animation show. At the time, it was popular among the young Chinese people to look down upon Chinese products and admire the foreign ones. And I, unfortunately, was one of them.
My opinion gradually changed over the years. In 2023, I ran into a few clips of the Howie & Landau show made by its diehard fans, and I was immediately hooked. I watched the show and it didn’t disappoint. That’s why I created this fan art for Landau.