Our next 2010-2011 contest winner is the marvelously imaginative Yakiimon, a boxing sweet potato whose "clothes" are even old newspaper, the way roasted sweet potatoes were once served by street vendors in poor but homey city districts. What's also very novel here is how the potato skin has been peeled around Yakiimon's eyes and mouth, giving its face the impression of a purple mask!

All of these elements were already present in Funaki Kazuhiro's entry drawing, except the green sprout that was for some reason discarded. A round of applause for this kid's radical imagination; I think their drawing even has a bit more personality than Yakiimon's final, official art.

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