KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES LV: LENNY KRAVITZ’S FESTIVAL OF INFERNAL LIGHTS



Lenny Kravitz once declared “Rock and Roll Is Dead,” but we’re pretty sure he didn’t light a candle over its grave…until now.



With Christmas upon us at last, we never expected that the incredibly belated (on multiple occasions) releases of the 4th and 5th volumes of the Kazuma Kaneko Works series would be as the Star of Bethlehem and lead us to one of the most astonishing cribs of all. As with the preceding three volumes, Kaneko Works 4 and 5 contain profile appendices for each of the featured demons, including what were assumed to be new descriptive notes and sources on designs from the 32-bit era. Unfortunately, many of these notes suggested design inspirations that seemed spurious at best, including one that noted that Bifrons’ design as seen in Devil Summoner and Soul Hackers (but Devil Summoner in particular) was based on musician Lenny Kravitz.



Though this connection seemed too good to be true and likely the mere conjecture of a new author with a surprisingly deep bed of pop culture references at hand, it turned out the design source mentions in particular originated not from Kaneko Works 4 and 5 but from the old Devil Summoner World Guidance book, in Kaneko’s own words! Straight from the horse’s mouth: the Kravitz inspiration was real! (Click here to view the Bifrons blurbs from KW5 and DS World Guidance.)



As seen in the gallery, Bifrons clearly resembles a costume Kravitz wore in promotion for his 1995 album Circus. Both wear a “puffy shirt” under a jacket and while Bifrons’ skull doesn’t seem to be that of a mouse’s to match Kravitz’s mask (but does in a way carry over his monstrous grin from the Dictionnaire Infernal), the demon retains the musician’s flowing dreadlocks. With the addition of a blazing candelabrum in reference to Bifrons’ spirited role, it’s yet another classic Kaneko pop culture crib to add to the pantheon!



Very special thanks to @poltergeist0002 for confirming for us that the design comments originated in Devil Summoner World Guidance!



GHOSTS OF KCN PAST:

