A Psychopomps Lookbook

 As much as PSYCHOPOMPS is a setting defined by the fantasy genre, it draws a lot of inspiration from the cyberpunk aesthetic, in terms of ruined cities and transhumanism. It seeks to evoke the Hong Kong of the movies and imagination, the neon signs obscured by cigarette smoke, the grimy, lived-in streets and houses. It seeks to depict a post-colonial Singapore, left with the ruins of a coloniser's architecture. It seeks to replicate the sweltering jungles of Malaya, verdant and lush. It seeks to reimagine the Spaghetti Western in the tropics, world-weary gunslinging monks entering a rundown border town to hunt an apostate.

The end result should be different from the generic, western medievalism or the heavily exoticised oriental daydream. It might be tinged with the oranges and reds of Buddhism, or the now greyish walls of an old colonial townhouse. Men smoke opium after a hard day's work, there is the loud chatter of the fish market in the morning. A ghoul carries a bolt-action rifle, wrapped in purple batik cloth, haggling with a rickshaw driver. A tall woman carries a jewelled sword into a hovel, wary of the pontianak that emits the floral scent permeating the road. The air is thick with humidity, its warmth rendering it an almost suffocating congealed solid. There are chillies, cloves, star anise and cardamom tickling the nose with their vibrancy of scent. Workers, their heads clothed in bandanas, straw hats or turbans, eat spiced curries and beautifully yellowed rice. The daydream is over, old uncle Lang died without a priest nearby. Someone has to exorcise the ravenous wolf-demon, its jowls dripping with foam and blood. The sage next to you tells you that wolfsbane might serve you well. You tear up little dried petals of aconite, careful to wear your gloves. You pick up the curved kris and coat the blade in wolfsbane and castor oil. Your hunt begins.

Here are some pictures that capture the look and aesthetic of PSYCHOPOMPS.

The gorgeous cityscapes from Kill Six Billion Demons.

The monstrous beauty of Katsuya Terada's The Monkey King

The ragged grimy magics of Dorohedoro.

The vast, terrible immensity of nature and the frontier in Golden Kamuy.