It seemed we couldn’t have nice things. A few weeks ago, the streets of Biskek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, were adorned with genuine street art masterpieces: giant murals of Reze from Chainsaw Man and the millennia-old elf from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. The artist behind this incredible work was Wodyone, who spent countless hours with the sole goal of giving pedestrians a touch of otaku culture. However, just as photos of these works started going viral online in mid-May, cowards decided it was a good idea to ruin them, covering the faces of both heroines with black spray paint and nonsensical scribbles.

An Admirable Response to Destruction

Seeing your work destroyed in record time is enough to make anyone want to give up completely. Wodyone admitted feeling discouraged, thinking that many local fans didn’t even get a chance to admire the murals in person before the attack. While wear from weather and time is something urban artists deal with daily, this level of premeditated damage was a low blow. But what the vandals never expected was that the global anime community would unite in a massive wave of support, filling the illustrator’s social media with encouraging messages from around the world.

The Triumphant Return of the Bomb Girl

Motivated by this immense positive energy, the artist showed admirable perseverance. Instead of letting the black splotches stay there forever, he took out his tools and restored Reze’s mural to its vibrant former glory. In a message on his official profiles, the artist thanked the community for the huge outcry, admitting that the widespread indignation surprised him pleasantly and gave him the strength needed to not leave things as they were. He also promised fans that he would soon work on recovering Frieren’s mural too.

Seeing how a malicious act transforms into a total victory for anime fans restores a bit of faith in humanity. Knowing that urban art is always at risk of being destroyed by people who can’t stand seeing our favorite characters on the streets, do you think local governments should start protecting these works as modern cultural heritage, or is the constant risk of graffiti simply part of street art’s nature?