Cartoon City

During a trip to Tokyo last year, I've noticed there was a lot of cartoons around. They were not because of manga and anime advertising, but it was in the form of signs. From Police, transport to car park and normal 'no smoking' signs. Little characters were everywhere, some are seen to be iconic as they have been around for years and are regonized by citizens and tourists.

So why are cartoons everywhere? One explanation is due to the second world war and the Hiroshima atomic bombing, also know as 'The Little Boy'. After the war, many Japanese wanted to find a relief and sense of comfort, many turned to manga/anime. And this lead to artists like Takashi Murakami who appropriated these scenes and created new imagery based on the form of manga.

Example below is the original image of the bombing, and Murakami's appropriated imagery:

Would this cartoon imgery work in London? I highly doubt so. If it did, it would be a huge change to the City's landscape and definitely won't suit the classical buildings and feel of the City, which is a huge contrast to Tokyo's fast pace electronic image.