“Angel” and “Devil” are pseudo-AI assistant programs for Alice Rosetta, the robot girl. Angel provides conservative answers, while Devil offers radical ones. Both programs receive Alice’s questions simultaneously, can read each other’s outputs, and may interrupt one another—this is determined by a simple fighting game between them.
The version of Angel & Devil in this article is not necessarily the “final” version; I believe they would be better represented in chibi form within Alice’s inner theater outside of the fighting game context.
Design process
The first draft of Angel and the Demon was requested in 2019 by someone claiming to be from a Hong Kong pop toy company: “Draw a pair of an angel and a devil and see how it goes.” After sending the sketches, I never received a reply. I suspected either dissatisfaction (as my drawings were quite stiff at that time) or that I had encountered a fraud. This incident hit me hard during my least confident period.
In May 2022, determined to see things through, I finished the original rough sketch to bring closure. Midway through, I envisioned the two characters as Alice’s assistant programs in Electric Hearts. However, my drawing skills didn’t improve until late 2022 into early 2023. The picture from May 2022 remained stiff; notably, the faces—especially the angel’s—were unappealing, which embarrassed me enough to delete it shortly after posting.
While sorting through old works in 2025, I regretted shelving this piece over an unappealing face (particularly since such clean image are rare for me). So, I spent some time modifying the angel’s face and other minor details. Compared to other redraws from 2025, this image underwent the least changes; yet small adjustments can elevate a character from “nothing” to “something.” Which I think is exactly the case for Angel.
This revision process reflects my struggles during a challenging period as an artist. This mental journey is far more significant to me than the final result of the work.
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