Art Book Reviews

An assortment of art books, doujinshi, and other various things.

[cyanideblizzard]

Hey, good day ^^ I have a question. I'm a big fan of Gunsmith cats too and have a little amount of their merch (but not like your awesome collection!) and where did you find the LPs? they are AWESOME dude, really. I'm from Spain and checked japanese sites but didn't find it :(

Hello to you too!  and my apologies for taking so long to reply.  For Gunsmith Cats, it was a combination of a few things.  eBay, Mandarake, and going through Yahoo actions and having an associate mail them from Japan.  The CDs and Laserdiscs were primarily imported through the contact.  A lot of it comes down to patiently hunting, as a lot of the things I bought were over the course of several years.

[cyanideblizzard]

Check out the video flip through right here!

With Etrian Odyssey V set to release tomorrow in the west, I figured tonight would be a perfect time to upload IV’s art book.  Etrian Odyssey IV Official Setting Material (世界樹の迷宮IV 伝承の巨神 公式設定画集) featuring the lovely artwork of Yuji Himukai (日向 悠二).  This 223 page 10 x 7.2 in. semi-glossy book is stunning to look at and really solidifies Himukai’s art directional shift from his earlier works that has been steadily defining itself since the first game.

You can find this book at Amazon.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/y9e665at Ebay : http://tinyurl.com/y9lq9p5g

[cyanideblizzard]

Video flip through of the entire book is right here!

Back once again, and this time I’m covering Etrian Odyssey III Official Setting Material (世界樹の迷宮III 星海の来訪者 公式設定画集).  This is a big leap from the previous official setting material, clocking in at 192 pages while still maintaining that 10 x 7.2 in. ratio.  Semi-glossy pages, slip cover and even more material than you could ever ask for. 

The biggest difference of all in just the quantity of material.  As oppose to being two games for one book, this is one giant book for one game and you feel it in a big way.  Especially given the price point, if you’re a fan you owe it to yourself to track down this book.

You can find this book at : Amazon.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/ycwwtrsf Ebay : http://tinyurl.com/y92pxujq

[cyanideblizzard]

Video flip through here! This is in preparation for the soon-to-be Western release Etrian Odyssey V and the first of several Etrian Odyssey art books I will be covering, Etrian Odyssey Official Setting Material Collection (世界樹の迷宮 公式設定資料集).  This book covers Etrian Odyssey I and II.

112 pages, 10 x 7.2 on semi-glossy pages with a slip cover.  Yuji Himukai (日向 悠二) is the artist behind Etrian Odyssey, and this is a great starting point to see how they evolved their art style over the course of the series.  While being the smallest of the Etrian Odyssey official art books, it’s certainly not lacking in material.

You can find this book at : Amazon.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/y7guqwq6

[cyanideblizzard]

Art Book Reviews is returning once again!  I’m going to be covering the Etrian Odyssey series done by Yuji Himukai (日向 悠二 ) in preparation for the 5th game hitting Western shores soon!

Since the image-only posts tend to get the attention I want to do that, but the best way to really judge the book is with the video flip throughs. So, with this in mind I’m going to be doing a double release!  Basically, I’ll be posting my videos as per normal, and I’ll be making a second post that covers the photos only with a link to the video. This isn’t to divert focus from Tumblr, but rather to offer you folks the best possible way to view a book your curious about.  As well as draw a greater focus to the superior release, which can help you the most for making a purchase.

Expect the first release either over the weekend, or a day after!

[cyanideblizzard]

Do you know which shoujo manga artists have made artbooks? I only know arina tanemura and matsuri hino.

Sadly, I can’t say for sure.  With manga artists, I’ve noticed it seems to be very inconsistent on who has an art book and who doesn’t.  What I have noticed, is the more popular ones tend to do so while the lesser ones tend to sometimes have doujinshi releases.  The suggestion I could offer in this category is to try either google searching, searching (mangaka name art book/visual fan book) on Ebay, or searching via Japanese on amazon.co.jp or Mandarake.co.jp.  It’s a bit of work to do, but I’ve found this tends to produce the best results for finding out!

[cyanideblizzard]

I know this is an older art book, but is there anyway you can do a video flip through of your Kuroboshi Kouhaku Noir art book? There's some Kino pieces I was really hoping would be in there but haven't found any flipthroughs. So sorry for the inconvenience, but I would really appreciate it!!

By all means, it’s not an inconvenience in the slightest!  I plan on starting back up more Art Book video flips shortly!  Kuroboshi’s work is the primary one I’d like to cover.  Further, I’ve got both Noir and Rogue so I’d really like to do both of those books. I’m going to be covering Etrian Odyseey’s work first, since the 5th game will be coming out soon, but after that I can make Nori my priority!  Look for it, hopefully, within the coming month!

[cyanideblizzard]

Art Book Reviews - KonoSuba : Cheers

We're going one take, and I should probably change that. but screw that! I like to live dangerously, unlike Kazuma who wants to coast it on easy street so wh...

More Art Books, and I’m covering Mishima Kurone’s art work in KonoSuba : Cheers (三嶋くろね画集 Cheers! この素晴らしい世界に祝福を!).

132 pages, A4 format and just came out recently as well.  It’s a gorgeous boo, and well worth getting for any fan of KonoSuba or Mishima Kurone!

You can find this book at Amazon.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/l8878fc Ebay : http://tinyurl.com/kbka6gs CDJapan : http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOD... Mandarake.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/k3uz2y5

[cyanideblizzard]

Art Book Reviews - Telegenic! Nishigori Atsushi Animation Works

Art Book Reviews returns. Again. With even more modifications! Now with narration after numerous requests. After editing it, I can't honestly see why. There ...

I’m back once again, and back in proper video format looking at Telegenic! Nishigori Atsushi Animation Works this time.   248 pages of Panty and Stocking and Garterbelt, TTGL, and Idolm@sters along with some original pieces, genga, and plenty of other fantastic goodies!

This book does feature some frontal nudity in the original pieces section and primarily as sketches so please be advised.

You can find this art book at : Amazon.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/h2fhf3z Mandarake.co.jp : http://tinyurl.com/gr5daa6 CDJapan : http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOB... Ebay : http://tinyurl.com/gwffjg6

[cyanideblizzard]

Which takashi takeuchi artbook has the most franchises? Like the artbook doesn't just focus on one series but all of them. Fate, tsukihime, etc. Though I wouldn't mind one about only fate.

Probably the Type Moon 10th Anniversary book.  That’s really the only book I know of that focuses on a wide variety of series, unfortunately.

[cyanideblizzard]

Art Book Reviews : Working!! Season 1 Genga

The return of Art Book Reviews, and I'm taking a look at Working!! Season 1 The Visual Arts of Shingo Adachi. 250 pages of animation key frame goodness! Came...

Art Book Reviews is back!

No talking this time, just a extensive flip through of some fantastic key frames from Shingo Adachi that covers the first season of Working!!  Running at 250 pages, this book has a glossy cover and can only be found at Mandarake for roughly 50 USD as of this listing.  I was rather impressed with the overall quality of the book, and definitely a treat for any fan of key frames, Shingo Adachi, or Working!! 

Be sure to follow my YouTube channel for additional videos, as I will be releasing even more art books in the future!

[cyanideblizzard]

Returning soon.

[cyanideblizzard]

I promise, this will be the last one today.  Namaniku ATK (なまにくATK) and their art book Namaniku ATK Art Book - Hitsugi no Chaika.

This 127 page, A4 book starts off with a eye-catching cover and doesn’t let up your attention until the end of the book with gorgeous illustrations, detail that will blow your mind and plenty of butt shots though out.  Focusing fully on the light novel art work, this is one fantastic book and if you get it, do so!

[cyanideblizzard]

Right down the line, I’m going in reverse order covering Hiro Kanzaki (かんざきひろ)’s Cute, their first art book that covers their transformation (1999 - 2007) into a very iconic cute style.  

A whole slew of OreImo, as well as various other pieces throughout their career and mountains of cute in A4 format with semi-glossy pages and a glossy cover alongside a cute slip cover.  This is identical in layout to Sweet, which is good because that was laid out rather nicely.

[cyanideblizzard]

Purchased upon request, I’m checking out Hiro Kanzaki (かんざきひろ) and their latest art book, Sweet.  160 pages, A4 format with a glossy cover, cute slip clover and semi glossy pages in a very well bound book.  OreImo, Eromanga Sensei, Vocaloid and various other art works can all be found here. Just be careful to not have a cute overload.

[cyanideblizzard]

Book #2 in the Akio Watanabe (渡辺明夫) series, I’m looking at Akio Watanabe Art Works 2 (渡辺明夫Artworks2) -Le Labyrinthe de la Grisaia-.  As suggested by the name, this book is focusing solely on the second game Grisaia no Meikyuu.  

More mature content this time around, but we’ve got two fantastic additional characters to focus on now.  Running the same 148 page count, in the same format, plastic slipcover, glossy cover, and great binding.  An absolute treat even if a bit heavy on the mature.

[cyanideblizzard]

I’m actually covering a current book for a change.  Released in April 2015, this is Akio Watanabe (渡辺明夫)’s latest art book, Akio Watanabe Art Works 1 -Le Fruit de la Grisaia- (渡辺明夫Artworks 1).

While being an unusual format (7 by 8) the book runs 140+ pages with a nice slip cover to protect the book, and a beautiful glossy cover of the ever lovely Yumiko.  Inside, the book is well bound, soft pages with no gloss and features production sketches of the introduction, various scenes of Yumiko and Michiru from the game as well as concept art of both alongside promotional art work of both.  Mature content featured as well, this book seems to solely focus on Grasaia no Kajitsu and only that.

Given the price and the quality of content, this is an easy choice for fans of Akio Watanabe and Grisaia no Kajitsu.