This is volume 5 of my series of “Digest” posts introducing noteworthy Japanese art books. Do also check out the 1st , 2nd, 3rd and 4th issues.


1) Dragonball Super Illustrations – Akira Toriyama

A 240 paged art book dedicated to what is probably one of the most popular manga in recent history, Akira Toriyama’s Dragonball. There’s a ton of great illustrations from the entire history of the comic franchise, check out some preview images here.

If you are a fan of Akira Toriyama’s illustrations also be sure to take a look at his other art book – The Art of Toriyama Akira – The World Special.

– Dimensions – 27.4 x 19.4 x 3 cm
– 239 pages, soft cover, color, in Japanese & English
– 3909 Yen

Amazon Japan purchase link here.


2) Kantai Korekushon Art Book 

A collection of illustrations and character sheets from the popular online card game/manga/anime Kantai Korekushon ( Kancolle/Fleet Girls ). Some preview images from the book can be seen on Amazon.

– Dimensions – 25.6 x 18.2 x 3.4 cm
– 437 pages, Color, in Japanese
– 2916 Yen

Amazon Japan purchase link here.


3) Hyper Weapon 2014 – The Way to Varellous

Gorgeous mecha illustrations and design by Kobayashi Makoto. Check out some preview pages on the official page here. The 2013 book looks equally good too.

– Dimensions – 25.6 x 21 x 1.2 cm
– Color, 126 pages.
– In Japanese
– 4104 Yen

Amazon Japan purchase link here.


4) Narita Toru Art Works

A huge volume showcasing Tokusatsu/Ultraman/Kaiju illustrations and art work of designer/sculptor Narita Toru. Check out some images from the book here.

– Dimensions – 25.6 x 18.8 x 4 cm
– Softcover, 400 pages
– Color, in Japanese
– 5400 Yen

Amazon Japan purchase link here.


5) The 12 Kingdoms Art Works Vol 1 – Yamada Akihiro

A collection of illustrations by Yamada Akihiro ( Record Of Lodoss War ) for Fuyumi Ono’s series of light novels The 12 Kingdoms. Contains 27 color + 68 B&W art pieces.

– Dimensions – 29.4 x 22.8 x 1.2 cm
– soft cover, 103 pages
– Color/B&W, in Japanese
– 3240 Yen

Amazon Japan purchase link here.


6) Evangelion 3.0 Genga Collection Vol 1

Genga ( key animation drawings ) from the 3rd Rebuild Of Evangelion series of films. The animation in this series is absolutely mindblowing ( see this older post ) and the genga art pieces really showcase the incredible drawings used to create the film.

– Dimensions – 29.8 x 20.6 x 2.2 cm
– Soft cover, 384 pages
– Color/Monochrome, in Japanese
– 3780 Yen

Amazon Japan purchase link here. ( Volume 1 ) | ( Volume 2 )

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