Halcyon Realms - Animation.Film.Photography and Art Book Reviews

Tatsuyuki Tanaka Comic Strip Kikan S

yonghow — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:25:39 +0000

I can never get enough of Japanese illustrator/animator/concept artist Tatsuyuki Tanaka’s work. Besides his amazing Cannabis Works art book ( read the review here ), most of his work can be found in issues of Kikan S magazine, where he contributes to regularly.

This is a short comic strip titled “Memories Of An Airwalk” published in the 2004 winter edition of the magazine, now out of print. I apologize for not having the time to translate it into English. Enjoy !

You can purchase the latest issue of Kikan S magazine here, which contains an animation masterclass article by Tanaka-san. ( similar to this one ).

Here are some other items you might be interested in :

Kaba 2 – Otomo Katsuhiro Artwork Book Review Part I

yonghow — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:56:09 +0000

Wow. There’s so much Otomo awesomeness in this book I’m completely geeking out right now ! Kaba 2 is Otomo Katsuhiro’s latest artbook, a culmination of more than 20 years of anime/manga/illustration work.

Words and captions to come later. In the meantime, feast your eyes !

There’s too much material to cover in a single article; I’ll post images from the 2nd half of the book later on in Part II.

This is more than likely to go out of print, so order yours before its gone.

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Rosario Yeti – Sho-u Tajima Art Book Review

yonghow — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:50:19 +0000

Warning : The following post contains adult content.

Sho-u Tajima is a Japanese manga artist/anime character designer best known for his work on the comic series MPD Psycho. He was also the character designer for the explosive anime chapter featured in Taratino’s Kill Bill.

Rosario Yeti is a memorial volume to commemorate the artist’s 25 years of illustration work in film, anime and game designs.

(below) A short making of section as the artist shows us the tools of his trade.

(above) A tribute to the main character in Tegami Bachi, the comic series by his contemporary Hiroyuki Asada. Together with Obata Takeshi ( Death Note ), they are often referred to as the “Aquarius Trio” ( for sharing the same horoscope ). Check out the reviews for their art books Water and Blanc Et Noir.

(above and below) Character design and studies for the anime segment in Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

“Rosario Yeti – Sho-u Tajima Art Book″ details :

- Dimensions – 23.8 x 18.6 x 2.2 cm

- Hardcover, 199 pages, comes with a protective plastic slipcase

- Full color/pencil sketches, In Japanese

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Three Colors – Kieslowski Criterion Blu-ray Boxset

yonghow — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:33:51 +0000

So very thrilled to see this arrive in the mail today – Criterion’s Blu-ray boxset for Krzysztof Kieslowski’s magnum opus Three Colors – Blue White Red. Here are some pictures of the box contents -

(above) The 78 pages booklet with director/cinematographer interviews.

(above) Interview with DP Slawomir Idziak, who also shot Kieslowski’s The Decalogue and The Double Life of Veronique. Andrew Niccol’s masterpiece Gattaca, which had a really big impact on me, was also photographed by him.

Can’t wait to watch all three films in their HD glory, as well as the extras on the discs.

You may also be interested in these items :

Otomo Katsuhiro Genga Exhibition

yonghow — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:32:01 +0000

Oh my gosh this is such good news I can barely contain my excitement !

From the 9th of April – 30th of May 2012 a major exhibition showcasing Otomo’s key animation drawings from the many films throughout his (thus far) illustrious career will be held at the 3331 Arts Chiyoda Centre in Tokyo, Japan.

Back in 2007 I had the great fortitude of meeting Otomo-san while working on Freedom Project, where he was the character/mecha designer.

Nothing’s confirmed yet, but I’m currently making plans to head down to Tokyo in April so that I can catch the exhibition.

There’s a fair bit of information on the website but I don’t have time to translate all of it right now, so do check back again for more details. I will try to update and translate as and when more details are available.

Some quick bullet points :

- ticket at 1500 yen
- Unpublished work featured in Kaba 2 will also be on show.
- is a charity event with 30% of ticket proceeds to help the 3/11 quake victims.
- more to come.

In the meantime, check out the official website here. Also be sure to check out Otomo’s new art book Kaba 2.