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

The Art Of Last Exile Book Review

yonghow — Sun, 20 May 2012 08:36:29 +0000

I’ve always liked illustrator/concept artist/character designer Range Murata’s work ( with the notable exception of his overtly Lolita stuff ) so this book wasn’t hard to pick up at all. It’s a really comprehensive collection of the character design sheets for Gonzo’s hit anime series Last Exile.

Although the original character designs were done by Murata-san, most of the design sheets are credited to Horiuchi Osamu, an animator/character designer from Gonzo. My guess is that the art pieces found in the book are redrawn from Murata’s original designs for animation purposes – but please anyone correct me if I’m wrong.

(above) Great references for studying posing and costume designs as well.

(above) A suit that bears almost too much of a resemblance to the one in Blue Submarine. ( read the book review here. )

(above and below) The last section of the book covers some mecha, props and set design.

Fans of Murata-san’s work will probably want to get this one. If you’re new to his work, I highly recommend his other art book “Prismtone”. ( read the book review here. )

“The Art of Last Exile – Range Murata” art book details :

Dimensions – 29.7 x 21 x 1.2 cm
Soft cover, 100 pages
Black & White, in Japanese

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Robert Doisneau Centennial Retrospective

yonghow — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:36:02 +0000

I was fortunate enough to be in Tokyo at the right time when Robert Doisneau’s Centennial Retrospective Exhibition was on, held at the Tokyo metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu from March to May 2012.

The curators have selected some of his best and most representational prints and I was completely blown away by his powers of observation and the uncanny ability to capture the essence of the moment.

I’m equally awed by Robert Doisneau’s flair for capturing humour and comedy in his shots. Some of my favourite pieces in the exhibition – (above) A street cleaner gawks at ladies on the street in a comical reflection of the giant wall poster behind, and (below) the amused/shocked expressions of Parisians viewing a photograph of a naked woman. You really need to see the pictures in their original sizes for maximum impact.

(above) A small collection of the photographer’s more recent colored prints were on display too, but it is really his black and white pictures that steal the show.

All the prints that were on display at the exhibition are collected in this catalogue available for purchase from Amazon Japan -

“Robert Doisneau Centennial Retrospective Exhibition Catalogue” details :

- Dimensions – 25.6 x 18.2 x 1.8 cm
- Softcover, 191 pages
- Mostly Black & White prints, in Japanese language.

*The book seems to be out of print at the time of writing, hopefully it comes back soon. In any case, you can find many of his photography books on Amazon.com too.

Koinobori, Takadanobaba, Tokyo.

yonghow — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:43:11 +0000

A colorful display of Koinobori ( wind socks fashioned in the shape of carps to celebrate Children’s Day in Japan on the 5th of May ), a stone’s throw away from the JR Takadanobaba station. I used to hang around these parts often back in 2005/6 as my film school Toho Gakuen was located just around the corner, close to Waseda University ( it has since moved ).

(above) A wall of Doraemon coloring sheets from a nearby primary school on display near the canal.

Take a closer look at the drawing of the little boy riding on the Koinobori ( carp ) and you’ll notice he is wielding a Katana sword and a donning Japanese warrior head-dress; its perhaps an intrinsic nature of Japanese culture to imbue their children with an indomitable sense of fighting spirit even at such a young age.

Ultraman Special Issue – Pen Plus Book Review

yonghow — Sun, 13 May 2012 05:45:49 +0000

A great find while browsing in a bookstore in Takadanobaba – Japanese magazine Pen Plus’s Ultraman special issue, choked full of of goodness on the country’s most beloved Tokusatsu hero. Like many others I loved Ultraman as a kid but was never a super big fan, but this book is an excellent resource for some great Kaiju (monster) reference material. SHAAA !

(above) A 4 page wide spread listing every Ultraman since its inception. Very informative. ( below ) Discussions on Ultraman’s projectile beams and list of arsenal.

(above and below) Kaiju Galore ! This section I love the most – a list of the 50 most popular Ultraman monsters. That Alien Baltan ie pincer dude ranks at No.1 is no surprise at all I guess.

Some great coverage on the artistic work going on behind the scenes. (below) Concept designs for some of the later Ultraman series. I still love the original one I watched as a kid the most because of its campiness and sense of nostalgia it brings.

At only 780 yen and with such a bonanza of material, what’s not to like ? This is a periodical and might not get a reprint once it is sold out, so act fast if you’re interested.

“Ultraman Special Issue – Pen Plus Magazine” details :

- Dimensions – 28 x 21.6 x 0.6 cm
- Softcover, 106 pages
- Full color, in Japanese language. Comes with a foldout poster featuring cover design.

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Visiting The Otomo Katsuhiro Genga Exhibition

yonghow — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:23:39 +0000

Running from the 7th of April to the 30th of May 2012 the Otomo Katsuhiro Genga Exhibition is a celebration of the famed manga artist/anime director’s superlative body of creative work, with about 3000 original art pieces spanning over 3 decades on display. The exhibition venue is at 3331 Arts Chiyoda Centre, located about 5 minutes walk from the Akihabara Electric town.

I arrived on a rainy Wednesday afternoon right smack in the middle of the Golden Week and was expecting a huge crowd, but thankfully it wasn’t too bad and I had a comfortable time looking at the exhibits.

(above) The information booth in the main lobby of the building, just before the entrance to the exhibition on the right. Photography within the exhibition hall (art pieces section) was prohibited, but here are some press pictures I found, courtesy of Gizmodo Japan and Radiokaikan :

Needless to say it was an absolute thrill to see so many of Otomo’s most iconic pieces of artwork in their original, unvarnished splendor, right down to the individual brushstrokes. The art pieces were broken up into 2 main sections – his colored illustration works and the full collection of all his original Akira manga panels. Yep, every single one of them that make up the 6 complete tankobon volumes. (images below)

During the exhibition I was poring through many of the above B4 sized Akira panels looking for little imperfections/misaligned screen tones ( stickers with varying shades of gray that pre-digital comic artists used for applying textures and shades ). I was not able to find a single one- a true testament to the amazing technical quality of these manga panels.

(above and below) An empty white wall serves as a giant sketching board for visitors to leave their impressions. Earlier sketches have already been taken down, some drawn by notable manga artists like Inoue Takehiko ( Vagabond ), Katsuya Terada ( Monkey King ), and more. I hope the exhibition organizers archived them.

(above) A life size reproduction of the wall crater in Domu for visitors to pose and take pictures with. (below) A Kaneda wannabe dons the red jacket. It’s 500 yen a pop to sit on the bike and have your photo taken.

(above) A quick doodle that Otomo-san drew on the wall the day I visited. (below) The exhibition merchandize shop. The physical size of the store was really small and couldn’t really accommodate the steady flow of customers so only a limited number was allowed at one time – the rest of us were waiting patiently in a long line for our turn to go in.

(above) A huge stockpile of posters. There were 3 different designs, 2 of which were created specially for the exhibition. I ended up buying all three.

For those who are unable to attend the exhibition in person, I highly recommend the exhibition catalogue ( image above – read the review here ), which collects most of the art pieces that were on display. I dare say by the sheer size and wide gamut of its content that its possibly the best Otomo art book ever published.

The exhibition runs till the 30th of this month, so if you are in Tokyo or plan to visit sometime in the next 2 weeks, you know where to be. :]