Seasons greetings ! I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities of Christmas and the New Year. As you take a moment to digest all that sumptuous holiday food here’s a look at my favorite art books of 2015.
I reviewed a total of 70 art books this year; you can see the full list here. I hope there’s at least a book or two in the list that will pique your interest. ( do note that not all the books listed here were published in 2015. ) Enjoy ! –
1) Ohrai Noriyoshi II : 1966-1984
The great Ohrai Noriyoshi, who sadly passed away in October this year. Well known for his poster work on The Empire Strikes Back, this art book features a huge collection of his best works and is a fitting tribute to the artist.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan
2) Record Of Lodoss War – Complete Edition
A deluxe edition of manga artist Yamada Akihiro’s Record Of Lodoss War. The bigger print size allows for greater appreciation of the artist’s minute and detailed draftsmanship, and the 2 volume set also comes with a smaller book with gorgeous colored illustrations.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan
3) The Wind Rises – Miyazaki Hayao Manga
The original manga to which Miyazaki Hayao’s anime film The Wind Rises is based on, a series of 9 chapters published in the Japanese magazine Model Graphix from 2009 to 2010, and now collected in this single volume. I can never tire of Miyazaki’s gorgeous watercolor illustrations.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan
4) Pareidolia – James Jean
Pareidolia is a breathtaking art book by internationally renowned artist/illustrator James Jean ( Fables, Rebus ). Running at 288 pages, the book features art work that spans the majority of his career and includes a dust jacket cover that folds out into a stunning poster.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK
5) The Art Of Yoh Yoshinari Illustrations
Yoh Yoshinari (吉成 曜) is a Japanese key animator/storyboard artist known for his work on Evangelion, Gurren Lagann and Little Witch Academia. This is his first art book and features a fantastic collection of illustrations and sketches from his portfolio, from Evangelion to Gurren Lagann and more.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com
6) Gustave Doré : Master Of Imagination
Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( 1832 – 1883 ) was a French artist, printmaker, illustrator and sculptor. Often called “the most illustrious of illustrators”, Gustave Doré prolific portfolio ran the gamut from art work in editions of the Bible, Dante’s Inferno, Poe’s The Raven, The Adventures of Don Quixote, and even in Hollywood, from King Kong to Seven.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
7) ARS MAGNA – Yukito Kishiro
ARS MAGNA is a collection of illustrations by manga artist Yukito Kishiro, most well known for his Gunnm ( Battle Angel Alita ) series of comics. This is his first published art book and the bulk of the contents feature illustrations from the various Gunnm manga series, a chapter for Aqua Knight, and one of the final chapters feature art work from numerous smaller projects.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com
8) Caravaggio – The Complete Works
This art book by Taschen is a splendid reproduction of the now out of print deluxe edition, first published in 2009. Although slightly smaller in print size than the original edition, the book is still a hefty volume and comes at a much lower price tag, making it a great value purchase for a very comprehensive collection of Caravaggio’s works.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
9) Perfect Blue Storyboard Collection
The late Kon Satoshi’s 3 volume ( plus an additional supplementary booklet ) set collecting the full storyboards used during the production of Perfect Blue, beautifully reproduced in A4 sized format.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK
10) Final Fantasy XIV : The Art Of Eorzea
Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn : The Art Of Eorzea ( ファイナルファンタジーXIV: 新生エオルゼア) is the official art book for the MMORPG game by Square Enix, featuring a huge collection of illustrations and art work created during production of the game.
Helming the art team is character designer/illusrator Akihiko Yoshida, who also bought us such amazing art work in Bravely Default and Tactics Ogre.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK
11) Studio Ghibli Structures Exhibition Catalog
The catalog for the amazing Studio Ghibli Structures Exhibition, held at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, 2015. For some pictures from the exhibition, see this and this post.
Read the full book review | Buy from Amazon Japan Seller 1 | Seller 2
12) Alien The Archive
Alien The Archive – The Ultimate Guide To The Classic Movies is a veritable treasure trove of concept art and production photographs that comprehensively documents the making of the 4 Alien films – Alien/Aliens/Alien3/Alien Resurrection.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
13) Tokyo Genso
The Tokyo Genso art book imagines a post-apocalyptic Japan through a series of fascinating illustrations depicting a barren and desolate Tokyo landscape gradually reclaimed by nature. The images will certainly resonate strongly with any Tokyoite ( or anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in Tokyo ) because the sights portrayed are landmarks that have come to define the sprawling metropolis.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK
14) The Art Of Robert McGinnis
Robert McGinnis ( born 1926 ) is an American artist and illustrator. He is known for his illustrations of more than 1,200 paperback book covers and 40 movie posters, including Breakfast at Tiffanys (his first film poster assignment), Barbarella, and several James Bond and Matt Helm films.
“Robert McGinnis can paint anything — a movie poster, a Western landscape — and draw you in. But when he paints a woman, he makes you fall in love.”
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
15) Oyaji – Otomo Katsuhiro + Katsuya Terada
Oyaji (親父衆) is a collection of comics/drawings from 33 Japanese artists featuring their personal artistic interpretations on the subject matter of the “father figure”.
The project is spearheaded by Akira director Otomo Katsuhiro and his collaborator Katsuya Terada, with both of them contributing the most number of art work in the book. The last time such a super artist team-up ocurred, the amazing VIVA IL CICLISSIMO! art book happened.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan
You can take a look at the full list of 2015’s reviews here, and I also recommend my favorite art books of
2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012.
If you need help with ordering on Amazon Japan, the FAQs below will guide you through, step by step.
And lastly, I’ll love you hear about your favorite art books this year too, if any. Happy Holidays !
My Favorite Art Books of 2019
2015 Art Books Review List ( 70 Total )
My Favorite Art Books of 2021
My Favorite Art Books of 2018
My Favorite Art Books of 2022
December 28th, 2015 at 12:10 pm
superb wrap up
December 29th, 2015 at 12:25 am
I just bought the book of Lodoss War. Thanks for the recomendation!
December 31st, 2015 at 3:15 am
Dear Yonghow,
You may be interested in these artists:
Daisuke IGARASHI
Discovered him through his poetic short stories compiled in his books Hanashippanashi #1 & 2.
Not only his stories, but his illustrations too are particular and interesting.
In 2012, he published an artbook reviewing a career of 20 years, containing illustrations, short stories, rough sketches and interviews.
A brief review can be found here:
http://www.parkablogs.com/node/10410
Hiroo ISONO
Maybe better known for his illustration work for the 90’s video game Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2).
Years later I discovered his paintings and magnificent landscapes on the Internet.
Unfortunately Hiroo ISONO passed away on 2012.
The only website I know of that sells all his artbooks is here:
http://emeraldforest2015.web.fc2.com
Among his books I would recommend Emerald Dreams.
Naohisa INOUE
You already reviewed Miyazaki’s adaptation of one of his manga here:
http://cdn.halcyonrealms.com/animation/ghibli-museum-anime-shorts-part-i-the-day-i-bought-a-star/
Through the years he developed on his manga and paintings a special and fascinating world that can be discovered on his official website: http://www.iblard.com (in Japanese, English, French and Chinese).
His paintings are compiled on 6 artbooks named “The Natural history of Iblard”.
December 31st, 2015 at 3:30 am
I bought all these artbooks at once last year.
Since I don’t speak Japanese, I had to pass through intermediary (English) websites.
It was a little expensive, but I don’t regret it (far from it).
These are among the best artbooks I own.
December 31st, 2015 at 11:12 am
kenouki – Hope you like it !
ATOM – Thanks for the great recommendations, I’ll definitely check them out ! If you follow the step by step instructions on my faq :
http://halcyonrealms.com/books/how-to-order-from-amazon-japan-a-detailed-buying-guide/
you can purchase directly from Amazon Japan even if you don’t understand Japanese, it might save you some money in the future. Cheers !