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.
I’ve been a fan of Gunnm since its release 25 years ago, captivated by Kishiro’s brilliant character/costume designs and beautifully choreographed fight scenes. That the style of his art work often carry references from Moebius is a plus too.
For quite a while there’s been talk of a live-action adaptation film to be directed by James Cameron, I’m wondering how that’s coming along ?
For a manga that has been published a quarter of a century ago, an art book is way long overdue. This is a must have for fans of Gunnm and Yukito Kishiro’s art work. Highly recommended.
ARS MAGNA – Yukito Kishiro Art Book 木城ゆきと 銃夢 画集 details :
– Dimensions – 11.6 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
– Softcover, 128 pages
– Full color, in Japanese and English ( chapter summaries only )
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November 28th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
I’m so happy to see you mention Kishiro’s choreography. I think this is an area where he truly excels. His fight scenes are quite complicated, but very easy to follow. And i’ve always loved his total commitment to the idea that these cyborgs are so much more powerful than humans. Often when evenly matched cyborgs are duking it out center stage, there are normal humans in the edges of the frame getting liquified purely by accident. It’s gruesome and hilarious all at once.
On a side note:
I’ve always been perplexed by his stylistic change from the original Alita books to the “Last Order” books. Don’t get me wrong, while both are excellent, it’s almost as if the two books were drawn by two different artists.
At any rate, thank you so much for posting about this book. I had no idea!
I’m very excited by this and look forward to picking one up. I’ve been a fan of Kishiro’s since i first saw Battle Angel Alita as well. Has it really been 25 years? Oh my goodness.