Kuri Ippei (whose real name is Toyoharu Yoshida) is a manga artist most well known for his co-creation of the 70s hit anime series Gatchaman (Battle Of The Planets). Together with his brothers Tatsuo and Kenji Yoshida, they founded the anime studio Tatsunoko.
This book is a collection of his illustration works created for the numerous anime series by Studio Tatsunoko, including Speed Racer (see image below), Gatchaman, Casshan and many more.
Gatchaman is the only Tatsunoko anime I am more familiar with, though it was created quite a while before my time. It seems a Japanese live-action film is planned for release in August 2013, though it doesn’t look like a high quality production to me (yet). Check out the teaser below :
(above) Illustrations for the anime series Casshan, which was adapted into a live action film (Casshern) directed by Japanese MTV director Kazuaki Kiriya. ( then husband of singer Utada Hikaru ). The film had some fairly promising visuals and action sequences but ultimately fell short in the narrative department. There’s also a 2008 anime franchise reboot called Casshern Sins, but I am unaware of its quality. Any readers who have seen it can fill us in, please.
(above) There is also a section near the end of the book dedicated to his personal art works, as well as some previously unreleased art pieces.
“Gatchaman – Kuri Ippei Art Works 九里一平作品集” details :
– Dimensions – 9.5 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
– Softcover, 205 pages
– Color, in Japanese
Note : The slipcase cover for the book doubles as a detachable foldout poster, and as such the spine binding is a little delicate, flimsy even. Use caution when browsing the book.
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February 5th, 2015 at 4:54 pm
Absolutely beautiful, high quality artbook. A friend bought it on a whim, not knowing what it contained, and going through it for the first time was a very pleasant surprise for both of us. As it turns out, Kuri Ippei was involved in the creation of a lot of shows from our childhood.
The illustrations are gorgeous and the quality is great, I loved it from beginning to end. I’m considering buying a copy for myself in the future.
February 7th, 2015 at 9:29 pm
artbookenthusiast – I was fortunate enough to be able to browse the book in a store in Tokyo before I purchased my copy, but I had a pretty good hunch it was good when I picked it up. :]