Every week I get emails with requests from readers asking “Can you review this art book ?”, and I always find it difficult to turn down requests like this. Unfortunately there are just way too many anime and Japanese art books out there, and with my limited time and resources it is impossible to cover all of them.
As such, I thought it would be a good idea to start this series of “Digest Posts” featuring books that have piqued my interest, but which I do not yet own a physical copy. In this way readers can at least be informed about the existence of these books should they be interested to pick it up ( it can be fairly challenging to find a specific book on Amazon Japan if you do not know the exact book name ). I’ll still try to select titles from these lists that I really like for a full review in the future. Thank you for all the support.
1) Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Animation Genga Collection (Gundam)
A collection of genga (keyframe) drawings by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko from the Gundam animated feature film. You can see more images from the book on Amazon Japan.
– Dimensions – 11.7 x 8.2 x 1.3 inches
– Soft cover, 271 pages
– Color/B&W, in Japanese
– 3675 Yen
Amazon Japan purchase link here.
2) Attack On Titan Genga Collection Vol 2 (release date : 25th December 2013)
Volume 2 of the genga collection from the hit anime series Attack On Titan (Shingeki No Kyojin). You can check out my review on volume 1 here. Volume 2 will cover drawings from episode 4-7, as well as some other additional material.
– Dimensions – 11.6 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
– Softcover, 152 pages
– Color, in Japanese
– 2800 Yen
Amazon Japan purchase link here.
3) Sakasama No Patema (Patema Inverted) Art Book
The official art book for the animated fantasy film by director Yasuhiro Yoshiura. Book contents include character sheets, background art, select genga drawings and storyboards.
– Dimensions – 8.3 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
– Softcover, 135 pages
– Color/B&W, in Japanese
– 2500 Yen
Amazon Japan purchase link here.
4) Ono Hiroshi Background Art Works
A collection of background art plates by artist Ono Hiroshi, who has worked on films like Kiki’s Delivery Service, A Letter To Momo, Wolf Children, Akira and more. You can see more images from the book on Amazon Japan.
– Dimensions – 11.6 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
– Softcover, 135 pages
– Color/B&W, in Japanese
– 2940 Yen
Amazon Japan purchase link here.
5) Bakemonogatari Key Animation Note (Volume 1)
A huge collection of genga drawings from the Bakemonogatari anime series, from the 3 episodes “Hitagirabu”, “Mayoimaimai” and “Surugamonki”, each collected in it’s own book. You can see more images from the book on the official page.
– Dimensions – 8 x 7.9 x 3.1 inches
– Softcover with slipcase, 1112 pages
– Color/B&W, in Japanese
– 6825 Yen
Amazon Japan purchase link here.
Japanese Art Books Digest 05
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December 6th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Thank You for this. I didn’t know Ono Hiroshi Had a Book! 🙂 Like you said, it’s a bit hard to keep track of everything relevant/related that’s being released, even online.
And the few Japanese books stores in the area don’t always stock everything/have enough stock and sell out before many people see it; So I look forward to future post like this.
December 7th, 2013 at 12:36 am
ivto – I had no idea Ono Hiroshi had an art book too, I hope to pick it up soon for a full review.
And thanks for the feedback, I’ll hope to have these Digest posts as kind of a regular thing from now on. :]
December 7th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
same here. Thanks for the post.
Damn!! Bakemonogatari’s genga is expensive. I was interested in that one. Specially “Surugamonki”.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:44 am
I’ve always wanted to get the attack on titan genga artbooks but I decided to skip the first volume because of your review. I however got the second volume and it’s pretty darn awesome!
The Bakemonogatari genga is so worth your money too. It’s really expensive but wow, it’s pretty darn comprehensive and it covers all of the most interesting shots you could probably think of from the respective arcs.