“Kikan S” is a popular Japanese illustration magazine released quarterly ( in March, June, September and December ), and contains a superb collection of the latest art work from the top illustrators and comic artists working in Japan. Browsing a copy is a great way to be introduced to new and upcoming artists, as well as staying in touch with the latest news and development in the Japanese comics/animation industry.

Each issue comes with a central theme, and in this issue the theme is “At the moment of battle”. The first 10-15 pages of the magazine are dedicated to illustration work from various artists using the current theme as the subject.

(below) Range Murata ( Last Exile concept artist ) is a long time contributor to Kikan S, and each issue comes with a tasty pull out poster of his illustration. ( see this older post for a collection of his work done for the magazine. )

(below) One of the animation articles in this issue feature “Welcome to the SPACE SHOW”, a new animated feature that seems to be getting much critical acclaim in Japan. Check out the sumptuous art books for the animation here and here; I hope to do a review on them in the future, but hopefully I get to watch the film first.

(below) An article on famed Japanese illustrator/manga artist Katsuya Terada. Check out my reviews of his art books “Monkey King 2“, “Rakuda Ga Warau” and “VIVA IL CICLISSIMO!“.

(above) Illustration by Tanji Yoko, I simply love her work ! She is also a regular contributor to Kikan S. ( below ) Taiwanese artist Pinfan, whose work is very popular in Japan. Check out a review of the art book “Sweet Days” right here.

And those were some of the highlights from the magazine. There’s a lot more in there including manga/book reviews, Photoshop techniques for comics / animation techniques, and so on.

Kikan S magazine, being a periodical, gets limited prints so do purchase your copy early.  Once the issue is sold out, you won’t be able to get it anymore as the publisher does not do reprints.

“Kikan S Illustration Magazine No. 31” art book details :

– Dimensions –11.6 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
– Softcover, 185 pages
– Full color / b & w
– Comes with fold-out Range Murata Poster ( see picture in post above )

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