The Twelve Kingdoms ( Juni Kokuki ) is a collection of illustration work by manga/concept artist Yamada Akihiro ( Lodoss War : Lady Of Pharis, RahXephon ) for the anime The Twelve Kingdoms, based on a series of light novels by Ono Fuyumi.

The premise behind Twelve Kingdoms is based heavily on Chinese mythology, as evident in the costumes of the characters in the illustrations. The quasi-Chinese get-up of the characters can be a little disconcerting for those familiar with Chinese culture, for it’s a hit-and-miss with the authenticity of his designs; although no fault can be found with the superb quality of his art work.

(above & below) In some of the monochrome art pieces Yamada-san tries to emulate the style of Chinese ink paintings. For those who are interested in Chinese mythology, I also highly recommend the art books by Kimiya Masago, for the Suikoden ( The Water Margin ) and Romance Of The Three Kingdoms.

A beautiful collection of illustrations from The Twelve Kingdoms novels. This is an easy recommendation for fans of Yamada Akihiro’s art work or the anime.

Twelve Kingdoms – Yamada Akihiro 久遠の庭 「十二国記」 画集 山田章博 art book details :

– Dimensions – 29.4 x 22.8 x 1.2 cm
– Softcover with dust jacket, 103 pages.
– Full color / B&W, in Japanese language ( book contains mostly art work )

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