Anime Architecture : Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities is a deep dive into one of the most important visual elements of Japanese animation; the environments, or more commonly referred to as the background art. Using case studies from some of the most influential anime ever made like Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Patlabor The Movie / The Movie 2, Tekkon Kinkreet and more, author Stefan Riekeles ( follow him on Twitter / Instagram ) crafts an engrossing read that illuminates the production details and stories behind some of anime cinema’s most iconic backdrops.
The scholarly text is greatly complemented by the many background art reproductions, some 400 in all with many that are seldom or have never been seen in print before, like the numerous pieces from Akira and Ghost In The Shell, for example. There are a few Japanese art books out there like Akira Animation Archives and Of Light And Darkness : Hiromasa Ogura that do contain similar art work, but they lack the added clarity and informative prose presented here, unless you are adept in Japanese.
This book would most certainly have been one of my favorite art book picks of 2020 had the review copy sent to me by the publisher Thames & Hudson ( as arranged by the author Stefan, for which I am very grateful ) not get lost in the mail, forcing me to pick up a copy on my own and delaying the review process.
(image above) Background art from Tekkon Kinkreet. The background art and color scripts from the film are extensively covered in the 2 Japanese art books Shiro ( White ) and Kuro ( Black ).
The huge collection of beautifully reproduced background art found in this volume is in itself worth the price of the book in my opinion, but with the addition of the author’s detailed and meticulous writing makes it even more valuable. My highest recommendations.
This book has been added to my Anime Background Art Books Round Up, which I recommend checking out as well.
“Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities” book details :
– Dimensions – 8.8 x 1.2 x 11.4 inches
– Hard cover, 256 pages
– Full color, In English Language
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You might also be interested in these items :
Ghost In The Shell Production Background, Cut No. 683
AKIRA – The Architecture of Neo Tokyo Exhibition
AKIRA / Ghost In The Shell Background Art Posters – Riekeles Gallery
Anime Background Art Books Round Up ( Updated August 2023 )
Suzume – Makoto Shinkai Anime Background Art Book Review
January 9th, 2021 at 6:34 am
I don’t wanna sound pessimistic, but I think it’s pretty said one of the, if not the, most high quality background artbook on Japanese animation ended up being curated and written by a German, and published by a bunch of Brits. Really makes you wish we’d get more collaborations of such magnitude. I was so fascinated by the book, I more of less finished it over the course of a single evening and have been frequently revisiting it ever since.
January 12th, 2021 at 10:37 am
AvidReader – Yep, I definitely look forward to more of such high quality publications in English so that more can understand the amazing work that went before these animated films ! There are a good number of background art books published in Japanese but the valuable information contained within in locked unless one understands Japanese.
January 14th, 2021 at 2:56 pm
It does look like a lovely book. As you note, out of stock at the moment, but I will be checking back on this one as I’d love to add it to my library.