Tsubu-An is a collection of illustrations by Japanese manga artist Tsuruta Kenji 鶴田謙二 ( The Spirit Of Wonder, Forget Me Not ). His 2nd art book since the 2011 Future, Tsubu-An showcases a fantastic selection of art work that the artist created for numerous print media including music CD cover art, promotional materials for movies ( including Shin-Godzilla as well as Evangelion ) and many more.
Tsubu-An is actually the first of a 2 book set, the 2nd ( titled Koshi-An ) will be released later in the autumn of 2022. Tsubu-An and Koshi-An are 2 different types of red bean paste that are used to make a variety of Japanese desserts and confectionary; Tsuruta Kenji noted in an interview that he rather liked the names and wanted to use them for his two book set.
I really love the soft and gentle watercolor strokes and the way the artist paint the blue tones and hues of his skies and waters, a color that Tsuruta Kenji seems very fond of. This comes highly recommended; and I’m definitely looking forward to the 2nd book of this double art book set, so look out for my review !
“Tsubu-An : Tsuruta Kenji Illustration Art Book 鶴田謙二画集 つぶあん” art book details :
– Dimensions – 30.4 x 21.6 x 1.2 cm
– Hardcover, 120 pages
– Full color, in Japanese
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July 6th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
I really like the vibe of this art, especially the pictures where he seems to be using a limited palette, like the paintings that are predominantly blue, green, or red. I’m straying out of my comfort zone opining here, but is he using a limited palette centered around analogous colors for these? In any case, it has a nice effect 🙂
I’ve been meaning to pick-up his manga, Wandering Island, for some time, but just haven’t managed to make the purchase yet. Maybe now is a good excuse. Meanwhile, I will check-out this artbook.
July 8th, 2022 at 8:13 am
Chris – Hmm, regarding your question about his choice of color use, I can’t say I know his work well enough to have a good answer. Perhaps I should pick up his manga as well; I’ve not actually read any of them before. :]
June 6th, 2023 at 8:27 am
Thank you so much for the review! I wonder if there are some news about Koshi-An?
June 7th, 2023 at 6:27 am
Edel – I haven’t heard anything yet, but I hope it will still be released at some point ! :]
December 5th, 2024 at 5:11 am
My local store has both this one and Future, I’m really indecisive. Which one would you buy if you had to choose?
December 6th, 2024 at 4:03 am
Cindy – Tough decision indeed, because both are good ! Personally I like Tsubu-an just a little more !