I was browsing Amazon Japan searching for potential art books to review and stumbled upon these series of children’s educational picture books, with stories and fables told through Ultraman Kaijus ! How awesome is that ? –
If you are versed with some rudimentary knowledge of the Japanese written form you’ll notice by now that all the titles and words found on the covers are Hiragana characters, with very little Kanji ( Chinese characters ). This makes it easier for kids to understand as their vocabulary of Kanji is still relatively limited.
My favourite cover is the one with Alien Baltan ( Lobster/Pincer dude ) because he’s my favourite Ultraman Kaiju as a kid. I find it fascinating that Ultraman ( or Kaijus for that matter ) have become such iconic figures in Japanese pop culture and are so instantly recognizable that they can be utilized for educational purposes.
By the way, the garbage collectors in Japan love Ultraman too.
You can purchase the books from these Amazon Japan links :
Ultraman Special Issue – Pen Plus Book Review
Shin Ultraman Design Works Art Book Review
Japanese Art Books Digest 05
Narita Toru Illustration Works Art Book Review
Bilibin – Golden Age Of Russian Picture Books Art Book Review
August 20th, 2014 at 12:24 am
I got a sweet spot about that miserable “Twin-Tail” poor dude… child memories. Thumbs up also for the 3 Ultra-Seven capsule Monsters 🙂
August 20th, 2014 at 9:59 pm
I never though about a Hansel and gretel’s book with ultraman’s kaijus could exist¨_¨
i also grow up with series like ultraman and kamen rider so i’m quite happy to see this.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:58 pm
nyuudo – I have fond memories of that “Twin-Tail” fella as well, it was in one of the first Ultraman episodes I first saw as a kid.
whitezero – A Kaiju picture book based on Hansel & Gretel…only in Japan can this happen. :]