blog:nattoli, tag:AZ PLAY

As more and more artists discover Pixiv, the competition for getting into the yearly Pixiv Girls Collection becomes tighter and tighter. While it may be hard on the artists, that competitive edge has made the Pixiv Girls Collection 2011 one of the most beautiful artists' collections I've ever purchased.

The recently released collection Koin Illustrations contains art work from the light novels Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Metal Witch Sisters, and Hauhau. Though Koin is probably best known as the illustrator for the popular series Kanokon, art from that series isn't included as there's already been an art book dedicated to it called Foxmark Kanokon Art Works.

Though RCO Wada's Toka Toka 3---released at Comiket 79---is on the shorter side like most of her doujins, it showcases a beautiful assortment of works from series like Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Shingetsutan Tsukihime along with original pieces.

FUFUFU 2011 was released this past weekend at Comic LIVE, a convention that is centered around doujinshi artists, with a side of cosplay. Vinhnyu's 2011 collection feels much like a yearbook of 2010 and early 2011, marking with art many of the series highlights of the past year.

Tegami Bachi, better known as Letter Bee is an ongoing manga by Asada Hiroyuki, and nearly five years after its premiere we have the first art book, Tegami Bachi Illustrations Shine. Undoubtedly, the two season anime version of Letter Bee has helped in making a market for the book, because from an editing stand point, even after so many years there really isn't a lot of content illustration-wise for the series.

Yoshitoshi Abe's Comiket 79 release, C.H.R 2010 Winter brings together a combination of new illustrations along with Abe's steps taken in making each piece. It's especially interesting because he executes a variety of styles in his collection, from the painted look he's most notable for in Serial Experiments Lain to a sharper anime style.

Though the Comiket 79 doujinshi release Tonbo: Ryo Ueda Toho Art Collection II didn't have the production caliber of the first volume, the Touhou art work collected within still stands up to the original, and even improves upon it.

Fuyuno Haruaki released two illustration collections for Comiket 79, one of which was the earlier reviewed collaboration with Ginta called GAINAX Girl Mix and the other being a collection of original works and today's topic of review, Shoujo Electronica. Several of the illustrations in Shoujo Electronica are quite relevant to the theme, with girls decorated by music, but it's not the only style exercised in the book.

Rainbow Spectrum: Colors Haimura Kiyotaka Illustrations is a collection of art from Haimura's illustrated light novels, which most notably includes Toaru Majutsu no Index. The art book incorporates both the color pieces and the monochrome works from that light novel in chronological order, with shorter sections from Sprite Spiegel and Maid DEKA.

I neglected to do any research when I first noticed the art book Hetalia Axis Powers Art Book Arte Stella listed on Amazon Japan, but I placed an order anyway. Months later, I'd forgotten the release date, so it was a pleasant and amusing surprise to see the oversized box I would expect for a limited edition art book, along with an interesting selection of bonus items for Arte Stella.

The Lewis Carroll classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland serves often as inspiration for illustrators, and has shown up in more doujinshi than I can name. But it's slightly less often that an artist as talented as ALPHONSE takes on the genre, as he has done for his Comiket 76 release of the same title, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I was very excited to pick up Fuyuno Haruaki and Ginta's Comiket 79 collaboration GAINAX Girl Mix as I was anticipating both Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt goodness inside. And lo and behold, it's there, and in ways much more creative than I imagined.