August 3rd, 2010, 8:02PM by nat | 7 comments
Fujiwara Warawara's first art book Water Sprite, just came out at the end of July on the 26th and includes a collection of art work that spans light novels, games, and promotional arts from as far back as 2002 to as recently as this year. When you've got that kind of a range covered, there tends to be a lot of variance in the quality of art work, but Fujiwarara Warawara has really stayed true to his style.
Fujiwara Warawara Art Works Water Sprite is A4 in size and surprisingly, it's also hardcover, which makes it look a little wider than it actually is. The art book is 112-pages in total, although the color illustrations end on page 93. The rest includes the index (which is in color) and sketch art works of several of the illustrations presented in the book.
The cover art was newly drawn for the collection, but everything else is republished from a variety of sources. The first section of the book is entitled "Game" and goes from pages 4 through 63. The first ten pages feature the art from Shirokuma Bellstars♪ (しろくまベルスターズ♪), a visual novel. There is nudity in this book, though most of it is confined to the game section.
The titles for the games are neatly printed at the bottom, next to the page number on each page, for easy reference. The next 18 pages feature works from Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no (遥かに仰ぎ、麗しの).
The next 16-pages cover Yunohana (ゆのはな) which is probably the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Fujiwara Warawara's illustrations. I used to see pictures of that blue-haired girl (Yunoha) everywhere before I even knew who the artist was ^^;
The game section ends with 15-pages of Natsu Shoujo Promised Summer (夏少女 -Promised Summer) which really showcase a slightly older illustration style from Fujiwara Warawara. Everytime I type that name, I want add, say it three times fast :D
The short section for "Novel" starts on page 64, and includes illustrations from Hitokakera (ヒトカケラ), Boku to Majo Shiki Apocalypse (ぼくと魔女式アポカリプス), and London Story (ロンドンストーリー).
The sections "Goods" and "Original" finish off what's left of the color portion of the art book. Some of the illustrations in "Goods" feature other familiar series like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and Tristia of the Deep Blue Sea. The "Original" section covers pages 82 through 93 and features some of the illustrations from other collection art books like Sweet Girls as well as the one-time illustrations for magazines like Megami and others.
The monochrome illustrations run from pages 98 through 109, followed by a two-page interview with Fujiwara Warawara which finishes the book. Though titled monochrome illustrations, they are mostly sketches with the exception of one or two illustrations. Compared to a lot of the other art books that came out at the end of July, Fujiwara Warawara Art Works Water Sprite is a bit on the expensive side for its 93-pages of illustrations. But it's probably worth it for bigger fans of the art work ^^
- Title: Fujiwara Warawara Art Works Water Sprite
- タイトル: 藤原々々アートワークス Water Sprite
- Pages: 112
- Release dates: 07/26/2010
- Buy: Amazon Japan
14 years, 3 months ago
Cute, but not for me. I like my women to LOOK like women, and not be child faces on womanly bodies :P
14 years, 3 months ago
Agreed, and nudity doesn't help it's case either!
14 years, 3 months ago
What is the blue next to the cover on the first page?
14 years, 3 months ago
It's just the separator page between the inside cover and the first numbered page. It's colored to match the inside cover and the color scheme of the art book :3
14 years, 3 months ago
Fujiwara Warawara's oldest work for game is actually "innocent Eye's" and Mune Kyun Series from UnisonShift. Sadly this book does not seems to cover these games. But thanks for the review! Going to buy this book!
14 years, 3 months ago
Ah, I never knew that this was the artist for Shirokuma Bell Stars. The art in that game is incredibly cute >_<
14 years, 3 months ago
The name Fujiwara Warawara didn't sound familiar, but seeing some of the illustrations, do realize I've seen some of them float around before. Cute art style.