AZ PLAY

Nilitsu's About 18 Songs 2 captures girls with headphones in a variety of surreal scenes and fan art illustrations. Every girl is in some way involved with music, be it through listening or playing it, so this short doujinshi has an easy to follow theme overall.

Miki Miyashita's Raisonne IV was a hard cover sequel to Raisonne III with new illustrations and a larger B5-sized format. Raisonne IV already really showcases how Miki Miyashita's style has grown, with better coloring and more proportional character designs. There's a mix of fan art and original works in the art book as well, ranging from Vocaloid to Code Geass.

Miyu's Strawberry Waltz is a lovely but brief collection of her original characters in frilly dresses, trimmed in lace and framed by flowers. Though the majority of the illustrations are monochrome, the color portion of Strawberry Waltz definitely makes it worth a look!

CARNELIAN's Benigyokuzui Vol. 30 is filled with all new illustrations and pays tribute to several recent anime series, including ones that are guy-centric. Released for Comiket 80, it includes fan arts from Blue Exorcist, Tiger & Bunny, No.6, [C] - Control, Mawaru Penguindrum and several more.

Connection: Madoka Magica Illustration Book is a project led by Purinpurin (プリンプリン) that includes illustrations from eight different artists. And all of that sounds good in theory, but there's only one illustration by each artist, making it a rather short collection ^^ But, it was released for the one day event Magi Madoka ONLY - Mou Nanimo Kowaku Nai (魔まマ オンリーイベント～もう何も恐くない～) so there wasn't a lot of turn around time.

Ito Noizi's Comiket 78 release Mon Étoile Notre Constellations du Ciel is easily one of my favorites from her in recent memory. Her interpretations of the Zodiac astrological signs are unique and beautifully illustrated, keeping true to her style and the subject matter.

Naru Nanao & Kokonobi's Twilight Cherry Blossoms, released for COMIC1☆5, re-packages illustrations from earlier doujinshi releases as well as some posters from Dengeki Moeoh (電撃萌王) in a shiny new book.

Takehito Harada Art Works I comprises of illustrations from the Disgaea series, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom and a few cross-over works. There aren't any non-commercial original works by the artist, making it feel more like a game collection than an artist's collection.

For Fancy Frontier 18, CARNELIAN released another volume of her series, Benigyokuzui Taiwan Version 02. After the impressive full-color Benigyokuzui Taiwan Version 01 the second volume feels like an even greater disappointment. Though it's also described as "full-color", in reality every other page features a line-art version of the accompanying illustration.

Sometimes when I order things, I don't pay attention to the size on the listing. So when I received CHANxCO's Minibon 2 (ミニボン2), filled with Wooser, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Steins;Gate illustrations, I also gained a more vivid understanding of what 120mm x 120mm really looks like ^^;

I have an inkling Haruse Hiroki came up with the title Life of Negentropy considering the previous, interestingly titled Mimesis, from the last Comiket. Life of Negentropy is a Comiket 80 release by Haruse Hiroki and Tiv features art from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and actually includes several notable guest artists in the collection.

Hayate the Combat Butler! Girls GRAPHICS Hata Kenjirou Illustrations is a really out-dated collection of illustrations. Released to coincide with the film premiere of Hayate the Combat Butler! Heaven Is a Place on Earth, Girls GRAPHICS seems set on invoking your nostalgia for the series, but not as eager to impress you with newer works.