What are some good artbooks (ones that are heavy on art and low on writing) and where did you get them? I don't have any, but I'm thinking of purchasing one or two. Ugetsu Hakua's (Bakuten) Works Flamboyant looks really nice.
Are there artbooks in Kinokuniya, last time I was there I didn't check, but it's the closest Japanese book store to me.
These review sites might be helpful:
http://www.jingoro.demon.co.uk/frame.htm
http://artbooks.asgard.gen.nz
http://www.jpqueen.com mostly sells second-hand books, but they're usually in excellent condition. I've bought quite a few things from there.
JOJO A GOGO
There are lots of artbooks at Kinokuniya. Expect to pay premium prices--if you compare the yen price to the dollar price, it's a joke even if you account for the fact that it's imported. Plus they may or may not let you flip through it.
For that matter, non-Japanese chains like Borders are starting to carry some artbooks, but only a handful. Check in the manga section.
It would be difficult to recommend artbooks to you unless we had a better idea of what styles you like.
it's all about book-off
>>4
I visited the Kinokuniya in NYC and did not see any good anime artbooks. The only artbooks they had an abundance of were actual art artbooks. I think I browsed the shelves pretty thoroughly. Ohh well. Guess I saved myself some money.
I really like Range Murata's Robot, that's what interested me in anime artbooks. I'm not especially interested in series-specific artbooks (of course, I wouldn't rule them out) as much as I am interested in the work of anime artists.
The only place that has the Flamboyant book in stock is Animebooks.com. The first print run came out around June but it was sold out everywhere. For some reason, the publisher didn't reprint it again... I'm looking for Ugetsu Hakua's Red Frame doujinshi. Anyone have any idea where I can find it?
Your better off making a Japanese penpal and asking them to ship artbooks to you, after paying them respectively. Or bring a bunch of books back if you ever plan on visiting an East-Asian country.
TIP: try to avoid the mainland because they're not so keen about selling manga in major bookstores.
I have a Haruhiko Mikimoto Illustrations book I got at a clearance sale in a local comic shop. Lots of paintings and color illustrations from Gunbuster, Macross, Gundam, and various anime, manga, novels and games. It also has a step by step view of his progress in making a painting. The small amount of text is even in english.
I also got Macross Perfect Memory and Macross Design Works at a convention for a great price. Those are more of a mix of lineart, sketches and paintings with a lot of text throughout so it's better if you're a fan of the series.
I found Range Murata's Robot 2 for C$31. Shrink-wrapped so I can't flip through it. Should I buy?
I bought last year Trinity Blood artbook and the pictures (or should I say paintings) are really awesome. The artist is really experienced but I don't remember his name. It costed about 12€ and was worth it. There is text only on the first "page" where is writed all the information of the artbook. Really beautiful.