| | |  | STUDIO GHIBLI LIBRARY | Home » » » The Art of Inuyasha (Inuyasha Art Book) | | | | | | | Description: | | Japanese high school student Kagome, magically whisked back to the past, accidentally releases the legendary doglike half-demon Inu-Yasha from his imprisonment. His crime? Stealing the powerful "Jewel of Four Souls." Now he must help Kagome reclaim the jewel to prevent other demons from using it for evil purposes. Thus begins the megapopular graphic novel series that has become a Cartoon Network and DVD phenomenon. Including both colorful cell art and paintings, this book showcases the fascinating characters and dramatic sequences found in the hit show. Page after page of full-color designs are here, along with character profiles, watercolors from the manga covers, and 66 pages of colored manga pages, many previously unpublished in the United States. The book also contains a discussion between the Japanese voice actors and creator Rumiko Takahashi, along with interviews with the series' co-creators. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Rumiko Takahashi | | Hardcover:
| 160 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| December 06, 2005 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1421501872 | | Product Length:
| 10.38 inches | | Product Width:
| 8.52 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.69 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.92 pounds | | Package Length:
| 10.24 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.71 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.98 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 11 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 11 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
GREAT ARTBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!Aug 08, 2003
By Mireiko-sama
This isn't your normal artbook, like the Art of Cardcaptor Sakura (which has only page after page of art and nothing else). This artbook actually has facts, character profiles, colored manga/anime images, you name it! Anyone who is a fan of
Inuyasha should definitly get this!
now for the price. It's not THAT expensive, seeing as how the book is SOOOOO good. Spare a few dollars and buy it...you won't be disappointed!!!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Great companion to Inu-YashaAug 28, 2005
By Suzanne Crowley
Although I may be biased as a long-time fan of Rumiko Takahashi, I must that this is a great artbook for fans of Inu-Yasha. Although this book caters more to the manga audience than to the anime adaption, content for the anime is also very well presented.
The book begins with a manga/anime comparison of the series' opening scene. This provides some interesting information on how storyboard artists and scriptwriters adapt a few pages of manga material into a full-fledged anime scene. It then collects the manga's color pages (which were sadly converted to grayscale in the graphic novels) from the first chapter up until the Ryuukotsusei story in volume 20. They are presented int their original right-to-left format, and a great collection of Takahashi's gorgeous watercolors. Next is a series of original manga illustrations that she created for Shonen Sunday covers and the like. A gallery of the graphic novel cover artwork for the graphic novels is included, but unfortunately the illustrations are downsized to mere thumbnails.
It's also interesting that you can really see Rumiko Takahashi's progression of artistic skill by flipping through these pages. They go from the light-hearted pastel colors and cute facial expressions of her Ranma 1/2 days to the darker, more distinct style that she would use for Inu-Yasha. Although I would not call Rumiko Takahashi's artwork pretty or refined, it has a certain vibrancy to it that really brings her characters to life, and converys her story in an entertaining manner.
The second portion of the book covers the anime. Character bios for the earlier major characters is included, with accompanying cel ilustrations. There is a comprehensive gallery of design sketches complete with interesting footnotes, and also background illustrations. While I am primarily a fan of the manga, I have to admit the artistry for the anime is extremely impressive. The background illsutrations are gorgeous, and the character designs are well-adapted. There is also an in-depth study of the opening and closing themes.
The final portion of the book is composed of entertaining interviews with the staff. Rumiko Takahashi discusses her characters with the voice-actors of Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Kikyo. The director also talks about challenge of adapting a manga like Inu-Yasha to anime, and the art director reveals his thoughts behind the character designs. Finally, there's a comprehensive Inu-Yasha glossary at the end.
Overall, this is a great book for those interested in the art of Inu-Yasha. The only drawback is that this book only covers the earlier parts of the series, and thus leaves out several key characters who come later. Thankfully, a second artbook will be released that will make up for this slight shortcoming.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
excellent book for all ages who are into InuyashaJul 06, 2006
I am actually over 13 years old , however I didnt want to give my email address out so I said I was younger. This is a great book. I bought it for my 16 year old son and he absolutely LOVES it. He is into drawing japanese animation and this book was a great inspiration. All of his friends who are mostly the same age want to get the book to. I did see it at Borders also , for the same price , and you dont have to pay shipping and handling charges, also you dont have to wait for it to show up. Borders also had a huge selection of other Inuyasha books and other Japanese animation characters.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Tons of great background on InuYashaMar 12, 2006
By K. E. Steelman
"mommarock"
First of all, let me say my daughter is a complete InuYahsa addict. :) She loves the serial tale. That said, this book is marvelous! It has drawing examples, story snippets, voice character interviews.... very informative.
Beautifully colored drawings and detailed black and white work.
My only complaint refers to the hardbound version..... The spine of the book broke down the back very quickly and had to be taped. Otherwise the book is very well constructed.
Be aware the book is made to read from back to front in the typical Japanese manga manner. A little difficult for me, but my 9 year old daughter grasped the concept immediately....
Well worth the money for reference value alone.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
better than expectedJan 16, 2006
By m-chan
Other reviewers have given accurate particulars about this volume, and I agree with their high ratings. This book is really a delight and a perfect way to spend a couple hours in Inuyasha bliss. I was incredibly impressed with the color panels from the manga, taken from Shonen Sunday Jump. The beautiful printing job brings out the quality of Takahashi's art, and I find myself going back and studying these pages again and again. There is also a nice section at the beginning (short but sweet) about the difference between manga and animation when it comes to storytelling techniques. As it's been said elsewhere in these reviews, if you're a fan of Inuyasha, this is a must-have. Keep in mind this isn't a voluminous book with tons of text ... you can read the whole thing in just two or three hours. But the art in it, and its A-plus presentation here, offers many more hours of enjoyment and you may, like me, find yourself returning to this book repeatedly and feeling like you've picked it up for the very first time. The art in it is that good.
See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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