Archive for the Yuri Artbook Category


Yuri Artbook: Yuri Hime Color Artworks Chronicle

February 4th, 2011

Yuri Hime Color Artworks Chronicle (百合姫カラーアートワークス CHRONICLE) is exactly what the title says it is. This is a collection of color illustrations from Comic Yuri Hime and Yuri Hime S magazines and several of the collections published under the Yuri Hime imprint, from 2005-2010. And it is therefore a chronicle of the magazine from its birth through its cytokinesis into two magazines.

The book is split into a number of sections – Cover Works, Pin-Up Works, Color Comic Works, Other Works and Comic Cover Works. Overall, they provide a really wide variety of styles, tone and Yuri. Noticeably absent are the covers and art created by Hibiki Reine from the first five issues of Yuri Hime. The collection begins with the cover of the sixth volume, by Eiki Eiki and Zaoh Taishi. From there, the covers are arranged chronologically.

As a historical artifact for Yuri history, this book is pretty remarkable. As an artbook, it’s fantastic.  While I might not like every picture, there’s still plenty to enjoy, with such a variety of talented artists. Nearly every page reminds me how many people have contributed to the making of this magazine.

A side effect of flipping through the pages of this book is to remind me how much I really didn’t much enjoy a great deal of the color art for Yuri Hime S.  Kind of a no-brainer, I suppose. But it also reminded me in a very visceral fashion, just how relaxing I find Fujieda Miyabi’s art. I’d be flipping past a series of moe-servicey things and get to a picture of Sarasa and Seriho and just…relax. ^_^

If you never did get a chance to read the early issues of Yuri Hime, or you just relish the idea of collecting all the color pictures, Yuri Hime Artworks Chronicle makes a great addition to your Yuri collection.

Ratings:

Art – Variable, obviously

It is my very, very genuine pleasure to thank Okazu Superhero George R for his sponsorship of this review and for the contribution of this piece of Yuri manga history to the world’s largest collection of Yuri!





Flamboyant Artbook (English)

November 23rd, 2008

Thanks to Okazu Superhero Eric for sponsoring today’s review of the Flamboyant art book by Hakua Ugetsu, translated by DMP!

This artbook contains a number of full-color artworks by Hakua for the Bakuretsu Tenshi, aka Burst Angel series. The art is colorful, servicey and full of action, scanty clothes and Jo. Sometimes a picture might also have Meg, Amy and Sei-who-is-not-named-Beth.

There are a number of pictures in which Jo and Meg are touching and/or are in close proximity to one another. There is even one where Jo’s scarf becomes a red string of fate that binds Meg to her. Sadly, the one picture I like best, of them sitting in each other’s laps in bed, was included only as a sketch.

The remainder of the book includes art from other series (including the intriguiging-looking Everybody’s Bounty Hunters, in which girls with guns stand near each other and sometimes touch) and some original sci-fi and fantasy art. the book also includes sketches and commentary by the artist, which I found to be both amusing and alarming. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Yuri – 2
Service – 8

Overall – 9

I’m quite pleased to be able to add this artbook to my collection, where it will live with some of my crazy out-of-print artbooks that one day I will get around to reviewing.  ^_^





Yuri Artbook: Urushihara Satoshi Illustrations "Sigma"

August 16th, 2006

It may not be a great luxury in your life, and yet takings surrounded by our “Golusia” means a comfortable daily life.”

This bit of wisdom was brought to you by my “Golusia” cookies. I don’t know if my daily life is comfortable, but the cookies were good.

I gave blood today – for the first time in my life. (Too sick to give for most of that, bad timing for the last few years.) As a result I’m way too stupid tonight to review anything complex. An artbook full of shiny, mostly naked women is about all I can handle.

Sigma, Urushihara Satoshi’s most recent artbook, is definitely full of shiny women. As usual with Urushihara, his characters look like they’ve chosen the “deluxe wax” service at the car wash, with full detailing.

There’s the usual fetishes: maids, creepy positions, weapons, nuns, nurses and a couple of spiffy, shiny-but-fully-clothed yaoi pics. And there’s some fun moments of “oh, look!” art from his own series like Plastic Little and Ragnarock. Surprisingly (to me, at least, as I do not stay up on such things) there’s also some very decent fan art of other creators’ series, including a really decent (clothed) picture of Mashiro, Mai and Arika from Mai Otome.

Following all this shininess is a short comic called “RC Twins” which has elements of Chirality and elements of Dirty Pair.

And an added bonus, the book comes with a gigantic full-color poster of a naked woman, with a picture of two naked women on the back. (The wife says, “I see your naked woman and raise you TWO naked women!”) Also included is a card that changes when you shift the position – you know the kind I mean. It has two women who are either in bikinis or naked depending. Hours of fun….

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story for the manga – 4
Service – 10
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7 (As long as you don’t mind shiny, naked women)

Now I’m singing that song by REM… “Shiny, naked women holding hands…” … I think I saw some art for Chirality and Front Innocent, too. I wonder how many other series of his I’m not seeing.