anime

If you'd asked me a month ago who Noriyasu Yamauchi (山内 則康) was, I wouldn't have had a clue. But his name was the only thing unfamiliar to me, because I'd definitely seen his work; he did the character designs for Agent Aika, AIKa ZERO, AIKa R-16, Stratos 4, Labyrinth of Flames, Megami Paradise and of course Najica Blitz Tactics to name a few. And I think the majority of these shows are most famous for their copious amounts of panty shots. So as you might guess, Tobimono Girls Noriyasu Yamauchi Illustrations is packed with girls, guns, and panties.

Hayate no Gotoku!! POSTERS! is a collection of exactly that, posters. The art work centers around the characters from the second Hayate no Gotoku!! series, and features new pictures of the thirteen main characters, originally drawn for this book. All the new illustrations are done by Masahiro Fuji, the J.C. Staff character designer for the second series.

The best thing about this book is that it includes 13 brand new illustrations from Sora Kake Girl, that weren't published anywhere before. This kind of thing has been happening more recently, with books such as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Nia and Yoko Portraits, Zero no Tsukaima Louise Portraits, and Kannagi Nagi Portraits. But those books all focused on one character. This one manages to get a new picture of each of the main girls from Sora Kake Girl.

I figured I'd get through one of the monthly magazines while it's still relevant! I buy Animage Magazine every month because I like seeing the art work from new shows, and get general info about what's coming out and the extra goodies. The greatest focus is usually on the shows that have recently premiered.

When I first saw the price of ￥952 for a "visual collection" I hesitated and asked myself, "Can they really make a good art book for such a low price?" Pleased to say, the answer is a resounding "YES!" And that only makes me wonder why similar books are double the price.