Diego adds to the festive cheer by opening the covers of a splendid stocking stuffer: ARIA the Illustration – Avvenire, a compilation of artwork related to the ARIA anime series.
As with my previous artbook posts, only low-quality shots of selected pages are provided here. If these samples succeed in piquing your interest, please support the publishers by purchasing the artbook. (Don’t ask us to provide high-quality images or scans; we won’t do it.)
CONTENTS
Avvenire contains full-colour reproductions of cover and promotional art prepared for the ARIA anime series. All three seasons (and the OVA) are represented in various types of illustrations: DVD jackets, CD covers, magazine spreads, telephone cards and so forth. Although part of the broader ARIA franchise, Avvenire is not directly related to the 3-volume hardbound artbook series released in 2004-2006 (which featured art from Amano Kozue’s original manga series) as it is concerned specifically with the anime adaptation and consists almost entirely of anime-style illustrations prepared by other hands (rather than by Amano-sensei herself).
Here’s a small sample of the book’s contents.
MY THOUGHTS
As an avid follower of both the ARIA manga series and its anime adaptation, I’m pleased to see yet another artbook featuring Neo-Venezia in all its aquatic splendour – and even more so by the fact that this latest publication allows me to see the world of Amano-sensei’s undines from a somewhat different perspective. Avvenire offers more of the same in the sense that it features the same characters as its predecessors, but it also presents something new because the art possesses very different characteristics: brighter colours, a reduced reliance on shading, more sharply defined boundaries; in short, distinctly anime-style. While I personally prefer the dreamlike quality of Amano-sensei’s manga illustrations, I find the works collected in Avvenire – which were prepared by other artists (with the notable exception of the jacket art) – still quite pleasing to look at, though they will probably draw stronger accolades from fans of the anime series than from those who lean more towards the original manga art.
For a useful comparison, check out my earlier reviews of the three older artbooks collecting the art of Amano Kozue – Alpha, Stella, and Cielo.
THE LAST WORD
Highly recommended. A great collection of eye candy for ARIA enthusiasts (and especially for fans of the animated series).
Tags: ARIA, Artbooks
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While the lack of the manga-style art is somewhat discouraging, I think the anime does itself pretty well. Might want to grab one of these once I’ve got the money for it
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@Netto: Grab away! Just don’t wait too long – last time I checked a couple of online retailers have already sold out.
Diego´s last blog ..Oh yeah, I nearly forgot.
Illustration artbooks are definitely a must have
phossil´s last blog ..2009 – What a year!
@phossil: Agreed. I just wish there were more of them out there.
Diego´s last blog ..An escort of karate ladies? No, thank you.
It’s alive! It’s alive!!
This is very reminiscent of the last post, less backgrounds and vistas, but the same colour palette. It is nice, it is good looking, but it falls a bit short, it is a bit bland, or rather, generic, y’know?
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@Guy: I’d chalk it up to that generic anime look, which lacks the distinct richness and elegance of Amano-sensei’s original manga art. (My personal preference leans more towards the manga art.) But as you point out, it’s nice all the same.
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I’m happy with the illustrated art books. I generally avoid art books of the anime.
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