Books for/about - anime

Anime Mania: How to Draw Characters for Japanese Animation (Christopher Hart Titles)

Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications
Authors: Christopher Hart

ISBN: 082300158X
List Price: $19.95
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Summary: The worst Manga Mania book yet!
Yes millions of anime fans hate his Manga Mania because he can't do the art right and they hate his books because he hires people to do the art for him but........THIS IS THE WORST YET! Last year one of my friends showed me this book. I felt like laughing Chistopher Hart really doesn't know what anime is! He hired the worst people yet! There is like only two or three good artist (one was the one the one that did the front)and the rest of them were terrible.Most of the book is terrible mabye like ten pages are good but the rest how sad! Even if this books cover looks good don't judge a book by its cover.

Summary: Missing the boat typical otaku
I think people are forgetting that this book is suppose to be a stepping stone to designing your original characters.
This book is supposed inspire the reader and user not teach them how to draw Goku or Sailor Moon.

I'm well aware of the book's flaws.
I recommend the book based on your learning style though.
If you're quick learner get this book if not forget it.

Summary: Very "Westernized"!
When I bought this book, I was expecting a good "step-by-step" & "how-to" book. This book REALLY disappointed me! >.< I found that the drawings in the book were VERY "cartoony" & "western" looking. The drawings were all very generic & simple. Looking back at certain illustrations, I can hardly say that it looks like anime! I'm sure that this book will be promising for younger readers, but a failure to hardcore otakus! o.O

I own many manga comics & "how-to's", & I recommend the "HOW TO DRAW MANGA" series. They will give you a good start to manga drawing. Looking for a first manga series to read?? Try "Fruits Basket", by Natsuki Takaya. ^_^

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Naruto Anime Profiles, Volume 1: Episodes 1-37 (Naruto Anime Profiles)

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Authors: Masashi Kishimoto

ISBN: 1421506572
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Summary: "Naruto"-to-toe knowledge
Okay I admit it.

The Naruto anime is awfully awesome ! There's loads of action and lots more in this impressive show. And this book has more than enough information on the TV series to go around.

Inside this book, there are charater introductions and profiles, episode listings and descriptions, interviews, concept art, and even a full-color pullout just for you. This book is even jam-packed with screenshots and colorful pictures from the show, too ! Every little description has quite the nitty-gritty on what's what within the anime series - inside the world of Naruto and outside in real life with the creator, voice overs, and show staff.

If you're a current, or uppencoming (like me) fan of all things Naruto, this book is a real must have. And look for new episodes on Cartoon Network on TV and the new Toonami Jetstream on cartoonnetwork.com.

(As I may borrow a phrase from Naruto himself...) "Believe it !"

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	Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Updated Edition: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Authors: Susan J. Napier
ISBN: 1403970521 List Price: $17.95 Amazon Price: $11.67 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: Reviews: Summary:

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How to Draw Anime & Game Characters, Vol. 3: Bringing Daily Actions to Life

Publisher: Graphic-Sha
Authors: Tadashi Ozawa

ISBN: 4766111753
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: Wow...........................
This book is so good it's scary it teaches stuff from poses to move ment step by step so you can get it really easyly. At first I was terrible at drawing movement so every piture I drew was a charater standing but then I got this book at the libray. And now I know how to draw people jumping running and much more. Very helpful and useful it should have ten stars. Cool as it gets the person who made this book worked for Studio Ghibli!
~*~Purin~*~

Summary: A book worth your money
Ozawa does a wonderful job again! He inititally starts the book on drawing your character using perspective giving a numerous amount of pointers and examples. Then giving basic action poses (walking, running, sitting, standing, laying down, etc) and going into variations of those actions by using multiple examples of characters. A typical example page consists of a stick figure in a particular pose, a block figure, and the actual finished character in the same pose. Front and back, or other view of the pose is common and he even gives pointers and tips of details to look out for.

Besides teaching you how to draw real believable characters, this book is an excellent edition that you may later use as a reference book for poses. Like his earlier books, Ozawa covers nudity tastefully and this book can be used by young artists without fear. A book well worth the money, imo.

Summary: Another excellent book
The third book in the series picks up right after the last with perspective. The first chapter is dedicated to it, and provides many great tips. It then moves on to basic character movements such as walking, running, sitting, sleeping, and much more. From there it even goes into greater detail by showing you variations of the previously mentioned movements, and a lot of them. After all, no two people are made the same. This is a great book for any artist period who wants to learn the different poses of the body.

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Kids Draw Anime (Kids Draw Series)

Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications
Authors: Christopher Hart

ISBN: 0823026906
List Price: $10.95
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: Fun, interesting art!!
My 8 year old daughter received this as a Christmas gift five months ago, and it is wonderful! It's challenging but attainable drawing. Too often, art books are WAY too "kiddy" and cartoony with too little flavor, or way too complicated and mature. This is great for my daughter- it's neither *kiddy* nor too mature. She is a self-motivated artist, and I have seen a definite improvement in her skill from her trying to emulate the style and forms in this book.

This is definitely for kids, but it's not too easy and cartoony, and I don't care whether it's true anime or not. If my daughter ends up caring what *real* anime is, then she'll pursue it seriously, and not in a kids' art book.

Summary: Not anime
First of all it should be titled "Kids draw Manga" not "Kids draw Anime" because Anime and Manga are different and what this book teaches is considered as manga but anyway this wouldn't even be considered manga or anime because it's just way to bad and crappy. I mean don't even waste your time or money with this book, better yet go find it at your local library. I love to draw manga and anime and when I flipped through this book me and my friends, we were pissed off because it's an embarrassment. So not beginners or anyone above that. This is mainly for kids under the age of 7 or something.

Summary: anime?!
I just to a glips this book and I look at it and thought "anime?!" the answer was no. It was to cartoony.Yes it's a could book to draw cartoons but not anime. For instance look at Salior moon, Rayearth or Yu-gi-oh then look at this book do the look a like? If you want to learn real anime don't get this book you could get better ones for less. THIS IS A NOTE IF YOUR THINKING ABOUT GETTING ANY OF HIS MANGA MANIA BOOKS when you see the great art on the front it isn't his he hires people to do a whole chunk of the book and the front and back of the book for him then like only a small amount is his work and on the front of the book it says the book was by him. What did he do besides put no-anime charaters in it?! That's what I'm still trying to find out.
Back to this book if you can see the front of the book doesn't look good on the cover. If the covers bad isn't the book going to be the same? So If you want to learn anime I recemend
books that at least look like anime.

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	Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo Publisher: Stone Bridge Press Authors: Patrick Macias Tomohiro Machiyama
ISBN: 1880656884 List Price: $16.95 Amazon Price: $11.02 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 5 Reviews: Summary: Very helpful on the latest trip!! We bought "Cruising..." while preparing for our third trip and first solo excursion to Japan. Not only was it an interesting read, but the neighborhood information and maps were invaluable once we arrived. The turnover for small businesses in Japan is high, however, most of the things we were looking for were still available. I highly recommend adding this book to your collection! Summary: Geeks Guide to Tokyo This is the geek's guide to Tokyo-and much more. It is guidebook, social commentary, and a peak into the latest trends on the otaku scene. And all before they hit the shores of the West. Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo covers the studios that produce anime; includes interviews with the movers and shakers in the industry; discusses the toys, museums, film "locations," music, etc.; and has detailed maps of that otaku mecca Akihabara. Macias has written a comprehensive guide that does not speak down to beginners. It is written in a witty style and handsomely illustrated. Then, in a piece de resistance, there is the Great Gathering, the Mythical Beast of the Otaku Calendar: the annual Comiket 65. This is the yearly "Comic Market," a three-day festival held at Tokyo Big Site. All the sub-cultures are featured here; it is geek nirvana. Macias covers this with �lan and humor. For those thinking of making the trip to Comiket or Tokyo itself-or just read about this fascinating world from home-this is the indispensable guide. Summary: Written especially for hardcore Japanese animation fans Cruising The Anime City: An Otaku Guide To Neo Tokyo is a guide written especially for hardcore Japanese animation fans, video game players, and the like who want to know what to expect if they visit Tokyo in person - or who just want to armchair travel and imagine shopping! A street-smart guide in plain English, brightly illustrated with full-color photographs throughout, Cruising The Anime City discusses where to get the best deals on Japanese comics, where to find collectible toys, how to avoid cell-phone scams when crusing games from pachinko to porno and everything in between, a guide to finding memorabilia relating to one's favorite idol singer, and much more. Though basic travel information (lodging concerns, roadmaps and the like) is deliberatetly left up to more traditional guides, Cruising The Anime City is a "must-have" for the collector who needs to know "the" hottest shopping spots in Tokyo! Summary:

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Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know

Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
Authors: Gilles Poitras

ISBN: 1880656531
List Price: $14.95
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Summary: Limited but useful in it's area
This book is much better at talking about anime fan culture than anime itself. If you're interested in knowing more about the films, there are better resources such as "Anime Explosion", "Samurai from Outer Space" or, for the more academically inclined, "Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke"

Summary: Anime Essentials
This is an excellent book about the Anime genre. It describes not only the history of anime but the various styles and elements that make anime unique.
The author includes recomendations in the different anime styles and makes parental recomendations as well.
Elements of Japanese culture are woven into the descriptions making this an all around good read and reference book.
There is also a video animation called "Otaku no Video" which complements this book and has a similar cover.
If you want to learn more about anime or are a fan pick both of these titles!

Summary: An excellent starting place
I'm too old to have discovered Japanese manga and anime in my youth, but I've made up for that the past few years. Being interested in Japanese culture and literature generally, I had some understanding of why anime is the way it is, and why it's so much different from American or European graphic art, but reading this well-written book, I found there was a great deal I had missed. Poitras writes from the fan's point of view, so he knows what questions he should be addressing -- everything from the "big eye" mania, to the difference between hentai and mainstream manga, to the nervousness among the U.S. morals police about "foreign" art, to actually setting up and publicizing a fan group, plus the ins and outs of model kits, imported publications, and so on. There's also an excellent rundown of recommended anime titles and series, which I've photocopied as a checklist. This book doesn't tell you everything you need to know, but it's a good place to start.

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How to Draw Anime & Game Characters, Vol. 2: Expressing Emotions

Publisher: Graphic-Sha
Authors: Tadashi Ozawa

ISBN: 4766111745
List Price: $19.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: i love this series, its sooo helpful!
excellent! i was very pleazed w/ the first volume, and couldnt wait to get the second...and now i cant wait to get the last 3, this set is just plain awesome!
it starts off simple, like the previous, showing just smiley face expressions...then he shows u a varity of MALE and FEMALE characters using just their heads and faces to portray emotion. continue on, and he will explain how each individual character uses his/her body to express emotion. he even shows u a couple of "do's and dont's", depending on which character ur drawing...
an example would be the male game character...when sad, he doesnt cry, but when angry he forms fists and is shouting...for another male character, anger is portrayed more as protest, and when upset he actually shows it...
he gives u a small but helpful section on how to put ur new characters into a comic too, giving helpful tips on where the "camera" should be in a particular scene, and who should or shouldnt be in the shot, etc...neat.
its a great book, and can be used by beginners who have the basic idea of the body down, and experts, of course!
happy sketching! :-D

Summary: This book helped a lot!
I am 14 years old, and I got this book a year ago. It really helped me to figure out how to draw some of the basic expressions for people. I have been drawing manga for about 2 years now, but for a while, all of my characters had the same poses and basiccaly the same faces! And another note: not every character will express the same emotion in the same way. This also helps you to think about your character's personality and what kind of facial and body expressions they will use. I recommend this book for anyone who has the basics down, because it doesn't explain any of that. It will help anyone from a novice level, even experts could use the tips.

Summary: not a 2 star yawn like vol.1,(yea, that was me)
Vol.2 is ALOT better and more helpful than its predecesser.the emotions are varied and there are no more clich'e characters too,they are in fact, believable.The drawings are nice and you wont find typos or any engrish,nor will you find bits of info paired with tons of pics.You wont find much trouble applying the examples's emotions to your own original creations.I couldnt give this book 4 stars though because I just couldnt get into it for some reason,maybe cuz i'm still trying to get rid of that bad after-taste that was volume one(yea,i was the one person who didnt like vol.1).This is one of those books you have to read to really judge.....

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