If you’re an otaku, you know that there’s nothing better than curling up with a good anime artbook. Not only do they offer a great chance to view your favorite characters and scenes in stunning detail, but they can also be a treasure trove of information about the making of your favorite shows. Here are 15 of the best anime artbooks the anime industry has to offer—perfect for any fan!
Hiroyuki Imaishi Anime Artworks
This is a book that has been published to celebrate the work of Hiroyuki Imaishi. He’s best known for his outstanding animations and illustrations, which you can see in Neon Genesis Evangelion, among other things! This compilation includes art from this talented individual, showcasing both new pieces as well as ones previously released online or through other media platforms such as newspapers or magazines.
This is first official artworks of Hiroyuki Imaishi, best known as the animator, and director of “Gurren Lagann” and “Kill la Kill”. The book features illustrations, settings, and key animations of his animation works, such as “Gurren Lagann”, “Kill la Kill”, “Space Patrol Luluco”, “Promare”, “DEAD LEAVES”, “Ninja Slayer”, “FLCL”, “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, “Anime Tencho”, “Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi”, “OVAL×OVER”, “NAMCO x CAPCOM”, “Musashi: Samurai Legend”, “Medabots”, and “Lupin III: Alcatraz Connection”, etc.
Weathering With You
Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, this anime art book shows how Hodaka flees high school to search for a better life in Tokyo. Sadly, Hodaka struggles to adapt to his new life. In fact, he encounters a new character, Hina, who has mysterious powers.
Hina may divide the clouds and bring the sun with a single prayer. Hina’s abilities cost her. As the weather worsens, both characters must make diffi choices. If you like anime art books, you should acquire this one.
- Written concurrently with production of the 2019 film Weathering With You, this novel comes straight from director Makoto Shinkai, the mind behind 2016’s hit your name.!
Shigenori Soejima P-STUDIO Art Unit ARTWORKS 2010-2017 2nd Persona Game
This stylish, artsy anime art book comes in the form of an album and is written by Shigenori Soejima with P-STUDIO. The author introduces this awesome hardcover after his critically acclaimed “Shigenori soejack” companion piece from 2004–2010, which became a bestseller across Europe! It includes more than 135 designs that were illustrated for magazines, but it also showcases work done from 2010 to 2017.
- JAPANESE LANGUAGE game related book
The Art Of Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
The Art of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki. The author based this book on his own 1984 manga. It’s been there since.
It tells how humans caused a disaster in an old conflict. The author also depicts the world progressively submerging under the Sea of Decay, which generates malformed insects and poisonous dormant bacteria.
Beyond the Sea of Decay, on the opposite side, is the Valley of the Wind, home to Nausicaa, who goes above and beyond to bring her people serenity and health.
An epic fantasy written and illustrated by the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki!
An addition to the perennially popular line of Studio Ghibli art books—which include interviews, concept sketches, and finished animation cels—of classic animated films such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
The Art Of Princess Mononoke
This Studio Ghibli art book is the latest in a long line of gorgeous, high-quality publications from this famous animation studio. With pieces inspired by Hayao Miyazaki and his use of computer graphics for Princess Mononoke, it makes an excellent addition to any fan’s collection or someone looking to just discover them!
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- The art, from conception to release, of the classic Hayao Miyazaki film Princess Mononoke, including a look at Miyazaki’s original art and the use of computer graphics technology in the film.
Yutaka Nakamura Animation Key Frame Vol. 1
This animation book has almost 600 pages of keyframe animations. These frames include beautiful animations like The Vision of Escaflowne.
Yutaka Nakamura is the author of this animation book, which includes several of his best animations. This book’s constant movement and enduring effects will undoubtedly captivate you if you wish to learn about vital animation or simply admire gorgeous animation.
The book is published in Japan with 96 pages of Gaiking flipbook and 300 pages of Escaflowne flipbook.
- This is a collection of animation key frame by Yutaka Nakamura, features more than 600 pages of key frames in two B6 “Flip Book”, and a B5 “Booklet”, including animations such as “The Vision of Escaflowne”, “Cowboy Bebop”, “Fullmetal Alchemist”, “Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu”, “Tekkaman Blade”, and “TWIN BLOOD”, etc.
Der Mond: The Art Of Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Neon Genesis Evangelion book has a new look with its hardcover. One of the all-time famous anime artists, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, produces this masterpiece, which you can’t afford to miss out on! With 724 pages and 50 extras taken from other works such as The Wings Of Honneamise (Nadia), and Eric Clapton’s 1998 album -Pilgrim-, it will not disappoint any fan who wants something truly special in their library.
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- Stylish, delicate, and consistently edgy, Der Mond collects the color illustrations of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, perhaps the most acclaimed manga and anime artist of all time. The book includes 74 pages of paintings and designs devoted to Neon Genesis Evangelion, plus another 50 pages from The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia–The Secret of Blue Water, Blue Uru, and other works–including Sadamoto’s cover to Eric Clapton’s 1998 album, Pilgrim.
The Art Of Howl’s Moving Castle
The Art of Howl’s Moving Castle is an anime art book based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones. It was created a short time after Hayao Miyazaki won an Academy Award for his movie Spirited Away with Studio Ghibli. The story gave him the chance to create a fantasy work just when science and magic were popular in the 19th century. He retains all of the novel’s major characters, including Howl (the wizard) and Sophie (the girl who carries an extraordinary curse).
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- There’s more than one way to book passage on the moving castle. See the movie, but don’t forget to reserve a copy of the book, as well. The Art of Howl’s Moving Castle is a great way to preserve the magic of the next great anime classic from Hayao Miyazaki.
Steins: Gate Art Works Imaginations Of Huke
This book is the perfect gift for fans of Steins Gate. This high-quality art print features beautiful full-color illustrations from one of this season’s most popular animes, and it’s available now at our online store!
- Our copy is the original softcover book. The listing is incorrect for the ISBN as a Hardcover book.
Dragon Ball: A Visual History
The popular manga series by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball, is beautiful and creative artwork filled with vibrant colors. The author has created an animation book that features both visual arts and sketches from the manga itself to other posters to make this perfect gift for any fan!
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A comprehensive art book showcasing manga art, additional promotional material, creator commentary and notes/sketches/posters, from throughout the history of the original Dragon Ball series, all featured in a beautifully slipcased hardcover book with a dust jacket.
Featuring stunning full-color artwork, exclusive creator commentary and rarely seen sketches, Dragon Ball: A Visual History is the definitive journey through the artwork of one of the most influential and popular manga series of all time, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball.
JoJo 6251: Araki Hirohiko’s World
Hirohiko Araki illustrated this anime art book with Lucky Land Communications. In the first part of this anime art book, here are the artist’s interpretations of characters from Araki’s past work.
- written in JAPANESE
Sword Art Online ABEC Art Works
The talented artist behind the Sword Art Online novels is back with this all-new art book! This 160-page complete collection features illustrations from previous volumes and character designs and more like posters or magazines. It’s under ‘Art Manga Sequential,’ so make sure you buy it if you’re into anime-style stuff like me.
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- From the illustrator of the Sword Art Online light novel series comes a collection of artwork featuring illustrations from the first nine volumes, magazines, posters, character designs for the anime, and more!
Pokemon Adventures 20th Anniversary Illustration Book: The Art Of Pokemon Adventures
The popular Pokemon video games inspired this anime book’s creator. This animation book has wonderful artwork, stunning sketches, and a completely new manga story.
The Pokemon Adventures novel series has a collection of bright graphics and rare sketches. Originally released in Japanese, it is now available in English.
Artwork, sketches and a brand-new manga short story from the artist of the Pokémon Adventures series inspired by the best-selling Pokémon video games!
A collection of beautiful full-color art from the artist of the Pokémon Adventures graphic novel series! In addition to illustrations of your favorite Pokémon, this vibrant volume includes exclusive sketches and storyboards, four pull-out posters, and a brand-new manga side story published in English for the first time!
Akira Club
This book is the first of its kind to be published in English. It’s a collection by Katsuhiro Otomo, the author and creator behind Akira—one who has been influential not only in anime but also in graphic design as well! The invaluable aspects of this publication are production sketches, drawings & posters from when he was just starting out on his creative journey until now. A must-have for any aspiring artist or anime enthusiast alike!
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- Now available for the first time in an English-language edition, Akira Club is an essential companion to Akira, a dazzling collection of Otomo’s mind-blowing visions, including over 100 title-page illustrations created for the original serialization but not included with the published collections of Akira.
The book also features rarely seen alternate art, preliminary drawings, production sketches and a variety of Akira posters, advertisements and products, all accompanied by fascinating commentary by the artist himself. No Akira enthusiast, manga fan, or devotee of fantasy and science-fiction illustration should be without Akira Club.
Persona 4 Arena: Official Design Works
Whether you’re just starting your journey with Persona 4 Arena or looking for some additional content, this beautiful art book will not disappoint. With breathtaking illustrations of all the characters plus rough sketches and storyboards throughout each page, there’s no way we could give less than five stars!
So there it is anime fans. Our list of the 15 best art books for anime enthusiasts. We hope you found this list helpful and that it gave you a few ideas for your own collection. If we missed your favorite artbook or want to tell us why ours are wrong, please leave a comment below! And don’t forget to check out our other anime lists while you’re here. Thanks for reading!
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Fight and survive towards the one throne waiting at the end in Persona 4 Arena! The fighting game spinoff to the legendary Persona 4 RPG has already, itself, become an instant classic. Now, this spectacular art book collects the artwork behind the landmark title, including character designs, rough sketches, storyboards, and pin-ups. All this, plus character profiles, story summaries, creator interviews, and more!
So there it is anime fans. Our list of the 15 best art books for anime enthusiasts. We hope you found this list helpful and that it gave you a few ideas for your own collection. If we missed your favorite artbook or want to tell us why ours are wrong, please leave a comment below! And don’t forget to check out our other anime lists while you’re here. Thanks for reading!
