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Reviewed by Park Cooper This is a Naruto art book, with art created by the creator of Naruto. I give this book a grade of A. Now I have to talk you into it. The biggest obstacle is the price: 19.99. Yeah, I feel your pain. That’s why it didn’t get an A+. But, you know, in the world of comic books, something like this would probably cost a little more, maybe. This is hardback. Not convinced? Okay, let’s look at what you get, and what’s being done right. Full color: check. Not digitally-colored, like a comic book—manga is usually black and white, so they can afford to do their color, when those times come, the old school way—with markers. It’s large. Manga is small and portable, and that’s one of the many reasons everyone loves it, but for an art book, you want small posters-in-a-book. That’s what you’ve got here. You can open it up to your favorite pages and just prop it up in your room somewhere as decoration. There’s also a fold-out, with the typical characters on one side, and a past-present juxtaposition on the other side of the 4th Hokage and his three students on the left, and Kakashi and his three students on the right. The art is quite nice. In the back, we have: --The Making of a Naruto Illustration: we see Kishimoto do a Naruto pin-up with all the stages, start to finish. It’s how I know he’s using art markers. --Author’s Comments on the art in this book: He likes drawing toes, so he gave Naruto sandals instead of shoes or boots, for which the animation team hates him. --A special interview with the creator about Naruto, which answers a question I’ve long had: what sort of setting is this, anyway? His answer: Basically, it’s not some weird post-apocalyptic future (that was my guess), it’s more like an alternative timeline, with, say, the technology of, oh, 1989 (but without vehicles or major weaponry). So THAT’S why they seem to have movies and video games and VCRs and power lines. Now I know. It’s a fairly long interview. Me: “Oh, and the creator says that he just wants to keep enjoying Naruto, and he’ll keep doing his best, and he just wants to keep the quality up until he finishes Naruto.” Barb: “Holy cow! You mean he DOES plan to FINISH it someday?!?!?!” Me: “I KNOW! Thanks for the info, pal—this is welcome news to the rest of us!” That’s it. If all this doesn’t convince you, this is not for you. For a hardback Naruto art book, I don’t know how it could be that much better. Comment on this review of Uzumaki: The Art of Naruto on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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