Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Look At The Making of Spirited Away!
Review: After buying this book and looking through it I found many interesting things about not only the making of the movie itself, but about the initial designs for many of the characters, themes, and settings for it. An excellent book both for fans of the movie and for artists looking for inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Artbook from Wonderland
Review: After watching "Spirited Away", I bought the art book companion as an impulse buy. However, now that I think about it, I find myself constantly turning through its pages, even more so than I watch the movie. Hayao Miyazaki created a masterpiece in "Spirited Away", set in a wonderland-esque realm - a Japanese Bath House for the gods and spirits of Japanese mythology. This guide takes its reader through the Miyazaki's creation with great artistic detail and intriguing notations and comments.For those who have fallen in love with "Spirited Away", as I have, this book offers insight to the multi-layered plots and characters of the film. Readers are graced with early archetural diagrams and sketches of the film's settings, along with galleries of the breath-taking final products. Also, we are offered conceptual drawlings of the cast of characters, from the early images of Yubaba and her gigantic baby to some of the minor characters and apparitions: the No Face, the bouncing heads, Haku and the silver dragon, etc.
The art and designs are a treat for both young and old, whether you have seen the film or not. As an added bonus, the collection also offers the American screenplay dialogues and detailed descriptions of the Spirit World. This is a must have for fans of the movie, fans of anime or fans of mythology and Asian folklore. Miyazaki's true gift is creating limitless images that spark the imagination. His work in this book rivals the original fantasies and concepts within Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass". There is nothing disappointing about it.
Rating:
Summary: Artbook from Wonderland
Review: After watching "Spirited Away", I bought the art book companion as an impulse buy. However, now that I think about it, I find myself constantly turning through its pages, even more so than I watch the movie. Hayao Miyazaki created a masterpiece in "Spirited Away", set in a wonderland-esque realm - a Japanese Bath House for the gods and spirits of Japanese mythology. This guide takes its reader through the Miyazaki's creation with great artistic detail and intriguing notations and comments. For those who have fallen in love with "Spirited Away", as I have, this book offers insight to the multi-layered plots and characters of the film. Readers are graced with early archetural diagrams and sketches of the film's settings, along with galleries of the breath-taking final products. Also, we are offered conceptual drawlings of the cast of characters, from the early images of Yubaba and her gigantic baby to some of the minor characters and apparitions: the No Face, the bouncing heads, Haku and the silver dragon, etc.
The art and designs are a treat for both young and old, whether you have seen the film or not. As an added bonus, the collection also offers the American screenplay dialogues and detailed descriptions of the Spirit World. This is a must have for fans of the movie, fans of anime or fans of mythology and Asian folklore. Miyazaki's true gift is creating limitless images that spark the imagination. His work in this book rivals the original fantasies and concepts within Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass". There is nothing disappointing about it.
Rating:
Summary: Relive the movie through the art
Review: Although I am not a big anime fan in general, I am a huge fan of Miyazaki Hayao's work. The highlight of his movies and comic books is usually the story itself, but in the case of Spirited Away, I think it would be fair to say that the sheer beauty and imagination of the film is just as amazing as the story itself. For me, Spirited Away was by far the first, and to date only, animated movie that I could call visually stunning. The viewer, be he or she 5, 25, or 65 is as drawn into Miyazaki's world as the protagonist Chihiro is. This book allows you to revisit the movie through its art. Full of concept sketches, character designs, and backgrounds from the movie, this book also includes an introduction by Miyazaki himself as well as frequent commentary by the artists that worked on this film and even an explanation of some of the technology that helped make this such a visually appealing film. The book's price may seem a bit steep, but at around 250 full color, high quality pages I felt I more than got my money's worth. There has been talk of Miyazaki retiring, but I hope this is not the case. With Spirited Away gaining such popular and critical acclaim in the United States, I hope he continues to work his magic for years to come, continuing to make his impression left not only on Japan, but to the global audience. With the increase in animation technology and the continuing strength of Miyazaki's imagination and storytelling power, it seems that the best is yet to come.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: Although I do have a few complaints about the book, I really liked it. Most of my complaints involved wanting more - more artist commentary, more concept drawings, that sort of thing. The book has an introduction written by Hayao Miyazaki, a section with concept sketches, a section with concept sketches, backgrounds, and character designs, and a section explaining how computer graphics were used in the movie. This book even has the movie's screenplay. I really enjoyed the concept sketches, which show how original ideas changed to create the final product. For instance, a sketch of Zeniba and Yubaba shows how much Zeniba's design changed - she looks more normally proportioned than her sister. Later in the book, there is an explanation for why the change in Zeniba's design occurred. I also enjoyed the computer graphics section, because I would never have noticed any of the things they pointed out on my own. I foudn it fascinating, they way they blended cel art and digital art so well.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: Although I do have a few complaints about the book, I really liked it. Most of my complaints involved wanting more - more artist commentary, more concept drawings, that sort of thing. The book has an introduction written by Hayao Miyazaki, a section with concept sketches, a section with concept sketches, backgrounds, and character designs, and a section explaining how computer graphics were used in the movie. This book even has the movie's screenplay. I really enjoyed the concept sketches, which show how original ideas changed to create the final product. For instance, a sketch of Zeniba and Yubaba shows how much Zeniba's design changed - she looks more normally proportioned than her sister. Later in the book, there is an explanation for why the change in Zeniba's design occurred. I also enjoyed the computer graphics section, because I would never have noticed any of the things they pointed out on my own. I foudn it fascinating, they way they blended cel art and digital art so well.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY ASTOUNDING!!!
Review: I am speechless, I really am. I've never felt more compelled to write a review until now. This book is, in two words, ESSENTIALLY HOT!!! I am not gonna blabber much about this book since what I would say has been mentioned by previous reviews and they are soooooo true!!! The print and colour qualities are superb. I've fallen in love with this book right from the start. I don't understand why I couldn't rate it higher than five stars because that is what this book truely deserves...... A MILLION STARS! I feel that the world is really fortunate to have unparallelled artists such as Mr. Hayao Miyazaki. I am such great fan of his.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing...
Review: I love Miyazaki's original sketches for things. They are always have such a sweet and mysterious sense at the same time. And they are in such good detail. His archetectual drawings are always my favorite. In nice hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing...
Review: I love Miyazaki's original sketches for things. They are always have such a sweet and mysterious sense at the same time. And they are in such good detail. His archetectual drawings are always my favorite. In nice hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, this is one incredible book!
Review: Other anime never has moved me the way Miyazaki did. It is an emotional experience to see the art of Miyazaki. Those lucky few will have a chance to get this book!
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