Rating: 
Summary: Simple one-stop clean visual reference - nothing more
Review: --I bought this book locally and agree with the 1-star reviewer that it isn't really a "How-to" book nor a "Why" book like "Drawing the Living Figure" by Mr. Sheppard (reviewed separately). While I am not a professional or fine arts student, the book is useful to people like me who just want to draw "cartoon" like human characters found in manga, anime and the likes of GI Joe, He-Man and Thundercats. Yes, there are no significant body drawings in perspective (but I assume this is not the purpose of this book but of another book in the series - "How to Draw Manga: Putting Things in Perspective"). For this, I suggest Perspective Made Easy by Norling (reviewed separately). There are plenty of foreshortened body shots though. Yes, the book could have been better (the English translation - both spelling and grammar are sub-standard) but if you're looking for a simple, one-stop-shop, clean visual reference, then this book is a-ok. I could also say the same thing for "How to Draw Manga, Vol. 4: Dressing your Characters in Casual Wear." As such, this book deserves a rating between 3 and 4 objectively but personally I would rate it 4.
Rating:
Summary: Good reference for muscles
Review: Although the title states "Bodies & Anatomy", it should be more like "Muscle Structure". The book emphasis the movement of the body between male's and female's and is a handy reference book if you're looking for this type of subject. It covers head variations, upper body variations, torso variations, and lower body variations with various poses, views, and examples.
Being an anatomy book, expect nudity to be present in this book. Surprisingly enough, the male drawings have briefs while the females are completely nude. They could have just as easily just drawn in a simple outline of the male crotch but not go into detail such as other anatomy books I have seen.
The drawing style is more realistic than the images shown on the cover and would be more advantageous for those interested in drawing muscular characters. Until you're interested in drawing characters with muscle, pass up this book until you're ready.
Rating: 
Summary: What on earth was...this?
Review: First off let me say that I got this book at a library. I put the book on hold so I would be next in line to get it. I did that after seeing all the wonderful things they said about it at howtodrawmanga.com. After I put the book on hold a few days passed. Then the person returned the book 2 weeks before it was due. "Why did he do that?" I asked. Then after 3 days I went to the library. "Yay, yay!" I said. I went over to the desk and waited for my turn in line. "Can I help you?" asked a lady at the counter. "Thanks!" I said. I told her I put a book on hold and gave my card. Then she said "Here you go." and handed me the book. I couldn't wait to get home to read the new book. After I read How to draw manga - Getting Started I thought I could trust howtodrawmanga.com. Boy was I wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! I ran to my room with my book in hand and sat down. I looked at the cover. "What good artists!" I said aloud. I opened the book and saw the first page. It had great art! So did the other two. Then I went passed that. I should have closed the book. Or thrown it out the window. The characters had big blots or lines for eyes. It looked like someone dropped white-out on each eye. "Er...things get better!"
I said to myself. They didn't. Nothing was explained right and the pictures just plain stunk. The way they explained things was too long or short. I mean really. I'm a novice artist who has been drawing for about a year and I can draw better than these people. "No! No!" I said. "No!" Then I skimmed through the rest of the book to see how it was later. At the end of the book all the pictures were nude. "What the...?" I asked. I don't recommend this book to anyone under 13. There were ladies just standing there with there clothes off. Second I don't recommend this book. Trash this and get something by K's Art instead. That's REAL manga. Or if you're just a kid starting out
(like me)and can't spend any money, skip this garbage and go to PolyKarbon, BakaNeko, or Julie Dillon's tutorials. Those are way
better-and free. (I personally learned from BakaNeko and Julie Dillon.)Please take my advice! Thanks for lending an ear! Bye!
Rating:
Summary: Basics are good
Review: Good book for basics. After all, to get the form down even if its not anatomically correct comes from basics. Picasso as a child mastered the art of drawing first before he eventually went into abstract. Yes, the women in this book are depicted virtually nude, whereas the men have briefs drawn in. Nevertheless, female characters are more popular and more widely drawn in both manga and anime.
You also probably dont want your characters to all look like the old astro boy; so as I said, basics are good and this book helps with drawing until you can develop your own style. Good Luck
Rating: 
Summary: good for anatomy, not for manga
Review: Having finally received this book after a long drawn out shipping fiasco (thanks to UPS), I was immediately confronted with a problem. As I began to flip though the pages of this book, which I had been so eagerly awaiting, I noticed, like many others have apparently noticed, that this is not a book about drawing manga. As far as that goes, it's probably one of the last books you should buy if you're looking to start drawing manga. However, with that said it is a good reference tool that can be used to simplify and condense muscle groups and other body parts into nice clean representations. Though the drawings aren't manga, they are somewhat stylized and could possibly work as a bridge for someone accustomed to drawing real life figures who wants to try manga. Of course, they'd have to go buy a real book about drawing manga afterwards, but... Personally I have found the book to be useful in an indirect way. Because I already know a little about manga and have been drawing for quite a while it wasn't too difficult for me to translate the images presented within the book into manga. I would imagine that this would be rather difficult for a novice though, so again, if you're just starting out I would suggest looking elsewhere for a good reference book. If you have some experience under your belt, it's a good reference for stylized anatomy but that's about it. If you're a beginner and you want to study manga, stay away. I'd suggest saving your money, unless of course you want to draw what the book demonstrates and call it manga, thus destroying the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Marmalade Boy by Wataru Yoshizumi
Review: Hi my name is Kathy & I soo... love.. Marmalade Boy!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the best tokyopop manga book ever!!!! (No affence). I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! It's really good! I would recommend this 2 any1! I know this has nothing 2 do with the other books oppinion but I just want the whole world 2 know how good is Marmalade Boys!!! It's about a very romantic, funny, and so cute story about 2 people falling in love!!!! This book & is a movie is so touching that I cried!!! I love this story!!! All my friends love it 2!!! Bye
Rating:
Summary: It all depends on WHT you are looking for
Review: How to Draw Manga: Bodies & Anatomy is a Great Book eh hear that HOW TO DRAW MANGA! Bodies & Anatomy. If your looking for some thing better or to advance you skills in drawing then find another Book, But if yur the Manga drawing type then this is the book for you maybe not all depends on the person. Art/drawing is unlimited and you have so many ways of drawing. Thank You
Rating:
Summary: It all depends on WHT you are looking for
Review: How to Draw Manga: Bodies & Anatomy is a Great Book eh hear that HOW TO DRAW MANGA! Bodies & Anatomy. If your looking for some thing better or to advance you skills in drawing then find another Book, But if yur the Manga drawing type then this is the book for you maybe not all depends on the person. Art/drawing is unlimited and you have so many ways of drawing. Thank You
Rating:
Summary: Worst drawing book I've ever seen
Review: I am an artist in Los Angeles, California and found this book to be nothing more than a collection of drawings without any effort to explain stylistic foundations, or processes. The design of this book was clearly phoned in. The drawings were of standard quality - there were not even any eyes! There was no attempt to explain the process of drawing the characters. There was no foundation, not explanation of the unique proportions that are Manga. Also, the book doesn't contain a single drawing with any significant amount of perspective. It is little more than a book showing a bunch of women bent over - I know this is a sub-genre of Manga but that should be covered in other books. With the information in this book you will only be able to recreate the drawings in the book and not develop your own characters. I know there are quite a few artists that draw like this, but most of us want to be better. Finally, I returned the book to Amazon. I would rather send it back and loose shipping etc. than sell it and have the guilt of giving this book to another person.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Detail
Review: I currently own five of this series, and continue to be impressed by the amount of detail they contain, but this one truly takes it. Bodies and Anatomy covers it all, and could be used for any drawing type, not just for use in manga. This book is PACKED with incredibly detailed, accurate drawings of the skeleton, muscular system, etc., for every part of the body. To me, this book felt more professionally and maturely presented than the others in the series, and I highly recommend it for any artist looking for some extra help when drawing the human form.
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