This is a collection of works drawn by Japanese painter Yuji Murakami with the theme of Godzilla. Includes 286 “Godzilla Worlds” including Godzilla, Mothra, Anguirus, King Ghidorah, Hedorah, Mechagodzilla, Gigan and Xilien.

I'm not familiar with Yuji Murakami and Godzilla so I can't really say much about both, and there isn't much information about the painter online. This artbook seems like a personal project rather than a concept artbook for the many Godzilla movies released in recent years.

The book's a large format 276-page paperback filled with artworks printed on semi-gloss paper. The painting style looks almost childlike and is very unusual, very different from polished painting styles. The style is called Nihonga, which is said to be the modern version of Yamato-e, a kind of painting with long history in Japan. Nihonga uses mineral pigments, sometimes ink, together with other organic pigments on silk or paper. One photo shows the artist painting on a wooden board.

There are many battle scenes and heroic kaiju poses. The scenes are well composed with storytelling. These are paintings and not detailed illustrations. The text is in Japanese and English and you can read about the motivation behind the paintings.

As for the artistic style or look, you'll know whether you'll like or dislike what you see them at one glance.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.com.au | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook.