Book Reviews: Black ★ Rock Shooter Storyboard & Colour Illustration Book - Printable Version +- Forums @ Parka Blogs (http://parkablogs.com/forum) +-- Forum: Books (/forumdisplay.php?fid=7) +--- Forum: Art Books (/forumdisplay.php?fid=10) +--- Thread: Book Reviews: Black ★ Rock Shooter Storyboard & Colour Illustration Book (/showthread.php?tid=391)

Book Reviews: Black ★ Rock Shooter Storyboard & Colour Illustration Book - Nameless - 07-03-2011 09:02 AM Binding: softcover Pages: 312(storyboard book), 34(illustraton & layout board booklet) Print: Full colour Size: 13.5cm x 17cm approximate Content type: storyboard & select full colour illustrations Content genre: anime Publication: 2010 ISBN: none Language(s): Japanese Recommended readers: animators & hardcore BRS fans or collectors Can be purchased at: Amazon.jp(limited edition) | Amazon.jp(regular edition) You may notice that this review is titled books; plural. That is correct, simply because these two books(or booklets) will be covered in a single review due to the fact that they are available only as a bundled extra when purchasing the Black Rock Shooter OVA Blu Ray DVD. As such, this review is mainly targeted towards readers who are either A: animators or storyboard collectors or B: collectors in the market for BRS merchandise or C: generic BRS fans and other individuals who are considering purchasing the DVD for the books. I have run in to many individuals who have considered purchasing the DVDs for no reason other than to get the books, and for those individuals I recommend reading through these review notes first to be sure you are getting what you are looking for as many websites do not list full product details as I have noticed. It is important to note that only the Limited Edition Blu Ray bundle comes with the storyboard book(as well as the colour illustration book) where as the regular edition only comes with the smaller colour illustration book. It would probably be more appropriate to call both these books 'booklets' given their tiny size. Both are softcover bound, and as collector's bundled items do not come with ISBNs. They are not available for sale individually outside the DVD bundles. First let's begin with the storyboard book found only in the Limited Edition. This book literally contains all the storyboard panels for the entire film from beginning to end, complete with the accompanying handwritten notes for the panels. All notes are written in Japanese, with the exception of a few oddball English instructional words such as "pan down" , "follow", "pan across" etc. It's printed on ordinary bond paper, but given the number of pages the book comes out quite thick. Since the notes are entirely handwritten, they can appear messy at times or perhaps a little difficult to read, but are otherwise quite fun and amusing to look at. The storyboards themselves are all black and white, and notes are separated in Action, Dialogue and Time categories. The storyboard sketches range from being very sketchy and minimalist to being more detailed. The most simple sketches one may see in the boards are simple lines to instruct changes in facial expressions on scenes where that is the ONLY movement on screen, where some of the most detailed sketches will be landscaping or cityscapes that would be panned. There are also occasional photographic shots of actual places used in the boards as well where applicable(train stations for example). Moving on to the smaller colour illustration booklet, this is the one that is bundled with the regular edition DVD as well as in the Limited Edition. It's printed on a thin glossy paper and staple bound. Despite it's tiny size and paper thickness, the prints within are actually of very high quality and the illustrations come out with very crisp lines. Textures are also easily recognizable and detailed. It is important to note that although a lot of websites list the product description as a colour illustration booklet that includes HUKE's original BRS art, there are actually only a few pages that are dedicated to completed colour illustrations. It would be more accurate to describe it as just a film companion booklet. HUKE's art is definitely included, but is the minority of the illustrations. Most of the colour illustrations are of the film's promotional art. The majority of the booklet is actually layout boards and artwork boards that were done for the film. Unlike the storyboard book, the booklet only contains select pieces of this and does not cover the entirety of the film. Overall I would recommend this for those who are highly interested in animation, storyboards, and the processes of animation as it can serve as a nifty reference. For the average art fan or collector it may not be your cup of tea as the colour illustration book really does contain far more layout boards than actual colour illustrations so I would advise against purchasing the DVD(especially the Limited Edition) soley for the reason of obtaining the books unless you're an avid collector or fan. A better idea would be to purchase the DVD because you enjoy the film in itself, and accept the extra books as they are: extras. For individuals who were hoping for more detailed illustrations from the film or larger coverage, I would highly recommend taking a look at StainSpectackle's review of the Black ★ Rock Shooter Phenonmenon book.