In my final announcement regarding Udon Entertainment tonight, the company has also recently released two new artbooks to the English market – Read or Die: R.O.D Official Archive based on the anime and OVA series and Shining Hearts: Collection of Visual Materials based on a game which has never been released outside of Japan.
Information for both these titles can be read below:
Shining Hearts: Collection of Visual Materials
Shining Hearts: Collection of Visual Materials gathers the beautiful artwork from the third installment in the ‘Shining’ spin-off series. The book includes full-page pinups, character designs, development sketches, item and monster artworks, location images, and multiple interviews with the creators behind the SEGA video game including Production Designer Toshinobu Kondo, Producer Tsuyoshi Sawada, and character designer Tony! Secrets of the ‘Shining’ series are revealed…!
If you’re not a hardcore fan of this game or series, you might not know that this unique RPG title features the sexy and sumptuous leads… baking bread! As described in the introduction to the book, “…hearts can be healed by the power of delicious bread. Rejuvenating ourselves with delicious food is something that we unconsciously do in real life, on a daily basis. Resolving problems with delicious bread… makes sense.”
Out Now | $39.99 | Softcover | 192 Pages | 8.25″ x 11.75″
While I do occasionally review Japanese-only video game releases, Shining Hearts was not one of them and I have no previous background with this particular installment in the series.
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Read or Die: R.O.D Official Archive
Read Or Die is the story of Yomiko Readman and the British Library Special Operations Division, a secret group dedicated to the location and protection of rare books! A fantastic anime series mixing cute girls, intrigue and espionage, and even mecha, R.O.D has been a North American fan-favourite for years!
R.O.D Official Archive is a true fan’s ultimate guide to the world of both the original 3-episode OVA and the 26-episode anime TV series. Official Archive starts with a selection of gorgeous pin-ups and special illustrations created for the series, before moving into extensive character profiles featuring character designs and background and rough sketches. The book then moves into an episode guide with scenario and mechanical designs, an exploration of the opening and ending sequences featuring key-frame animation and roughs, and an extensive interview with the Director, Creator, and staff of the anime! Finally it finishes with even more behind-the-scenes development artwork and a glossary for the series… a ton of information is packed into these pages!
Out Now | $39.99 | Softcover | 128 Pages | 8.25″ x 11.75″
I reviewed the main 26-episode anime series in January last year, and it walked away with a solid review of A-. Read my review of the title HERE.
