Tsunako Art Works: Conserves

Artbook Review

Tsunako Art Works: Conserves 1

I imagine quite a few of you who are fans of JRPGs would have encountered the work created by Japanese artist Tsunako (つなこ). Primarily working on titles developed by Compile Heart, she has contributed her talents to a variety of series, including the entire Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise since it first launched in 2010. With so many years of work behind her, it should not come as a surprise that an artbook has recently been released which compiles highlights of her work. This book is titled Tsunako Art Works: Conserves (つなこ画集 -Conserves-), containing 320 pages and more than 400 pieces of artwork in total.

The Book’s Composition

The artbook itself is split into six chapters, each of which focuses on a different series or element. The first chapter involves an assortment of artwork created by Tsunako, many of which features crossovers from multiple series. In a way, this could be seen as a way to whet the readers appetite for more.

The second, third and fourth chapters are the core chapters in this book, featuring artwork from a particular series that Tsunako has been involved in – namely Hyperdimension Neptunia, Date a Live and Fairy Fencer F. The fifth chapter is titled “The Others”, and contains work from Trinity Universe and Cross Edge. The sixth and final chapter features an interview with Tsunako. The book itself pretty much covers the main series’ that Tsunako has worked on for Compile Heart, and are the key titles I was expecting to find in this book.

Content

More than half of this book is dedicated to Hyperdimension Neptunia, which isn’t that surprising when you consider just how extensive the series has grown this past half-decade. All core games from Hyperdimension Neptunia to the recently released Megadimension Neptunia VII are featured. These games each receive a nice compilation of key/promotional artwork, in-game CG artwork and character portrait showcase. And yes, considering that these four games cover pages 16-194, there is a lot on display.

These are not the only games to receive attention in this book. Each of the Re;Birth ports, most of the spin-off games (Excluding MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune vs Zombies) and even the anime adaptation have their chance to shine. Each of these are usually limited to a couple of pages, and contain new character portraits or key artwork. Although limited, it was nice to see most of the individual games included rather than omitted entirely.

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Artwork by Tsunako | Tsunako Art Works -Conserves-

The section on Date a Live is pretty sizable, however is not anywhere near as in-depth when compared against Hyperdimension Neptunia. For example, those who have just watched the anime and want to catch a glimpse at the visual novel’s CG artwork might be left a tad disappointed. That being said, there is a nice assortment of key artwork and character portraits which were created by Tsunako for the various PlayStation 3 editions of the series.

Fairy Fencer F’s section is around the same length as the previous chapter, featuring a handful of character portraits alongside key artwork and in-game CG artwork. Once again it is dwarfed by the section on Hyperdimension Neptunia, but like all other chapters in this book maintains a consistently high standard and solid collection of artwork.

Finally there is “The Others” chapter, which primarily focuses on the earlier PlayStation 3 exclusive games Cross Edge and Trinity Universe. In terms of Cross Edge the artwork is pretty light, and has a greater emphasis on the younger in-game triplets Mimi, Cece and Vivi. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering there were other character designers involved in the game. More attention is given to Trinity Universe however, which features a full assortment of in-game artwork, individual character portraits, promotional artwork and a couple of comics (which can be found officially localised HERE). I am fond of the art style used in Trinity Universe, so this was one of my favourite chapters.

While a small portion of artwork in this book has been featured through in-game galleries or THIS Hyperdimension Neptunia design compendium published by Udon Entertainment in 2014, there is a lot of content in this book you will not be able to view through either of these means. Therefore, if you are a fan of Tsunako’s work, then the sheer amount of quality content in this book should impress.

It is important to note however that Tsunako Art Works: Conserves primarily features finalised artwork used either for promotional purposes or in-game content. Therefore if you are after something more along the lines of a design compendium where you get to view how a character or piece of art evolved from concept to final version, this is not the book for you. Even with regards to character portraits, they are often just one design with a small blurb written about them rather than featuring every facial expression and stance.

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Artwork by Tsunako | Tsunako Art Works -Conserves-

Design

Coming in at more than 320 pages in length, it was comforting to immediately be able to tell that this book, despite not being all that expensive in comparison to others I have purchased, is very well made. The build quality is good for a softcover book and the print quality itself was great. No complaints from me with regard to this.

Since Tsunako Art Works: Conserves is about presenting an assortment of artwork, they went the right route in my opinion by presenting all artwork on a white backdrop (Other than the occasional and fairly minimal stylistic additions, like you see on the image above). Image sizing was solid across the board, and usually worked well within the dimensions of a single page.

Extras

There are a few goodies present in Tsunako Art Works: Conserves. The most prominent is the final chapter which features a six-page interview with Tsunako herself, although this might not be of much benefit unless you can read Japanese. There is also a fold-out image of the front cover artwork sans all the cover text.

Many of the art pieces are also annotated with where they were first used, and most character profiles also receive a small bit of commentary by Tsunako.

Final Words on Tsunako Art Works: Conserves

In my opinion, Tsunako Art Works: Conserves is a great artbook overall, and is something I could recommend to fans of her work. It might also be a great book for those who are fans of Hyperdimension Neptunia and are looking for an extensive collection of artwork created for the series. This artbook delivers both quantity and quality, and even if you have played the titles Tsunako has worked on, you are likely to find many new pieces of artwork which have not been used by either Nippon Ichi Software America or Idea Factory International in promoting these games to western audiences. In short, a great artbook befitting of a great artist.


Final Score
The Quick Brief
In my opinion, Tsunako Art Works: Conserves is a great artbook overall, and is something I could recommend to fans of her work. It might also be a great book for those who are fans of Hyperdimension Neptunia and are looking for an extensive collection of artwork created for the series. This artbook delivers both quantity and quality, and even if you have played the titles Tsunako has worked on, you are likely to find many new pieces of artwork which have not been used by either Nippon Ichi Software America or Idea Factory International in promoting these games to western audiences. In short, a great artbook befitting of a great artist.
Content
9
Design
8
Extras
6
Personal Opinion
9
8
out of 10
Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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