Hirano Katsuyuki Art Works6 min read
Reading Time: 4 minutesHirano Katsuyuki worked on several game titles, but is best known for Record of Agarest War. But he’s also the artist behind BLAZING SOULS, Steady x Study, Spectral Souls, and more. Hirano Katsuyuki Art Works includes art from all of the above and Katsuyuki’s light novel illustrations as well. It’s an impressive collection focusing on his years of commercial art works.
The new cover art features a crossover of heroines from his games and repeats on the inside without text. Hirano Katsuyuki Art Works is 160 pages and A4-sized. It’s entirely illustrations excluding 6 pages for an interview and a step-by-step drawing process of the cover art.
The first 20 pages are Record of Agarest War. This includes promotional art with less focus on the individual characters. Immediately following this section are illustrations from the Spectral Souls series covering about 14 pages.
Blazing Souls has 10 pages of art work. This includes some pretty Record of Agarest War-like girls in various frilly outfits. The next game is Gakuen Toshi Vara Noir (学園都市ヴァラノワール) and it marks a significant style change in Hirano Katsuyuki’s designs with a more anime look and brighter colors overall.
Spectral Souls Genesis and Spectral vs Generations take up the next eight pages with another game Kingdom Chaos occupying the next six before we get to the game turned OVA Steady x Study. The Steady x Study art work differs greatly from Katsuyuki’s newest style, embracing a completely cel-shaded look. There are 14 pages of illustrations from the game, though the last 4 pages of the section feature mostly tiled illustrations, spaced four to a page.
The game sections get shorter towards the end of the book. But the crossover illustrations from Cross Edge stand-out because it’s not every day you get to see Hirano Katsuyuki’s take on Disgaea, Darkstalkers, and Atelier Marie.
Before the end of the game section, there are some in-game CG works and character profile images. The profile images overlap with several to a page.
Hirano Katsuyuki Art Works ends with nine pages of light novel illustrations, followed by the interview. There isn’t an index, as all the publication information is printed along side the illustrations in the white margins. Hirano Katsuyuki Art Works is quite an extensive collection, with lots of full-page illustrations. Even if you hardly know any of the games Katsuyuki’s art work is worth the admiration.
Title: Hirano Katsuyuki Art Works タイトル: 平野克幸 アートワークス Author: Hirano Katsuyuki Publication Date: 12/29/2010 Size: 160p NDL: https://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/000011082487
