Hetalia Axis Powers Art Book Arte Stella7 min read
Reading Time: 4 minutesI neglected to do any research when I first noticed the art book Hetalia Axis Powers Art Book Arte Stella listed on Amazon Japan, but I placed an order anyway. Months later I’d forgotten the release date, so I was surprised to see the oversized box I would expect for a limited edition art book along with an interesting selection of bonus items for Arte Stella.
Hetalia Axis Powers Art Book Arte Stella is more expensive than your average art book, coming in at a pre-tax price of ￥3800. But that price includes the A4-size art book with 112 pages, a B2 poster, sticker sheet, and a decorative tin with a set of circular playing cards.
The art book has no real title page or end page. It starts out on whichever side you choose. Flipping in one direction has illustrations for the Axis Powers, and in the other characters from the Allied Forces. The index sits in the very center of the book where the two sides converge. I photographed in the Axis Powers direction, starting out with several pages of illustrations of Italy, Japan and Germany.
The illustrations of Italy, Germany, and Japan cover about 30 pages. After which it moves on to pictures of the historical Axis Powers like Austria, Hungary, Prussia, Greece and Spain. Each of the characters receives at least one page of art work, although a couple receive more.
The center of the book includes a “How to Draw” section with eight pages going over one illustration. It seems a bit excessive and I would have rather seen more illustrations for the same space it occupied. After the “How to Draw” portion are another eight pages of monochrome arts and sketches done in a notebook sketch kind of style, with light hue shading. The index is another six pages, at which point you hit the end of the Allied Forces section.
Starting from the back cover we have the Allied Forces section. It starts out with both individual and group pictures of America, England, France, Russia, and China. This section covers 28 pages before moving on to the rest of the historical Allies of World War II.
The Allied Forces section ends with adorable chibi illustrations over three pages before it reaches the center index. Hetalia Axis Powers Art Book Arte Stella is excellent as an art book but it could have been cheaper in my opinion, as I’ll likely never have any use for the playing cards, stickers or poster!
Title: Hetalia Axis Powers Art Book Arte Stella タイトル: ヘタリア Axis Powers ARTBOOK ArteStella Author: Hidekaz Himaruya Publication Date:02/28/2011 Size: 112p NDL: -
