Iroiro Art Collection

​The colors in this book are so vibrant, it’s really a treat for the eyes. Iroiro by Kato Kazue is 150 pages brimming with color, energy and personality. Thankfully the whitespace is kept to a minimum and the layouts show off the artwork instead of the book design.

Vibrant fun

The detail in Kazue Kato's art that has always drawn me in are the droopy eyes, I don't know why but I locve them and the way she lays out a face. The more I look through this art book the more I appreciate her work overall, every page is filled with magic, dynamic movement, clothing detail and gorgeous, rich color and  variety of lighting choices. Iroiro mostly features Blue Exorcist but also treats us to "Robo and Usa Yoshi" (her debut manga), "Hoshiota" (the one shot that preceded Blue Exorcist go read it)  and "Human Wolf ~ Play of Mephisto. The personalities of her characters  are well showcased in this clean, compact and well designed softcover Japanese book full of everything from dynamic spreads, to character design, spot illustrations and sketches. The 10.5 x 7.1 size is referred to as a “large format” but I think it could have benefitted from being an a4 but the compact size works well enough.

​I'll be honest though, I like to stuff my snout deep into the pages of these art books so I can absorb the strokes and details. If this is large format, I’d hate to see the small or regular size, maybe it's a Japanese publishing thing? Regardless, the images in this book are given the freedom of full pages and are great for getting up close and studying. Absorbing and experimenting with other artists work is a great way to help your own style grow and develop as you integrate the ideas. 
Somehow, before opening this book, I never realized her work was mostly digital, but going through it I feel more and more inspired. I want to try out her coloring and lighting style. Maybe if I checked the artists comment's in the...oh wait.

What the devil?

​Blue exorcist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazue Katō. The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager who discovers he and his twin brother Yukio are the sons of Satan born from a human woman, and he is the inheritor of Satan's powers.
Kazue Katō (加藤和恵, Katō Kazue), born on July 20th, 1980 in the district of Shinjuku, in Tokyo, is a Japanese mangaka, specifically an author of shōnen manga. She is mainly known to be the author of Blue Exorcist. She also created Robot to Usakichi ( ロボとうさ吉 ), for which she received the Osamu Tezuka Award.

  The personalities of the characters shine through wonderfully in this collection, there's  a great balance between single character portraits, dramatic group chaos, and quiet scenes. If you like seeing sketches and the messy start to illustration, the section in the back even includes that. 
​I just noticed that the cover includes the bunny Kazue uses as her avatar being carried by main character Rin Okumura , I appreciate that her sense of humor soaked all the way through to the front of the book. 

I'd like to know more

At the time of release there wasn't an English version of this book so I snagged a Japanese version, unfortunately that means I can’t easily read the index and interview. As I was looking through the book I found myself wishing I knew what each piece came from and the ideas behind it, but there are no captions or titles accompanying the art. However, it’s a worthy sacrifice to give each illustration the entire page making the book immersive. 
I did go through the index with a camera translator on my phone and discovered that much of the older art in Chapter 3 of this book was traditionally made also known as "analogue" art as she used Copic markers and acrylic gouache. I really enjoyed going back through and seeing how her traditional work translated to digital, the texture of the Gouache looks really great in her style. 
I tried to use the translator app throughout the interview but it can't handle Japanese so I'm really no better off. I’ve noticed interviews in Manga artbooks don’t really reveal much so maybe we're not missing out.

Should I buy?

In a word, yes. This book is beautiful and a must have. If a translated version is never released, the text is such a small part of the book that, it really doesn’t matter. If you can get hold of a Japanese copy I would, there is much to enjoy! 

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Kazue Kato Art Collection Iroiro. Illustrations sketches and character design from the manga, Robo and Usakichi, Blue Exorcist, Time Killers. Softcover, 148 pages
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​1.980yn ($20)
Shiuesha 2017

* There may be supply issues as many of the listings are quite high!  I can't say that this is a $90 book. Keep an eye out for a restock, or translated version

A search listing of books from Japan

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What do you think?
Have you seen these books?
Do you like them? Hate them? ”Meh”?
​Are there manga art books you think I should check out?
Let me know in the comments down below!
Love, Zen ​