Uno gets published!

Having done character designs for Witchblade, Uno Makoto's style of artwork has always been quite unique. While certainly identifiable as anime, Makoto has a perchant for drawing his women with a large set of knockers. Witchblade was a challenge for him, due to Top Cow's mandatory requirements for their property, and the fact that it was basically a monster design challenge. Nevertheless, he succeeded with great success. Having said that, I managed to snag these two books, and I must say I am quite happy with them.

The Witchblade Official Visual Fan Book is a nice anthology of materials related to the anime series. My favorite is the 'Characters & Settings' section, where we get to see several designs and sketches of the characters that make up the Witchblade universe. Some of them are too small and detailed though, and should have been bigger. MUCH bigger. If I could read Japanese, I'm sure the 'Cast Interviews' section would be fun as well. Two additional sections ('Story' and 'Illustration Gallery') rounds up the book.

UNO! Uno Makoto Artworks is a collection of the artists' portfolio. Here, you do get HUGE Witchblade illustrations, including the ones from the R2 DVD packaging (missing from the other book) and that gorgeous collage of characters used in the second ending sequences. You also get great works of art from Gravion, Stellvia, Dragonaut, and even some of Uno's original artwork.

If you're a fan of Uno Makoto's excellent artwork, these books come high recommended. Get them while they're still readily available.