First off, a special thanks to the rep from Prestivo who had reached out to me on the day of order placement to notify me of what to expect, including estimated time of arrival which came sooner than the original ETA of late December (it arrived nearly two weeks earlier than anticipated!).
Second, this purchase came about when Ankama (the main publisher/distributor) had sold out all copies at the time I had intended to order. Disappointed, it dawned on me later that day to try Amazon, and lo and behold, I found a seller immediately. As an added bonus, my copy ended up being cheaper than going through Ankama factoring in international shipping (about $54 US versus the $30 for this order, though YMMV depending on your location).
But I'm getting off topic! You want to know if The Art of Radiant lives up to its pedigree, and having pawed through almost the entire book as of this writing, I can 100% confirm that this is the real-deal 10th anniversary worthy of one of the greatest manga stories today! Like the subversive manga and anime that bears its namesake, this artbook breaks a bit of the mold set by similar collections. Rather than simply highlight previous artwork (which is included in some very nice full page recreations btw), what you're getting is a behind-the-scenes collection of stories breaking down this universe from the setting, locales, and characters with some never before seen sketches and story tidbits involved in their creation.
Excluding international shipping, for a $45 artbook, what shocked me was the size and weight. To be blunt, this is a pretty hefty book! That should come as no surprise given the dimensions, but compared to other books for similar contemporaries which average somewhere in the 100+ page count, this has over 300, including various upscaled or recreated panels you might recognize from the source material. What's really cool is that even if you're buying this solely for the new sketches and stories in between, those who have been following along over the years will feel most at home as new details come to light that both cleverly reward longtime readers as the book revisits and celebrates series milestones while inviting both fans and newcomers to partake in the festivities through author Tony Valente's notes, narration and penchant for humor.
If I had one nitpick, it's that while this is a hardcover book, the outside cover is paper. An odd choice given it's the portion that houses the beautifully drawn front cover of the book (the gloss for the flowing Fantasia is quite nice btw) and the recreation of volume 17's chapter cover serving as the back, but not a deal breaker.
The Art of Radiant is a fantastical, provocative and personal deep dive into the mind of Valente's world, recalling some of the more involved aspects regarding the creation of the hit series and its inhabitants, as well as new stories to tell. It's a brilliant celebration to the 10th anniversary of the series, a love letter to Radiant's continued growth as a force for change and good in the shonen genre, and a must own for any fan or anyone with a penchant for excellent fantasy stories with heart and what it means to be human.
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Second, this purchase came about when Ankama (the main publisher/distributor) had sold out all copies at the time I had intended to order. Disappointed, it dawned on me later that day to try Amazon, and lo and behold, I found a seller immediately. As an added bonus, my copy ended up being cheaper than going through Ankama factoring in international shipping (about $54 US versus the $30 for this order, though YMMV depending on your location).
But I'm getting off topic! You want to know if The Art of Radiant lives up to its pedigree, and having pawed through almost the entire book as of this writing, I can 100% confirm that this is the real-deal 10th anniversary worthy of one of the greatest manga stories today! Like the subversive manga and anime that bears its namesake, this artbook breaks a bit of the mold set by similar collections. Rather than simply highlight previous artwork (which is included in some very nice full page recreations btw), what you're getting is a behind-the-scenes collection of stories breaking down this universe from the setting, locales, and characters with some never before seen sketches and story tidbits involved in their creation.
Excluding international shipping, for a $45 artbook, what shocked me was the size and weight. To be blunt, this is a pretty hefty book! That should come as no surprise given the dimensions, but compared to other books for similar contemporaries which average somewhere in the 100+ page count, this has over 300, including various upscaled or recreated panels you might recognize from the source material. What's really cool is that even if you're buying this solely for the new sketches and stories in between, those who have been following along over the years will feel most at home as new details come to light that both cleverly reward longtime readers as the book revisits and celebrates series milestones while inviting both fans and newcomers to partake in the festivities through author Tony Valente's notes, narration and penchant for humor.
If I had one nitpick, it's that while this is a hardcover book, the outside cover is paper. An odd choice given it's the portion that houses the beautifully drawn front cover of the book (the gloss for the flowing Fantasia is quite nice btw) and the recreation of volume 17's chapter cover serving as the back, but not a deal breaker.
The Art of Radiant is a fantastical, provocative and personal deep dive into the mind of Valente's world, recalling some of the more involved aspects regarding the creation of the hit series and its inhabitants, as well as new stories to tell. It's a brilliant celebration to the 10th anniversary of the series, a love letter to Radiant's continued growth as a force for change and good in the shonen genre, and a must own for any fan or anyone with a penchant for excellent fantasy stories with heart and what it means to be human.
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