Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities

(Hardback)

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Description

Anime Architecture presents the most breathtaking environments created by the most important and revered directors and illustrators of Japanese animated films. From futuristic cities of steel to romantic rural locales, the creators of anime have conjured memorable and painstakingly detailed worlds, the influences of which have been felt across cinema, literature, comic books and videogames for decades.

This volume offers a peerless survey of these cinematic arenas - including materials from Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tekkonkinkreet - through original background paintings, storyboards, drafts, sources of inspiration and film excerpts.

A celebration and resource produced in direct collaboration with the original Japanese production studios, Anime Architecture offers privileged views into the earliest conception stages of iconic scenes, through to their development into finished films. Anyone who has been touched by the beauty and imagination of classic anime will find page after page of revelation and inspiration. Containing the often secretive creative processes of the major anime studios, this enthusiast's treasure trove will have its significance for future generations of artists, illustrators, architects, designers, videogame makers and dreamers.

Reviews

'No shortage of beautiful imagery ... a welcome bit of architectural escapism' - Creative Review
''Riekeles's eye is fixed not on these films' zany protagonists - murderous bikers and cyborg assassins - but beyond, on the intricate architecture and moody skies of the background artwork, only ever glimpsed fleetingly' - Times Literary Supplement
'A true labour of the artistry on display is staggering, especially in the fine lined concept designs by the likes of Shuichi Kusamori and Shinji Kimura' - Wallpaper*

Author Bio

Stefan Riekeles is a curator based in Berlin. He has been the Artistic Director of the Japan Media Arts Festival Dortmund, and curated the 2011 exhibition 'Proto Anime Cut'. He served as the Programme Director of the International Symposium on Electronic Art 2010 and curated exhibitions for transmediale festival for art and digital culture Berlin. He holds an MA in Culture Studies and Audio Communication Science from the Humboldt University and the Technical University in Berlin.