ARS MAGNA the new artbook from YK

[kuroro86]

Here is the link from amazon.jp :

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%9C%A8%E5%9F ... =ars+magna

[AR-99]

Thanks. Hoping for something I haven't seen before besides that cover.

[Sergio Nova]

Anxiously awaiting.
I just hope my Japanese comic store (or any other) here in São Paulo will bring this book. I do need a printed version.

[kuroro86]

Anxiously awaiting.
I just hope my Japanese comic store (or any other) here in São Paulo will bring this book. I do need a printed version.

I think the best way for your comic book store to have it is that you pre-order it.

[Sergio Nova]

I think the best way for your comic book store to have it is that you pre-order it.

Not exactly. Gunnm is a regular title, so it is regularly found there.

In the specific case of Ars Magna, they would not be sure if their distributor will include it in the next shipment or not. It depends on the interpretation if it is part of the series or not. Only after that they will bring pieces on demand, if it is the case.

In short, they do not work with pre-orders, but only with regular titles and with pieces on demand.

[Umbriel]

I just did the pre order .

[^Ripper]

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-1803112

For those looking.
Its not the cheapest way to get it (use the shipping calculator!)
But there are various ways to have it shipped.

[Sergio Nova]

Considering the price, there must be 300 pages or even more, many of them in colour (by the way,from the sample images, it seems we will have chapter 1 of Hyper Future Vision in colour - at least partially).
Anyway, the shipping cost is pornographic, so I will have to wait for my Japanese bookshop, as I will pay for the book only.

[AR-99]

^It's only 128 pages.

[Umbriel]

Just received it today .

[Abaddon]

Cool. Any new illustrations or is just a compilation of everything we saw so far?

[Sergio Nova]

The cover, at least, is new - although it doesn't make much sense.
In Last Order we learnt that the imaginos body could emulate all the functions of a biological body, and Desty Nova makes that clear. That said, in my humble interpretation Gally/Alita would be a complete woman, having all the privileges a woman with a natural body would have (actually, even before the imaginos, as she had affairs with Hugo and Figure). In this cover she is not dressed, her body is mechanical (so, it is not the imaginos) and she does NOT have a vulva. So…

[kuroro86]

The cover, at least, is new - although it doesn't make much sense.
In Last Order we learnt that the imaginos body could emulate all the functions of a biological body, and Desty Nova makes that clear. That said, in my humble interpretation Gally/Alita would be a complete woman, having all the privileges a woman with a natural body would have (actually, even before the imaginos, as she had affairs with Hugo and Figure). In this cover she is not dressed, her body is mechanical (so, it is not the imaginos) and she does NOT have a vulva. So…

I think YK just wanted to impress with the cover "come and see the inside". OR the nano-machine take the form of mechanical part when the specialize and that is what you see.
I don't think Alita from Last order ever had a vulva. She was naked more or less from the beginning and she never had a interest in pants.

[^Ripper]

Damnit, where is MY friggin copy...damn postal services...
I can't wait to see the whole thing.

As for the genitalia of Alita, last pages of the original series will get you the closest.
And the Imaginos body should do the trick as well.
Current cover, and your not better off screwing a blender.

Speaking of screwing Alita...
I'd be very careful with that in any incarnation.
One false move or uncontrollable spasm and she'll rip your dick right off.
It's Panzer Kunst and lightning fast reflexes we are talking about.

To illustrate your fate:

Death!_By_Snu_Snu.jpg

[Sergio Nova]

Speaking of screwing Alita...
I'd be very careful with that in any incarnation.
One false move or uncontrollable spasm and she'll rip your dick right off.
It's Panzer Kunst and lightning fast reflexes we are talking about.

Well, the berserker body did not seem to be a problem to Hugo, and the tuned body did not seem to be a problem to Figure. Even if you say they did not complete any intercourse, they were going to experience it, I think. And once the imaginos body is supposed to emulate ALL the functions, as Nova made clear several times…

But you are right. I would think thrice, or even more, before penetrating a cyborg.

[AR-99]

^Assuming nothing happened in Alhambra.

Figure was planning to propose so he likely thought about it.

[Silvery]

I doubt that Gally could ever make love to Hugo, not with that body. At one point we even see her despairing over her body, she also mentions it to Ido when they talk about Hugo. The TUNED body looks more like what can be seen in Ghost in the Shell, so yeah, I think it's fully functional.

Back to the topic, a user on MyFigureCollection has already received his copy, and it seems like the artbook is worth the price:

Got it today from Amazon JP and I have good news for anyone who wants to import it
→ All texts are also translated into english
It contains a total of 5 chapters, each chapter has a detailed commentary page by the author Yukito Kishiro.
Chapters:
# 1 Battle Angel Alita (Page 1 - 48)
# 2 Aqua Knight (Page 49 - 60)
# 3 Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (Page 61 - 110)
# 4 Other Works (Page 111 - 122)
# 5 Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle (Page 123 - 127)
Page 128 - Imprint
I'm very satisfied with the book it has mainly A4 artworks (color & b/w) and color pages from magazines / tankobons etc..

On a side note, I haven't seen a place where its price would be lower than that on CDJapan. I mean, sure, with a bit of luck it's going to be cheaper a couple of months from now on Surugaya or on Mandarake, but I'd rather buy a new book from a place with better customer service and clearer rules.

[AR-99]

Thanks for posting the review, very helpful.

I've bought from Surugaya before thanks to someone I know in Japan who placed the order for me, no complaints. They have a threshold for free shipping, somewhere in the 3,000 yen range IIRC.

[Silvery]

You're welcome. I wasn't sure how many people here were into collecting figures or model kits (and hence aware of MFC), so I figured it would be good to share that post.

Surugaya is great... but yeah, you have to know a great proxy service (or to know somebody in Japan, just like you do), which kinda turns me off, as it's hard to find a proxy service that would be both reliable and affordable. At least with Mandarake you don't have to use a proxy, though buying there comes with its own share of problems.

The funny part is that seeing as Kishiro's manga series are pretty obscure, the artbook will probably end up pretty cheap on Surugaya or Mandarake after a while, so I'm sure that with a bit of patience one could easily save some money, but for me it's one of the very few artbooks I'd rather have as soon as I can.

[Sergio Nova]

I doubt that Gally could ever make love to Hugo, not with that body. At one point we even see her despairing over her body, she also mentions it to Ido when they talk about Hugo.

She was worried about the fact that she was a cyborg, simply. You should remember that she was wearing the berserker body, and as Ido initially said (and nova later confirmed), that body had limitless resources, so…

[Martin]

Gally has been cyber since toddler age. I believe that she is mostly oblivious to human sexuality...possibly even contemptuous given her sexy-demure demenor on the Cam Lanh incident. Being cute has probably been more of a weapon or tactic for her more than anything else.

[Silvery]

She was worried about the fact that she was a cyborg, simply. You should remember that she was wearing the berserker body, and as Ido initially said (and nova later confirmed), that body had limitless resources, so…

I'm pretty sure that back then she wasn't aware of most capabilities of that body, so it didn't make much difference in the end, I suppose. And run-of-the-mill bodies definitely look... unfriendly. Which reminds me of that once popular (if a bit crass) joke:

Spoiler:

[urza]

Ok.

Has someone the artbook yet?
I would like to know if there are pictures in it, which show her body texture.

[Drendari]

Just got mine too. I didn´t care about the price very much, as the first Yukito Artbook ever is a must!!

[kamugin]

Got my book today, I ordered it from CD Japan. The book is all color except for the included illustrations that aren't originally colored, all the pages are thick card paper about 210g/m² with rough texture. The book is bilingual, as mentioned before (Eng/Jp), this was very thoughtful for Yukito's non Japanese fans. The biggest let down is that the only original illustration of Alita made exclusively for the book is the cover alone, all the others were released previously. A small plus is that there is also one original illustration of Rulija drawn exclusively for the artbook. It's interesting to see how Yukito's art evolved through the last 25 years, his first attempts with 3DCG are quite awful. I always thought that Yukito leaves a bit to be desired when drawing covers and special color illustrations, he only show his best when drawing the regular panels. Anyway the book is a must for Yukito's / Alita's fans. Overall score: 8.7/10

One question: what is that Bugbuster announce in the dust cover belt?