I started with this little side comment because the dōjinshi I'm reviewing this time is probably the farthest one can get from... well, anything sunny and countryside-ish slice of life-y. Among my most recent purchases was yet another dōjinshi I bought on its cover alone - an illustration collection by a certain SAVOYA, whom I never heard of before.
B5, B&W, 36 page, and I'm pretty sure it's not Reimu on the cover. Inexplicably, SAVOYA is actually another name - seemingly used only for this publication - of illustrator サボテリアン (Saboterian), who actually has a web site and a Pixiv page to their name, and whose work was featured in a Pokémon themed anothology a while ago. The illustrations featured here are all original work which is partly germane to this dōjinshi, and partly appears in color on the Pixiv page linked above.
Stylistically speaking, the visual coordinates of SAVOYA's art are fairly clear: there is a bit of that 'scary kawaii' aesthetics a la Murakami, but mostly we are in Ueda Hajime and Dowman Sayman territory, from which SAVOYA borrows the extremely dynamic compositions, the willowy and often abstract body anatomy, and the sketch-like quality of the tract. While, as mentioned, some of the originals (linked here) are in color, often the compositions work just as well - sometimes even better - in B&W.
Thematically, we are in rather extreme, sometimes borderline guro territory. We range from exploding shoujo to monster avatars, through a facial of raining testicles (yes, that too). As often happens in these cases, the vile subject matter is redeemed by SAVOYA's skillful use of composition and line, which sublimates the body horror into a compelling visual which works as design as much as illustration. Though the stylistic coordinates are very different, SAVOYA's work reminded me somewhat of Nedlog's.
Overall, a little quirky surprise whose subject matter might not be to everyone's taste but that, at least visually, is sure to make an impression.
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