Wednesday, October 9, 2019

MUJIHAPIX by ムジハ

So, here we are, back to regular-ish updates... or, at least, that's the idea, as much really depends on my finances and Japan Mail's abysmal shipping times.  Got a couple nifty things coming up though, so you might want to stay tuned for more of what this blog is really all about -  dōjinshi.

This one is actually from a fairly well known face, at least if you happen to orbit around Pixiv, Danbooru, and clones of the two. Mujiha's infrequent updates usually end up on Pixiv's top 3, and recently it seems they have also branched into commercial manga, in the form of a web serialization... which I'm actually not that thrilled about, as Mujiha really gives their best in color and full page size.



For now, we'll focus on one of their available artbooks: Mujihapix. Dating from 2014, this one you can actually get your hands on, as it's available through Pixiv's BOOTH service. I snagged a copy, and I have to say that I was impressed by the artbook before even opening it: large A4 format, glossy paper, quality binding, if it wasn't for the slim page count it could easily pass for a commercial release.



As far as content goes, Mujihapix is largely what we've come to expect from high-ranking Pixiv artists: plenty of bishōjo pinups, with some sci-fi and cute mascots thrown in. Most are personal works, but the book also features some covers Mujiha did for the book series 女戦士・フレア伝. There are also a few sketches towards the end. The artbook is full color, structurally hampered only by the fact that one side of each sheet is left blank - effectively halving the actual page count.




So, a bit less meat than one could expect from an already slim artbook, but Mujiha's skills more than make up for it: they have a visual style that is immediately recognizable as their own, especially when it comes to anatomy (sort of a manga style with a more realistic bend) and the abundant use of white space and pastel skintones against colors. As the volume mostly consists of pinups there is less focus on backdrops and environments, which are however paintakingly rendered when present.

So, an excellent collection from an established artist worth keeping an eye on. I will definitely get my hands on Mujihapix 2...

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