"Tabemonopool - international edition" by Konno Takashi

     Here it is, another one I meant to purchase for a while, but only got around to recently. It was well worth the wait!

    Tabemonopool - international edition is, as the title might suggest, a two-language (JP / english) edition of a 2015 artbook by Konno Takashi, an active and prolific illustrator - mostly for games and book covers, but also roleplaying games. You can check out their PIXIV or their Twitter for more. They have a very distinct visual style, melding together the high detail of traditional Japanese RPGish illustration work, with a more chibi aesthetics, especially when it comes to characters.

    Not my cup of tea usually but, as I mentioned before, I am a sucker for illustration books that also have a concept behind them, and this is the case with Tabemonopool. The glossy, full-color, 72 pages publication (which, by the way, you can get through Tokyo Otaku Mode if you're not fluent in moon runes) features, in an image + text spread format, the delicious coming together (oops!) of incredibly well-rendered Japanese and Chinese dishes, with cute chibi girls in sukumizu. The two go together like fine cuisine, if we are to believe the author. Seems legit. 

    The range of dishes, divided between breakfast, lunch and dinner foodstuff, is astounding: we are treated to traditional Japanese cuisine (okonomiyaki, salmon roe), street food (takoyaki) and fusion dishes (I can confirm: I have never heard of neapolitan pasta), all conveniently labeled by typical price range, sourcing and eating style, along with a two-language, tongue-in-cheek description of why each dish is the best one can get, and why it's also best enjoyed around cute girls in swimsuits. 

    The visual style is excellent. Save for a couple chapter openers, the focus is entirely on each dish, shown in lavishing serving, sure to make your mouth water (I could surely go for an okonomiyaki - in a certain place in Miyajima, I bet they still laugh at that one foreigner who ate four of them in a single sitting...). Each plate then becomes the setting for one of Konno's cute, whimsical chibi girls, who sure seem to enjoy their time steaming and frying along with delicious ingredients.

    Special note for the English: I am not sure who did the translation, but it's actually fairly good; certainly an upgrade over the Engrish dōjinshi usually subject me to...

    So yeah, great purchase, definitely worth a look, especially if you're into cutesy illustrations, and good food. 

"Blow" by ぴぃたぁそると

 This is another one I discovered through Twitter. I'm not a huge JRPG player - not, at least, until very recently - so I simply followed ぴぃたぁそると (Peter Salt) out of mere curiosity for their colorful, dynamic illustrations of cute, sporty girls. Little did I know they they actually have quite the pedigree, having worked on pixel art for Secret of Mana 3, Final Fantasy tactics, and a number of other JRPG titles before seemingly switching to mostly dōjin works.

Blow is a collection of illustrations dating all the way back to 2018 (full color, 24 pages). They showcase, more or less, the same graphic and thematic style ぴぃたぁそるとcarries on to this very day: full body pinups of girls that would feel right at home as characters of a JRPG or ligthhearted fighting game. There are no backgrounds at all, the figure (mostly that of a young girl, occasionally accompanied by a mascot) being instead the sole center of attention. One of the artist's trademark are their characters' extremely plastic, dramatic poses; and the vivid color, which stand out all the more because of the lack of backgrounds. Traits that, overall, belie the artist's origins as a pixel / character designer. While the illustrations often have a fantasy touch to them, more realistic depictions of sporty girls are also included. Each  illustration comes with a short commentary, providing general background info. 

So yeah, a charming collection of simple, to the point, but effective characters designs, that catch the eye with their liveliness and vivid colors. Recommended, and you can look at the artist's Twitter for more - they're very active to this day.