How many artists can say they changed the face of anime and figure-collecting forever? One who can is Fumikane Shimada (who styles his first name Humikane, and alternate spelling), the amazing illustrator who single-handedly created the genre of “mecha girls” by melding WWII era mecha with cute anime girls. And we’ve got his newest artbook in stock!
The term “mecha musume” exploded in popularity in 2006 when Konami brought out a line of figures of girls melded with WWII planes, tanks and other military hardware, based on his illustrations. These were based on actual British, German, Russian and American military hardware, so both fans of actual history, as well as cute anime girls, could get in on the fun.
Fumikane Shimada is the artist directly behind the following hit anime and figure series:
- Sky Girls (concept art, character design)
- Strike Witches (original concept, original character designs)
- The Brave Witches spinoff, and upcoming (?) Luminous Witches
- Busou Shinki
- Frame Arms Girl (FA Girl base design, character designs)
He’s also participated in several other popular series, including
- Kantai Collection (several characters were designed by him)
- Girls und Panzer (character designs)
- New Sakura Taisen (character designs)
- The Alice Gear Aegis game
- Eiyu*Senki GOLD (designs for several characters), which is being localized by JAST USA
The new artbook, Fumikane Shimada Art Works II, is his first release in 12 years, so it’s something fans will definitely want to grab. It’s super thick, with 180 pages, and has excellent samples from all of the artist’s works from various eras. The printing is positively gorgeous, and you will love looking at each page of art included.
Enjoy the photos below, and click to enlarge them. Find the Fumikane Shimada Art Works II artbook in stock on J-List now!
Thanks for reading! Pick up Fumikane Shimada’s new artbook here!
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