To be honest, it's a real shame. This is nothing but another missed opportunity by the franchise's responsible parties. With all of Takeuchi's illustrations rescanned, they could have restored the artworks that were more deteriorated properly under her supervision. Simply because it's possible to do so. We're not talking about irrecoverable damage.
The thing is that Kodansha led everyone to believe that this catalogue was going to be a Raisonné. But it's neither a Raisonné nor an artbook. It's more like an informative guide of almost all of Naoko's illustrations, and judging by the materials they've used to produce the book, it seems that Kodansha & Naoko don't care in the slightest about what fans have been asking for years.
Why didn't they reveal what the book was actually going to contain (And I'm not referring to that vague and ambiguous information they gave us) and that it wasn't going to be an Artbook? Because they weren't interested. They let the fans think it was going to be an Artbook and BUMM!!!!! so there you have it, number 1 and sold out in some categories on Amazon. Then, many people disappointed.
Anyway... What's next Osabu? A Sailor V anime adaptation that will be announced with great fanfare as the event of the century and will end up being a 10-minute short film only for PrettyGuardians fan club?
Let's keep supporting PNP...
It's startling how many people don't know the definition of "Raisonne" and thought this was a true art book.
If one understands what they're buying, they're less likely to be upset when they get exactly what they ordered
If one understands what they're buying, they're less likely to be upset when they get exactly what they ordered
Why didn't they reveal what the book was actually going to contain (And I'm not referring to that vague and ambiguous information they gave us) and that it wasn't going to be an Artbook? Because they weren't interested. They let the fans think it was going to be an Artbook and BUMM!!!!! so there you have it, number 1 and sold out in some categories on Amazon. Then, many people disappointed.
Anyway... What's next Osabu? A Sailor V anime adaptation that will be announced with great fanfare as the event of the century and will end up being a 10-minute short film only for PrettyGuardians fan club?
Let's keep supporting PNP...
It’s very refreshing seeing people saying « we knew from the start it would be a raisonné duuuh », while
nobody really knew what was a Raisonné before @Lady Pen explained it there. Then the info spread on Twitter and the fandom. 99% of us thought Raisonné was a fancy French name without any real meaning. Even amongst french speaking people (I’m one of them), this term is very niche.
Furthermore, they revealed the book out of the blue one month before publication (while we were waiting for 8 years), without showing any sample pages (not suspicious at all).
It was never clearly advertised as a catalogue but as the « ultimate color illustrations collection » (see the official Twitter account, that’s their wording) and it’s when we saw the page count (an information given by sellers by the way, not the official account) that we understood that the book wouldn’t be what everyone wanted. An ambiguous communication that seems to be done on purpose honestly.
Let’s not even talk about the Fan Club version that nobody yet received (to my knowledge ?). What’s the point to be a member of this overpriced thing if you get items later than regular customers ?
Anyway I’m happy with that book because I already own all the previous artbooks but what a missed chance to have something beautiful. Why do so many aspects of this franchise seem to be so badly managed ?
nobody really knew what was a Raisonné before @Lady Pen explained it there. Then the info spread on Twitter and the fandom. 99% of us thought Raisonné was a fancy French name without any real meaning. Even amongst french speaking people (I’m one of them), this term is very niche.
Furthermore, they revealed the book out of the blue one month before publication (while we were waiting for 8 years), without showing any sample pages (not suspicious at all).
It was never clearly advertised as a catalogue but as the « ultimate color illustrations collection » (see the official Twitter account, that’s their wording) and it’s when we saw the page count (an information given by sellers by the way, not the official account) that we understood that the book wouldn’t be what everyone wanted. An ambiguous communication that seems to be done on purpose honestly.
Let’s not even talk about the Fan Club version that nobody yet received (to my knowledge ?). What’s the point to be a member of this overpriced thing if you get items later than regular customers ?
Anyway I’m happy with that book because I already own all the previous artbooks but what a missed chance to have something beautiful. Why do so many aspects of this franchise seem to be so badly managed ?
Again, this isn't out of the ordinary. The very similar Tokimeki Tonight Exhibition Book didn't have any sample pages showcased until after it was released.
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I get your point but we are talking about a franchise that spoiled unapologetically its own movies for promotion sake with trailers that contained key scenes, and BRD commercials that had the whole ending scene revealed. They were not shy about showing us the final product when it was about these movies.
They even gave us some sample when they released the all color edition manga if I remember correctly. Why such a different treatment for this book ?
They even gave us some sample when they released the all color edition manga if I remember correctly. Why such a different treatment for this book ?
I don't think it's fair or realistic to think marketing for two movies would be similar for an art book.
And? Just because they did it for the color edition doesn't mean they'd do it for every book release. I can think of one Japanese book I bought in the last decade that had samples released beforehand. I think you guys are just grasping at straws for reasons to be upset.
And? Just because they did it for the color edition doesn't mean they'd do it for every book release. I can think of one Japanese book I bought in the last decade that had samples released beforehand. I think you guys are just grasping at straws for reasons to be upset.
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I’m more disappointed than upset, it’s a missed chance for a product that was long awaited by fans who didn’t have a chance to grab these books 30 years ago.
Indeed marketing will be different for a book or a movie, that’s why I used the all color edition as a second example (same franchise, same type of products). But releasing a book so quickly with an ambiguous title without showing any sample rises questions. I’m not asking about 20 pages samples as there is in Amazon sometimes, but just a sample double page showing the concept. It’s not that usual.
Clamp managed this year to make full reeditions of all Sakura artbooks so surely that would not be that hard to do the same for Sailormoon which is supposedly a more popular franchise in Japan and the world ?
Anyway it seems the book had good sales since they made reprints, I really hope this will make them publish more of these.
Indeed marketing will be different for a book or a movie, that’s why I used the all color edition as a second example (same franchise, same type of products). But releasing a book so quickly with an ambiguous title without showing any sample rises questions. I’m not asking about 20 pages samples as there is in Amazon sometimes, but just a sample double page showing the concept. It’s not that usual.
Clamp managed this year to make full reeditions of all Sakura artbooks so surely that would not be that hard to do the same for Sailormoon which is supposedly a more popular franchise in Japan and the world ?
Anyway it seems the book had good sales since they made reprints, I really hope this will make them publish more of these.
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I also hope that support of this catalogue will mean we get more print art publications at some point. Hadibou's post summed up basically everything I feel about this whole process.
Still excited to get the book eventually.
Still excited to get the book eventually.
They also didn't release preview pages of the color manga in advance; you could simply preview the first few chapters the day they went on sale. And then volumes 3 and 4 were dropped without any warning over a year later. It's clear that Kodansha's handling of things isn't so consistent or logical as we'd like it to be.
Where's her legendary obsession on the absolute, unnegotiable accuracy of printed colors gone? 
Have added the underlined prefix to the last word in the quote.
As already mentioned by another poster above, movies are different from graphic printed media - when you show samples of the former, like in the form of stills or even trailers, one can't see the real quality of the product itself (it's well known that trailers often mislead people on the quality of the movie), but sample pages of the latter can largely & directly show the quality of the graphic book (unless they're photoshopped, but that's outright cheating & may even break the laws on consumer protection lol ).
It shows that they're pretty successful in their business practice regarding the franchise, & in contrary to what many fans say, actually they genuinely understand the fandom only too well.
Have added the underlined prefix to the last word in the quote.
As already mentioned by another poster above, movies are different from graphic printed media - when you show samples of the former, like in the form of stills or even trailers, one can't see the real quality of the product itself (it's well known that trailers often mislead people on the quality of the movie), but sample pages of the latter can largely & directly show the quality of the graphic book (unless they're photoshopped, but that's outright cheating & may even break the laws on consumer protection lol ).
It shows that they're pretty successful in their business practice regarding the franchise, & in contrary to what many fans say, actually they genuinely understand the fandom only too well.
Ironic that someone mentioned the CCS artbooks.
I picked them up a couple of weeks ago.
Got the Cheerio ones a while ago.
Just got the Memorial Book left to pick up.
I picked them up a couple of weeks ago.
Got the Cheerio ones a while ago.
Just got the Memorial Book left to pick up.
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As I said recently, it was much easier and even more profitable to reprint the 5 original artbooks + the Materials Collection, replacing Parallel Sailor Moon and the outdated Timeline with some of the new digital illustrations.
It's also unnecessary for the artbooks to be hardcover; many artbooks aren't, and it's not a determining factor. It's simply about reprinting them in a more modern format with the same quality of materials (paper, binding, thickness, etc.). Additionally, changing from hardcover to a more modern format could reduce production costs and make them more accessible to fans.
I'll never understand that woman. She handles most international licensees with an iron fist (with the exception of the United States) and yet allows products like the Raissoné or the animated reboot to come to light. Not to mention the rest of her business dealings. 
Indeed. They didn't get their hands dirty. They were right in the way they announced it. This guide, after all, is ultimately a collection of illustrations, but it's not an artbook. They know the fandom is desperate to have at least one, so they would manage to sell it by offering crumbs.
The only good thing is that it's cheap, but I'm not surprised considering the poor materials they have used to make it (materials from a fashion/jewelry brand's advertising catalogue, by the way...typical material for self-publishing.).
It's also unnecessary for the artbooks to be hardcover; many artbooks aren't, and it's not a determining factor. It's simply about reprinting them in a more modern format with the same quality of materials (paper, binding, thickness, etc.). Additionally, changing from hardcover to a more modern format could reduce production costs and make them more accessible to fans.
Where's her legendary obsession on the absolute, unnegotiable accuracy of printed colors gone?
It shows that they're pretty successful in their business practice regarding the franchise, & in contrary to what many fans say, actually they genuinely understand the fandom only too well.
The only good thing is that it's cheap, but I'm not surprised considering the poor materials they have used to make it (materials from a fashion/jewelry brand's advertising catalogue, by the way...typical material for self-publishing.).
I was thinking about the image of chibi Uranus with the mini sword , Naoko drawed the design that the sword had in the 90 anime not the manga , and that reminded me to all the comentaries in this forum saying that she doesn’t draw the brooches of sailor moon anymore because that would mean sharing the profits with Bandai so she prefer to draw a cheap and simple heart crystal , but if it is true that she do that to keep all the money to herself then why she drawed the sword of Uranus with the design of the 90 anime , when she easily could had drawed the sword with the design of her manga and doesn’t share her money with Bandai since according to the commentaries in this forum , if she draws something that had been designed by Bandai then she would have to share the profits , anyways I am not gonna put so much of my mind to this , but now I think that she doesn’t draw the brooches of sailor moon because she doesn’t want to share profits but because is more simple to draw a pink heart crystal in her chest.
Or I am mistaken and she had already shared some of the profits with Bandai thanks to the image of chibi Uranus.
Also I thought that Naoko hated the design of the sword of Uranus in the 90 anime , but if she drawed it for the raissone book , then I think that maybe she doesn’t hate it after all .
Or I am mistaken and she had already shared some of the profits with Bandai thanks to the image of chibi Uranus.
Also I thought that Naoko hated the design of the sword of Uranus in the 90 anime , but if she drawed it for the raissone book , then I think that maybe she doesn’t hate it after all .
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Even if she did hate it at one time, it's possible that her opinion changed over the decades since.
I still prefer the manga version... anime's so gaudy.
I still prefer the manga version... anime's so gaudy.
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As someone who lives in Japan I was able to buy both the SM and CCS books.
Volume size identical
Paper quality identical
However the full color illustrations make all the difference - the CCS books are gorgeous to look at
The ironic thing is both are published by Kodansha - so its not the publishing company at fault here..
EDIT
Forgot to add - this is only qualitative data but the CCS books appear to have sold well - my local Animate sold through its release day stock and got a restock. My local Tsutaya - I picked up the last Memorial book.
So classic show art books DO sell.
The special edition of CCS Volume 16 sold out like a month before release date.
To just make a "catalogue" compiled release feels like a bit of a cop out when you look at how well CCS appears to have sold.
Volume size identical
Paper quality identical
However the full color illustrations make all the difference - the CCS books are gorgeous to look at
The ironic thing is both are published by Kodansha - so its not the publishing company at fault here..
EDIT
Forgot to add - this is only qualitative data but the CCS books appear to have sold well - my local Animate sold through its release day stock and got a restock. My local Tsutaya - I picked up the last Memorial book.
So classic show art books DO sell.
The special edition of CCS Volume 16 sold out like a month before release date.
To just make a "catalogue" compiled release feels like a bit of a cop out when you look at how well CCS appears to have sold.
That's the difference. 
I got to check some of CCS books and they are that, artbooks. The person can see the art in it, the details, everything.
In an ideal world, PNP could allow the international publishers to release it with a new layout where some of the illustrations could stand out better and hardcover, like the Eternal Edition in some European countries.
I got to check some of CCS books and they are that, artbooks. The person can see the art in it, the details, everything.In an ideal world, PNP could allow the international publishers to release it with a new layout where some of the illustrations could stand out better and hardcover, like the Eternal Edition in some European countries.