Okami Official Complete Works Paperback – May 27, 2008

Okami is a very special treasure. It is easily one of the best video games of the 2000's, one of my all-time favorites, and is most definitely one of the most beautiful, uniquely artistic games of all time. Okami's graphics are immediately striking in their vibrant style and focus. If you're like me, and you love the art design behind Okami, then this is an essential purchase to make.First off, in keeping with the overall eastern focus of Okami, this book was kept in its Japanese format, so you'll be reading it right-to-left, "back"-to-"front." It's pretty enjoyable and easy to get used to. Thankfully, the book is wonderfully organized too. First is a section of water-color paintings of the final version of each character as you encounter them chronologically in-game, as well as information about them. After this, you get essentially the same thing, but about the enemies and bosses. Then is a conceptual section organized in the same order as the previous section, but instead of finalized versions, there are many conceptual sketches and really insightful commentary from the artists, detailing the process of making each character from start to finish. I found the commentary in this sections really fun to read; they are very informative and have a lot of character. Then comes conceptual paintings of enemies, with commentary on these. Next is concept art for the settings, again with fascinating insight from the artists. Finally, we get some paintings from "Issun the celestial envoy," which basically boil down to breathtaking paintings of key moments from the game and its story, done as if they were paintings from historical periods of Japanese art. These are the main sections of the book, but there are little bits here and there that are added in at various points in the book, such as unique pictures from events showcasing the game. It's all quite expansive.The book is huge, over 288 pages devoted to paintings, sketches, concept art, even music sheets, pretty much anything and everything artistic you can imagine pertaining to the game. Okami's gorgeous Eastern-influenced art style is designed to look like Japanese water color paintings, as well as the famous (and gorgeous) block print paintings of the Ukiyo-e style. This book is so beautiful, poignant, and just so delightful to behold in every aspect. I'd swear some paintings were done by Hiroshige himself! The writer commentary is awesome too, offering great insight and the kind of lovely humor that helps define the game itself. Some of the paintings really seem to fit in with the ancient, established styles that inspired them, and are just as beautiful too. I really cannot emphasize how lovely the art in this book is, it's fantastic.In pretty much every aspect, I'd say getting this book is a no-brainer. Even if you don't know about the game Okami, this book is worth getting for the merit of its art alone. It's exceptionally well organized, the commentary and information within is very engaging, and the art itself is absolutely spectacular. Buy it, take in the vibrant majesty of this art, and get lost in a truly beautiful world.

I love this game so much. I own it on almost every console it released on and have one of the 9 in f4f PVC statues. This art book was definitely one I planned to own when I had the money for it.A lot of the art in the book is stuff you can actually see in the unlockable sections of the game after you beat it once. The difference between the game and the book -- which makes the book worth buying, in my opinion -- is the commentary. The notes and Japanese are all translated and there's explanations for the process or thought methods of certain pieces. It's really fun to flip through and read them all (the fact they wanted dinosaur enemies at first is a real hoot).There's a bit more lore to characters you can get from the book, as well. It's very interesting.Only downer is that the log of nicknames Amaterasu got through the game is based on the Japanese version.

The media could not be loaded. Okami is an action-adventure video game released on Playstation 2 and Wii. And this is not a game guide; it doesn't show you how to take on enemies.Okami features the most unique art direction I've seen for any computer game. It is heavily inspired by Japanese watercolour painting and wood carving art of the Ukiyo-e style. It's an amazing concept to combine watercolour in computer game art, moreover, use it in the actual game itself.This thick 288-page art book is filled to the brim with content. There are official character art including the concept sketches, storyboards, paintings created by by Issun the Celestial Envoy while on journey with Okami Amaterasu and even some music sheets at the end. The application of watercolour to create cute character design is very refreshing.Everything in the book is captioned. Characters have their introductions. The character designs are explained to the detail of why they wear what they wear. Concept sketches come with artists' reflection. And then there's the journal of Issun, which is a whole big section by itself. There's so much stuff to read, so much information and stories into background of the characters and places.This book is highly recommended and worth taking a look even if you have no idea what the game Okami is about.(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

The book is stunning since I adore okami art style (Hokusai arts style). Will be added to my art book collections :)

While we wait, there's this book. If you are like me, you're hoping that the Okami video game will be re-released one day for today's console (or a future one).This beautifully designed book is at best, beautifully designed. Most importantly, in the translation nothing seems to be lost. If you're new to this book the Japanese right to left format of reading is not hard to follow. The book is not at all text heavy with some artworks taking up a page or two.The book is well laid out that it feels like you're playing through the story again. Nothing seems amiss. I actually found information here that I totally missed in the game.What I found the most strongest element of this book was the section on concept works. It was wonderful to see how the characters were designed. The artist's original Japanese comments are preserved with English translations cosily fitted in, were insightful and amusing.Having read this book now I want to find the original soundtracks of the game. There are sections in the book (aided by symbols which are described in the Table of Contents at the beginning) which suggest a soundtrack to play as you're looking through. A nice touch if you enjoy some background music while reading.