Manga Mania Magical Girls and Friends. How to Draw the Super Popular Action fantasy Characters of Manga Manga Mania

Editorial Review
* ChristopherHart writes the world’s top-selling art instruction books--more than two million in print!
* Strong girl characters empower girls everywhere

Customer Reviews

I dont really Hart this book.

2008-08-15
Manga mania magical girls and friends: how to draw the super popular action fantasy characters of manga is really just a book i can turn to for refrence. When it comes to the magical girls costume, he does not tell you as much as you would need to know. He says somthing like, to make it look like a school uniform. I don't like that. I want to see more pizzaz, more color, more style. But thats just me. Over all, this is a great book. But if you want to know how to draw a magical girl uniform filled with everything i mentioned above, I suggest reading up on your manga(Sailor moon, Card captor Sakura, Tokyo mew mew, etc.)

This is a must-have, and that's coming from a Hart hater.

2008-06-26
I've never been fond of Chris Hart's books. The illustrations tend to be overtly generic with very little detail in my eyes, so I tend to push them to the side when I'm scanning the local bookstores for new art books and How to Draw tutorials. However, when this one came out, the cover caught me by surprise. THIS was Hart's work?

Well, in truth, it wasn't. Hart only did maybe five to six pages of drawings while the rest were done by a legion of other artists. Artists who I believe have a much stronger grasp of composition and balance than Hart does. (If I remember correctly, it was Nao Yazawa who created the most breath-taking images.) For those who grew up watching Sailor Moon as a kid, the nostalgia will hit you like a train, but in a good way. Everything about this book was pure classic.

The instruction is mostly visual, as in while there is text I certainly didn't need to read it. It's easy to pick up and easy to practice the techniques the artists are trying to teach. I highly recommend this book, as it is one of the few non-Japanese books where the drawings truly feel authentic.

Great for Ideas

2007-08-24
This book is GREAT for getting ideas; the anatomy parts are not anything particularly spectacular, but it's great for getting ideas and concepts going, as well as what to DO with these ideas. I recommend it for those who like fantasy and/or the 'Magical Girl' genre

Outstanding book teach you how to draw cartons in detail.

2007-07-02
An Outstanding book that teach you how to draw cartons in detail. I bought it for an 8 years old girl, she likes it too. (but, it seems a little bit hard for her) However, I borrowed the book and draw once and find out it's a great book. I highly recommend for teenagers who love Japanes Cartoon.

One of the best Manga Mania Books

2007-06-11
This book has better Drawings and is more inspiring than most books in this series!

Another amazing book from Christopher Hart!

2007-05-22
* ChristopherHart writes the world’s top-selling art instruction books--more than two million in print!
* Strong girl characters empower girls everywhere

Sailor Moon. Card Captor Sakura. Magical Girl Rayearth. They’re magical girls, and they’re some of the biggest names in manga. Magical girls, ordinary schoolgirls given superpowers, are hugely popular in Japan and the United States. Now Christopher Hart shows fans everywhere how to draw these manga shoujo faves. Faces and body proportions, action poses, costumes, expressions, transformations, special effects--they’re all here, all in Hart’s distinctive step-by-step approach. So are magical fighting boys and everybody’s favorite, the cute, furry manga mascots. Hart demonstrates how to create funny mascots, magical boys, fighting teams, and supporting characters, plus how to design layouts. Magical girls show us that we all have special powers deep inside--now Manga Mania: Magical Girls and Friends let those special drawing powers reveal themselves at last!

ONE OF THE BEST!!! 2007-03-17
This book has some of the cutest manga drawings you will ever see. It teaches you everything you need to know about how to make a great manga. I would recommend this book to any girl who loves manga! ^^

Magically fun and resourceful 2007-02-27
I don't really own many of Hart's books, this one makes it my fourth book, but for the ones that I do own, I have to say that I am very pleased with this one. This book gives you a general idea of magical school girls, their costumes, hair, transformations, and even animal helpers. This book really doesn't go into depth on step by step guides to drawing magical girls, but it gives you tidbits of general info on how to go about designing your own magical girl as well as her specific powers and/or costumes. I would definitely recommend this book for those who are a little advanced than beginners. Since this book doesn't break down the drawings in steps. This is a little info on what to expect about the book:

Magical girl faces, their eyes, and expressions
The body
Magical girl costumes
Magical girl varieties
Magical boys
The villains
Essential supporting characters
Magical mascots
Magical fighters teams
Magical transformation

love it !have to have it! 2007-01-04
this has to be one of the best books in the manga mania saeries.I have buoght bishojou it was the first manga drawing book i ever bought and it was realy helpful.i saw magical girls in the book store i want it mainly becuse i want to do a magical girl manga myself.

Truly Magical 2006-12-14
This book, like the title is magical. Like all of Christopher Hart's books, the instruction is excellent, but I will say that this time Christopher Hart has surpassed himself. The sections on drawing the eyes, the drawing of the body step by step, the various angles, the poses, are all enlightening. My daughters and I also enjoyed the historical information on Manga and the difference between American and Japanese Styles. This book is highly recommended.