blkmage (post: 1347999) wrote:But then I saw their official cover.
blkmage (post: 1351123) wrote:Seven apples on the witch's tree~
blkmage (post: 1351145) wrote:Their rationale is correct, but their style is totally off. The cover is technically accurate in that their representation of Horo is correct. However, it doesn't convey the themes and atmosphere of the story very well. The story isn't just about Horo. The world that the story is set in is just as interesting as the characters themselves. Even then, it's more about the relationship between Lawrence and Horo than on the fact that Horo is a wolf-deity.
I feel like a more subtle and subdued cover would have fit the novel better than a naked wolf-girl. Personally, my cover design would have been a watercolour of the place they were visiting in each volume (a field of wheat for volume 1, the city for volume 2, etc.) with them riding on the cart off in the distance.
blkmage (post: 1351173) wrote:I think there are about 11 or 12 in Japan so far. That actually brings up another one of my criticisms of the cover (which stems from my hobby in typography and identity design), in that the design they've chosen doesn't appear to be easily generalized into a style that can be kept consistent among each volume. Look at the US covers for the Haruhi light novels for an example of this. The style is consistent with each volume: bright solid colour with the title in the same style and a silhouette of Haruhi.
Also look at the light novel covers for the Japanese versions of Spice and Wolf. The covers are Horo against a fairly simple background, with the title set in a standard serif typeface. Ignoring the fact that Horo is drawn anime style, the other elements of the cover have a very different style and gives off a very different feel from the US cover. The US cover feels like some sort of high fantasy book, while what takes place in Spice and Wolf is generally much, much more subtle than that.
blkmage (post: 1351145) wrote:Their rationale is correct, but their style is totally off. The cover is technically accurate in that their representation of Horo is correct. However, it doesn't convey the themes and atmosphere of the story very well.
Nate (post: 1351192) wrote:The bigger problem I think is that the original Japanese cover looks nice, and you wouldn't mind reading it on a bus or in a break room, but the American cover makes it look like smut, and I can't imagine anyone reading it in public with a cover like that.
The bigger problem I think is that the original Japanese cover looks nice, and you wouldn't mind reading it on a bus or in a break room, but the American cover makes it look like smut, and I can't imagine anyone reading it in public with a cover like that.
blkmage (post: 1351173) wrote:I think there are about 11 or 12 in Japan so far. That actually brings up another one of my criticisms of the cover (which stems from my hobby in typography and identity design), in that the design they've chosen doesn't appear to be easily generalized into a style that can be kept consistent among each volume. Look at the US covers for the Haruhi light novels for an example of this. The style is consistent with each volume: bright solid colour with the title in the same style and a silhouette of Haruhi.
Also look at the light novel covers for the Japanese versions of Spice and Wolf. The covers are Horo against a fairly simple background, with the title set in a standard serif typeface. Ignoring the fact that Horo is drawn anime style, the other elements of the cover have a very different style and gives off a very different feel from the US cover. The US cover feels like some sort of high fantasy book, while what takes place in Spice and Wolf is generally much, much more subtle than that.
Nate (post: 1351192) wrote:My only real complaint about the cover is that the artist apparently needs to take a few more anatomy classes. See, that is clearly a MAN'S chest. It's like he started to draw a breast but then thought "Oh I'm just going to shade over it so there's no point in making an outline, because clearly in real life a shaded breast wouldn't have any shape as well!" The shoulder also looks kinda off too.
hey (post: 1351201) wrote:Thanks for the info on light novels. I think I saw one in a book store the other day, but it was more of an alternate earth steam punk called Leviathan. I was interested in reading it until I got the impression it was targeted at kids. Perhaps I judged it too quickly.
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