Yoshitaka Amano, most famous for his beautiful work on the Final Fantasy series and Vampire Hunter D, has had a prolific career. His instantly recognizable aesthetic often took inspiration from Art Noveau and delivered it with traditional Japanese brushwork. It's iconic style that somehow makes the dark and dreary carry the charm of a fantasy world, and perhaps that's why fans have recently started to fall in love all over again with one of his lesser known works: Marchen, Amano's beautiful renditions of European and Japanese fairy tales.

In 2000, Amano released an art book titled Marchen (Fairy Tale), which includes his illustrations of classic folklore such as "Little Red Riding Hood", "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", and even the Japanese "Princess Kaguya" (Kaguya-hime). While 16 years have passed since the release, it's not exactly a book a lot of people have on hand. So all it took was a few posts by people who could share the artwork to get the Japanese Twitterverse excited, as if there was a chance to discover his artwork all over again. In particular, many are fans of his portrayal of Cinderella.

The Fairy Godmother transforming Cinderella

12490_3

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

Heading home before her ride turns into a pumpkin

12490_4

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

While this particular buzz centered around Japanese Twitter users following in love with Amano's version of Cinderella, he also tackled other characters from classic fairy tales with his brilliant style.

12490_6

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_5

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_11

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_8

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_10

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_13

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_14

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_17

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_15

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_16

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_9

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

12490_7

Source: Yoshitaka Amano

So if you're a fan of these classics, perhaps Amano's gorgeous renditions will breathe new life into them and much like those Japanese Twitter users, you'll be seeing them in a brand new (dark) light.

The book is available to order on Amazon.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.