Mateki: The Magic Flute

by Yoshitaka Amano, Edmund Shern

Famous Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano serves as both writer and artist for his project The Magic Flute based on the opera The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Which tells the story of a prince battling evil forces to rescue a princess. Note "Mateki" (magic flute) is the Japanese name given to a particular make of flute that is extremely responsive to the artists personal playing style.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Art, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Comics, Japan

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Yoshitaka Amano (Japanese: 天野 喜孝) is a celebrated Japanese visual artist, illustrator, and character designer known for his ethereal style and cross-genre influence in anime, video games, literature, and fine art. He began his career in 1967 at the age of 15 with Tatsunoko Production, where he contributed to iconic anime series such as Speed Racer, Gatchaman, and Tekkaman. In 1982, he became an independent artist, illustrating acclaimed fantasy novels including Vampire Hunter D and The Guin Saga, and later provided character and logo designs for the globally popular Final Fantasy video game franchise, which brought him international recognition.
Amano’s distinctive aesthetic combines intricate linework with vivid colors, drawing on Western comic books, Art Nouveau, Orientalist painters, and traditional Japanese ukiyo-e. He has published numerous art books and illustrated graphic novels, including The Sandman: The Dream Hunters with Neil Gaiman, which won the Bram Stoker Award.
In addition to his work in illustration and design, Amano has contributed to stage and film productions, created album art for musical artists, and exhibited paintings in galleries worldwide. In 2010, he founded Studio Devaloka to develop animated and multimedia projects, including the illustrated novel Deva Zan. With a career spanning over five decades, Amano remains one of Japan’s most influential and visionary contemporary artists.

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is beautiful art and story by Amano, based upon Mozart's opera. The book is a pleasure - the finest sort of coffee table book, and I don't mean to diminish it in any way by suggesting it should reside on a coffee table. The art invites the viewer to spend time on each picture, to decipher a story so sparsely told with words, that you must absorb the pictures to see the story, which is good vs. evil, love, and now with the art, just a tiny pinch of creation myth, in true Japanese style.

[jess (bibliophilicjester)]

That was... something. The art was beautiful and disturbing, but reading it via Libby was a bad call. I'll have to send it to the Kindle app and try again before I can give any sort of proper opinion/rating. (The pages weren't separated properly so sometimes I was reading the words with the art on the next or previous page. Not ideal). But I was just feeling like a panic attack was close and this helped me focus on something for a while, so it did exactly what I wanted it to 😊 any form of art always calms my mind.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

File under "Unifinished" and "Repurposed". This book looks mostly great and perhaps it's structure make it look more musical, but to me--it comes of as abandoned or incomplete.

Radical was failing at this point and just need to get it out there.

[Robert Adam Gilmour · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover art is great but this is my least favorite Amano book, it's really just a very insubstantial sketchbook. For completists only.

[Vanna Book-Mage · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was interesting. I liked the art style and the colours.

[Passi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good but the format I read it in was atrocious. So I’m going to buy the physical copy to read it again.

[Anna Wooliver Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually stunning illustration.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Yoshitaka Amano's work, and his version of this classic story is beautifully done! 💜

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book if one is an art fan, is an Amano fan, likes the opera or even to try something different. For people who are fans, such as myself, a computer screen can only show so much of this man's work. In Mateki the colours bounce off the page and give the watercolour works an extra depth.
This book does not need many words because the pictures tell the story loud and clear. I would recommend looking at more of Amano's works, even his video game designs (Final Fantasy).

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful. I love Amano's work and this book is just incredible. It's not a graphic novel in the traditional sense, but each page is a panel unto itself. Even if you don't like the story I can't imagine that you won't love the art. This is something that I will have to have in my personal collection.

[Dane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, the "story" is pretty sparse and not terribly exciting, but the main draw of the book is Amano's illustrations, and in the view, this book is just another in the large body of his magnificent art.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful.

[Morbus Iff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Amano, but this felt like wasted sketches.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not loving the images but they work well with the story. Powerful tale with a lot of emotion.

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Subtitle should read: "Could not find a writer."

[Cathryn Bodeman Dodd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

I had hoped for better art accompanying the story, but wasn't that impressed. Also, the Kindle version cut a lot of the artwork in half.

[nisie draws · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL art & elegant design; simple, heart-felt and moving.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, but the story is rather thin. Also the connection to The Magic Flute is flimsy.