I didn't really enjoy Tokyo Xanadu so it was a good thing I bought it second hand. However, I do like it's artwork - well, nearly all Falcom's artwork are good. Even Makoto Shinkai worked for them before after all.

So I decided to import this A4 160 page "visual guide" artbook.

Unfortunately, the wrapper arrived damaged because the proxy service Tenso.com I used didn't re-wrap or pad out the parcel before sending it over...

Ah well, at least the book itself is fine =/

So, what are the contents of this artbook? It's actually quite thin but pretty much the same number of pages as most artbooks of this size.

• Gallery, p3 - 24
• Characters, p35 - 106
• Artwork, p119 - 155

I just find the composition of the illustrations really well done.

Been using this as my PS4's wallpaper for a while now which was given away free as a theme for a while when the budget "Sakura" version of the game was on sale. I didn't like the pink cherry blossom packaging so I ended up going for a second hand copy when I was in Japan.

An alternative version of the wallpaper with the game's observation deck, Across Tower (Tokyo Skytree presumably) in the background.

Other than promotional images in this section such as wallpapers Falcom usually gives away with their newsletters. There's about 2 pages of fan service with the ladies in swimsuits for male fans.

Another nice promo illustration.

Since this isn't a "design works" book, the character profiles are pretty much just that.

Some text about each character complete with their expressions, weapons and different clothing.

Not many main characters now that I think about it.

And of course, Towa from the Sen no Kiseki (Trails of Cold Steel) series makes a cameo appearance in this game. I found it quite funny when she ended up appearing as one of the teachers, lol.

All the Spika girl band members get a profile too.

Students and teachers you could meet while at Morimiya Academy. They all seem to be individually designed rather than just cloned models.

And all the other NPCs.

There are some very tiny rough sketches of early designs without any notes about why early designs were done in such a way.

A couple of pages devoted to the Greed enemies and bosses which weren't that impressive to fight or look at, tbh...

The transportation...

And "Soul Device" designs were a bit more interesting.

Most of the locations weren't that impressive to look at but there were a few exceptions such as when you reach the shrine or visit the observation tower.

Falcom's Anime OPs are always great to watch although they really didn't have to play it after each episode in the game...

Event scenes in Falcom games are well done too.

As with most animated works of Japanese fiction, the locations were based on a real place. In this case, Morimiya was based on Tachikawa near Tokyo.

Overall, a comprehensive book for the short game and I like most of the art. Something to flip through if you ever wanted a quick reminiscence of the game.

Anyone interested in the JARPG can get the remastered version that later came out for PS4 in English on Steam or the PS4 now.