I've been hosting anime drawing workshops at local libraries, and I've always been on the lookout for books I can recommend to kids interested in continuing to draw in the anime and manga styles. So I checked out this book at a library recently with the intention of compiling a new list of drawing books that I would recommend to the people attending the workshops this summer.
This book will not be on that list.
Quite frankly, despite the fact that there are several very talented artists who contributed to this book, it's lousy. Most of the artwork featured is either mediocre or *not* done in the manga style Hart claims the book revolves around; in fact, seeing how Mr. Hart's art numbers among the worst in the book, I'm skeptical as to whether or not he is a credible source regarding non-Western artistry at all. (His Western-style cartooning is really quite good, so I'm rather surprised at his ineptitude in this field, myself.)
As I said, there are some very good pieces in this book as well--they really stand out when you see them--but they simply make for good references, as most of the "step-by-step" diagrams are about four steps long, adding up to a pretty useless instruction method overall. The proposed "villains" in the book, in fact, are rather one-dimensional from a character perspective, but I can understand how it would be far easier to resort to stereotypical black-and-white personalities than to flesh out a really interesting villain (because, well, that wasn't what this book was supposed to be about, so I can't really hold it against him.)
Most, if not all, pictures were colored digitally--something that most people won't have access to--and a number of them were printed with rough and jagged edges as if they had been drawn with the pencil tool in a Photoshop (or even paint. Strangely enough, these rougher works are actually some of the better ones in the book, if I recall correctly.)
Please, if you're interested in drawing in the anime or manga style, find another book. If you're interested in Western comics, check out Hart's other work (or the Marvel/DC instructional books, which are quite good.) But if it's manga style you're looking to learn about...then this is NOT the book for you.