Neopiko - 2

Some facts:

• Have a medium chisel nib and a brush nib
• 144 colors including a blender 
• Are refillable  
• Made in Japan by Deleter
• Has the cutest logo
• www.deleter.com
• www.deleter.jp 
• deleter-mangashop.com 

Neopiko symbol

Neopiko -2

Neopiko refill

The History
The first alcohol based marker from Deleter were "Neopiko original" which they launched in 1998. They are not available anymore. In 2004 Neopiko -2 came and in 2014 they released yet another alcohol based marker called neopico color (I am going to review them soon). Refills were not an option from the start, they came in 2010 and I am affraid they are no longer available (2016-17). 

The ink
This marker has good blending abilities. But some times I think the result can become a bit blurry on some paper. Neopiko can also feel a bit dry which sometimes is a bad thing but sometimes you really can use it for smooth transmission. A few colors can change hue when they dry. The coral pink is a strong pink color but looks more orange when it is wet. But this is not something unique for Neopiko, almost all brands I tried have the same problems with the same colors.

Neopiko color chart (144 colors)

The barrel and the cap
Something that’s not that important, but can be a bit irritating, is how difficult it is to quickly determine what marker you grab. The number on the cap is just a number and do not follow any logic. They don´t even got a letter to tell which color family group it belongs to. The colors on the cap rarely reflect the actually color (almost way to light). 

Neopiko 36 case

The nibs
When you use this marker on thin (70-80 gsm) marker paper, the paper will buckle (as you might se on the drawing below). The brush nib is really soft and nice, but a bit sensitive and can sometimes come off! 

I think that when you have read all this you might think I don´t care that much for this marker, but I do! In spite of all, I really love Neopiko. When the brush nib is working well it is a wonderful tool, and the chisel nib is juicy (perhaps a bit to juicy) and the color choices are great! Many perfect skin colors, good grays and many very light and very dark colors to give deep to your drawings. 

Drawing made with Neopiko 

Drawing made with Neopiko -2

I use an acrylic case with drawers from Muji to store
my markers, it turned out to fit perfectly. I have 144
Neopiko and eight drawers. 144 divided in eight is 18 and
in one drawer there is room for exactly 18!