Operation: Art Legacy

Her art is indeed good, but isn't it a bit too late to bring her in? I mean, sure, maybe if this was a pre-campaign thing, but now Natsume should have finished all art by now. Maybe have her be an option in future endeavors?

I don't think that was the intent of that post or even anything close.  I think we all seem to be in agreement that Mana's art is fantastic.  But Kojima Ayami is to IGA era Castlevania what Uematsu Nobuo or Amano Yoshitaka are to Final Fantasy.  What John Williams is to Star Wars.  Whether you personally like their work or not, they are all very much a part of their respective franchises' identity.  Getting Kojima for Bloodstained would be on the same level as having Yamane for the music:  it just brings everything that much closer to its parent franchise.

And it's not like the comparisons are without merit.  There are some parallels in their art styles, though certainly they aren't identical.  If your mindset was that you hoped for an art style more similar to the classic Igavania cover art, then saying that you preferred Mana's art style to a more manga-influenced artist is certainly a valid way of thinking.  And if you happen to like her artwork for other reasons, then that's great too.  But you aren't going to escape the comparisons in a game that is deliberately patterned after the game it's being compared to.

Yeah. Also I know Aztec thinks the world of Mana, as we all do, and was expressing how much he appreciates her, but also remember that Mana has explicitly said Ayami Kojima was a huge inspiration to her. I doubt Mana-mana would mind the comparison

As angel mentioned, Natsume did most of the campaign art with Inti, but we've had an opportunity for new blood for a while. There's more than enough time for Mana to do a lot of schtuff as an artist

At this point
We people already in this, so it doesn't really matter to us
but then, to the general public, it's very crucial as it needs key visual that can attract people to follow this game
and I'm going to say, to the people that never actually heard about this game, Mana's artwork will attract a lot more attention, while Natsume-san's artwork is more appealing in the magazine as the style of the art are more clean compared to Mana's

I hope Mana gets the job!.. Mana gets my vote too

If the team has to effectively choose a new artist for all the assets post-Inti, then I see no better candidate. That art is incredible.

Voted yes for obvious reasons, have to say I don't understand the sentiment from some that Mana's artwork is to close to the look and feel of previous Castlevania game, the reason why is that I feel the entire point of Bloodstained is to satisfy the fans who have felt neglected and burned by how the series has been handled as of late, so having the artwork capture the look and feel of the CV series is a win/win and having it to the contrary would defeat the purpose that I feel it serves.

I'm sure the are a lot of art assets to consider than just the cover. But there is something about mana's portrayal of Miriam's face and the expressions of the characters that really pops out to me more than any other cover.

It's probably all the smiles we want to protect.