Anime Magazines

Do any of you Mikomi people subscribe to any magazines about anime? I am continually looking for new internet reviews to print out so that I can read them during my breaks at work,, and the thought occured to me that maybe I should subscribe to a magazine. I was given a copy of "Animerica", but wasn't too impressed--it seemed like Viz was just expecting me to pay to read their ads. I see ads for "Newtype USA" on ADV DVDs, but it's fairly expensive, so I wonder if anyone has any opinions on what the best anime magazine available would be.

I subscribe to Newtype. It is a little expensive but I feel it is worth it. You get Promo DVDS to try out and the articles and information on the latest Anime are great. Hope this helps you.

Thanks, Violet D--I have ordered a single back issue of Newtype to check it out.

You can also get Newtype in Barnes and Noble if you have one near you. And most comic book stores

"Newtype USA" is mostly a publication to advertise ADV-licensed titles (IMO). There are some non-ADV stuff in it (I understand a FUNimation title made a current cover or will be on a future one). shrugs

If you subscribe to "Newtype", it is cheaper -- a lot cheaper.

As for other Anime magazines, to be honest, I haven't tried any of them. I hit a few websites for the most part and I see what some of you guys are currently watching. lol I can't tell you how many anime titles I've watched just because I read reviews from here. ^_^

Same here - enough information in the net for me to get inspirations for more animes than I have the time to actually watch. Some reviews (resp. announcements) here were amongst these inspirations (most notably Kanon, Chobits, and Aa! Megami-sama! TV).

It's not that I'm not getting enough ideas what to watch (I've got more than I know what to do with, thanks largely to Jan-chan) but rather that I need stuff to read. Many of the reviews I read voraciously are of shows I've already seen, long ago. Newtype magazine is supposed to be an English version of a popular Japanese anime magazine, which makes it odd that it would focus on ADV releases--maybe ADV is in charge of translating and re-editing it, and puts a "spin" on it to advertise their own stuff.

Newtype and TheAnimeNetwork are just ADV PR Machines. I am surprised when I see a Non ADV title in Newtype.

Stretch -- while there is a Japanese "Newtype" magazine, it is very different from the American one (as I understand it). Kinda like the Japanese "Playboy" -- bears little resemblance to the American one but it is the same brand. ^_^;;;

It really is a shame there isn't a really good anime magazine with focus on good titles (both from Japan and the U.S.) vs. a certain companies titles. Maybe there is and I just don't know about it.

I've recieved my copy of Newtype (the fancy "preview" issue which the ads illustrate) and I took a look at the small print. Newtype USA is based in Houston Texas, which I believe is ADV's HQ as well.

"Newtype" (not Newtype USA) is copywrited by "KADOKAWA SHOTEN PUBLISHING, LTD".

"Newtype USA and stylized logo are trademarks of AD Vision, Inc. All rights reserved".

"Newtype and stylized logo are trademarks of KADOKAWA SHOTEN PUBLISING., LTD. under exclusive license. All rights reserved".

"English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA... etc".

A number of articles didn't list any author (is it customary for Japanese magazine article authors to remain anonymous?) but those that did almost always had western names. The exceptions were Japanese-style names for authors of articles on Cowboy Bebop Knockin' on Heaven's Door, some manga and an article on making Miso soup(?). yes, it does seem to be heavily biased in favor of ADV releases. For that reason, and because it's so expensive, and because a relatively small fraction of the pages were about shows I was interested in, I don't think I will subscribe. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I think I may have finally found a satisfactory anime magazine. It's "Protoculture Addicts", and seems to be a spinoff of Anime News Network (or vice versa). The price is reasonable ($4.95 for around 75 pages) and this publication actually dares to declare some of the stuff it reviews to be crap! I was impressed by an exhaustive list of newly released anime DVDs and manga, and tidbits of anime & manga news from all over the world (stuff like "Sailor Moon Manga Rights Expire" and "Tokyopop and Viz Collaborate in Germany"--I eat this stuff up!). There was a page on "New Anime in Japan" (Akira Kamiya has agreed to reprise his role as Ryo Saeba in the upcoming "Angel Heart" TV series!). There are reviews of anime, manga, live-action films, toys, CD soundtracks, and books. Most of the printing is in black-and-white (some, especially ads, are in color, and the front cover is quite flashy). Though a lot of space is devoted to shows I'm not interested in, I think it's worth the money, and have subscribed for a year. Issues are bimonthly and the magazine is based in Montreal.

I read Newtype USA, though it is extremely pricey. I also like to keep an eye on Anime Fringe (An online zine).

Any other I've picked up, be it Neo, Anime Insider etc seem to be squarely directed at kids...

Way back I mentioned Newtype was the only way to go. But last week I received a new mag it is called The Right Stuff and not as pricey. I still like Newtype for the DVD samples but I like this one too. This one also has a few articles and stuff you can order, plus info on the animes you may want to see. This is not dircted at kids but for every age. Have a great one.

Violet D

I've just recieved my first issue of "Anime Insider" (#32, May 2006)and have found it to be surprisingly enjoyable--in fact, this may replace Protoculture Addicts as my favorite anime magazine. Also surprising was an ad for an automobile just inside the cover--where does an otaku find the money to buy a new car? The entire magazine is in color and the cover price is $5.99, though I'm sure I saved significantly by subscribing. What seems to stand out about this magazine is that it doesn't try to review anime (there's a virtually unlimited supply of anime reviews on the internet, after all) so much as have fun with it. For example, a silly article about who would win a theoretical computer hacking battle between Ed from Cowboy Bebop and The Laughing Man from GITS:SAC. Or, some proposed actors/actresses to play the main roles in Genshiken if it were to be made into a live-action series in the US. Sometimes I wonder whether the stuff I'm reading is a joke or is serious. Often times comical captions are inserted into the mouths of anime characters, and the writers of this magazine have a good deal of wit. "101 facts you must know to be an Otaku" was fun, as was a comparison of the anime and manga versions of Scryed. did you know that even Hillary Haag, a well-known ADV Voice Actress, has to hold a second job to make ends meet? Perhaps most intriguing of all was an ad for the upcoming GenCon anime convention in Indianapolis--I could be there in a couple hours! All-in-all, I found Anime Insider to be a lot of fun, and not particularly childish at all. I can't wait for the next issue to arrive.