From the creators of OtakuZine, comes another anime magazine, which screams and looks like it is targeted for international viewers called, Anime Asia Magazine!
I got my copy on my favorite place to hang out before doing my Weekly Monday Shopping, Book Sale and since this is the first issue and it screams that it is designed for an international audience, I decided to waste my Php 132 (the actual retail price is Php 120, I feel cheated!) for the first issue… and it turned out to be money not worth spending. Why? Just read this review to find out!
For starters, I had an issue of Otaku USA (ITS ON SALE! ALSO, IT HAS CLASSIC JDRAMA REVIEWS… WITH AN ANIKI INTERVIEW!) and I love every bit of it! Asides that have actual anime reviews and manga reviews, they also make their own recommendations in which series is worth watching or which title is worth reading! Why did I mention it? Since the name of the magazine is Anime Asia, something that screams international, I need to compare it to that issue I had to see if my fellow Asians can lay their eyes on it.
Comparing the thickness... same thickness except that Otaku USA has 104 pages, as for Anime Asia has 74 pages. Type of paper perhaps?
For the front cover (top), it looks good and like most magazines, you have the brief idea on what’s inside. Anime Premiere seems like the teaser for the titles currently airing and the like and also, they will make a full blown feature regarding Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, Madhouse, Ltd., and of course, Satoshi Kon. Aside from that, Anime Hitlist screams an anime review section.
Comparison between their respective latest anime coming from Japan sections.
I first checked all twelve pages of the Anime Premiere section (divided into two parts), and I was disappointed. Instead of giving us a short glimpse of what’s new, we have six anime titles each wasted on two pages on a large magazine spread! I mean, if they wasted a lot of space just to add pictures?! Seriously, the name of the part is Premiere, kinda like a teaser on what’s currently airing in Japan, and it felt like a standard spread of OtakuZine placed in a larger sheet of paper! Seriously, a small picture won’t do any harm with the below the picture won’t do any harm to the quality with the description of the series below it.
Next up, the Madhouse, Ltd., Fuji Rock Festival and Satoshi Kon features… and these parts never felt actual features but more like a short snippet with large pictures of each feature on a single page! I mean, if I would compare it to the online content regarding Satoshi Kon’s tribute, his tribute here in this said magazine was brief and not giving full recognition with his genius.
For the Madhouse, Ltd and Fuji Rock Festival bits, they can actually fit in a single page if you ask me considering how small their respective articles are. Based on what I remember, OtakuZine had a Madhouse feature back then, and most of their features are good reads, why not they recycle that feature in this issue instead?
Comparing their respective "review" sections.
The Anime Hitlist part is probably, the only section featured in the front page that is "decent" in this magazine. Asides that it is similar with the Anime Premiere section both have the same style, to be honest, I was expecting a decent anime review page that has at least 150-300 words in it but what I got is a typical introduce, tell the plot, recommend and exit, wash, rinse then repeat. My problem with it is that they never tell us what are the strong points and the weak points of the series. There is no variety in it on how they will elaborate their point regarding this certain series, such as, is the animation good? Is the soundtrack worth listening? Is the voice acting crappy (if you are not biased with the Japanese VA’s that is)?
As for their Kaichou wa Maid-sama! feature, I love the fact on how they abuse the two-page spread to introduce the characters! My only problem with it is that like the Anime Hitlist section, the never made much elaboration with the series, instead, we have introduce, tell the plot, introduce the characters then exit.
Even with the amount of negativity with the content featured in the front page, the strong points in this magazine is the content not found in the front page or if it is found in the front page, you barely notice it! Their Seiyuu section is a fun read. Asides that you know the voices behind your favorite anime characters, they also include character descriptions of their respective shows!
Also, their JMusicStation section is also quite a good read too. Sure, it kinda looked like the other JMusic section in their main mag, OtakuZine, they actually made full use of the space! My only disappointment is that their Oricon Music Chart found in this issue is dated, September 2010.
The MangaManiac section is how the Anime Premiere section should look like! A couple of pages with the needed info, some pictures then exit! Since their Cosplay and Mail Box section is relatively new and asking for contributions, I will skip it.
Their Merchandise section is practically, what the magazine should have been if they removed a few images and post the same length of review. The Shounen, Shoujo and Group in Focus sections is similar to the Seiyuu section except two pages are dedicated for each bit… which like the other parts of the magazine, wasted on the amount of large pictures and not on maximizing the spaces with a single picture and balance info.
As for their GameTime section, same case with Anime Hitlist, large images, small content. This is a game review section! They should talk about the game’s main features or if they game is worth playing or if the gameplay is quite clunky or not. As for the freebies, we have a large poster of Ika Musume... stapled in the middle. NOO!!! (On the sidenote: Another local magazine is featuring Ika Musume this month!)
To wrap this entire review, I might say, Anime Asia Magazine is quite a disappointing read. The magazine has so much potential in it but wasted with excessive amounts of pictures and less content about the series. I will still keep this issue for two reasons, this is issue number one and second, I might use it as a display on club fairs or anime club related activities. Hopefully, on their next issues, they will improve on the content and make every issue an entertaining read.