I recently purchased a subscrioption to Newtype, a magazine produced by ADV pertaining to the latest Manga and Anime releases. Due to its ownership by ADV, they end up dedicating a good bit of space to stuff created by ADV itself, but it’s not all about ADV. Newtype is an invaluable resource for the Anime fan. Like most magazines, it is released monthly, and each month comes jam-packed with cool information. The layout of the magazine is fairly standard.
They start with the cover. Every cover comes with a picture of two of the main characters in the featured Anime. The first article is an overview of the topic for the front cover. After that, there are about 10-15 reviews of various Anime titles. Each gets two pages for itself and comes with storyline background, character background, and interesting tidbits.
After that, they move on to Newtype Express, a quick ride through the various Newtype countries: Japan, USA, Australia, and the UK, providing information about anime and manga releases in each country. Newtype Press follows that, with various articles about anything and everything by some of the Newtype staff from around the world. Then comes the Manga Insert- one chapter of an ongoing manga series, in B&W. The current title is Lagoon Engine Einsatz. After that come various features about some of the new Anime releases. The Centerfold is a double-sided poster sporting the characters of a release shown the month before.
The Official Art Of… comes next. Each Official Art page gives story, background, and general inside information on an upcoming release through use of sketchbook-style drawings of the characters. This section puts a great deal of emphasis on character development by physical appearance; how sometimes, things are what they seem to be. Submissions follow, where Newtype posts fanart and answers letters from subscribers. Next is Anime Land, a list of releases, statistics, and upcoming events for the month at hand. They then put the spotlight on some relatively famous Japanese voice actors/actresses.
The next section is Everybody Cosplay!, a section dedicated to showing off people’s cosplaying skills. (Cosplaying is the hobby of dressing up as an Anime character for a convention.) After that, the reviews start coming. They review anything Anime-related, from Japanese music to video games to Manga to DVDs and live-action Japanese movies. The name of the last page says it all: A Thousand Words- “Since none of us can draw to save our lives, we filled the final page with a heaping helping of text.”
As you can see, there’s plenty for the Anime Lover to feast his or her eyes on. However, this monthly tome of Anime knowledge doesn’t come cheap- a subscription to Newtype USA runs $89.95. However, it has definitely benefitted me. It has saved me from boredom on many an occasion, and based on its information, I purchased both YOTSUBA&! Volume 1 and the Noir Perfect Collection (which I will write about when I finish watching it). It even led me to buy the Steel Angel Kurumi collection when I borrowed an issue from my friend a while back.
As always, feel free to post comments. Until next time…
