A delight for anime and manga fans, a collection of news and reviews about what's new on the streets and even snippets of news like the US Navy's use of graphic novels to explain their mission to the public...

There's a rather bizarre preview that's presented backwards, likely someone was too lazy to reconfigure it and just translated the speech bubbles from Japanese without thinking about the logic. No wonder the main focus is on TV shows where action is presented in a commonly-understood format, only the language needs to change. The reviews and commentary on said shows is very good and readable, however. There's also a lot of good background information to enable those unfamiliar with Japanese culture to understand the nuances that seem strange to Western eyes but which would be instantly understood by the Japanese target audience.

The various articles on different anime and manga shows provide considerable detail, so if you enjoy this world you can incorporate it into the background of your game... whether it's anime-focussed like BESM or if you want to put a twist into a contemporary/near-future game... Cyberpunk springs to mind as a potential setting that would work well with a Japanese flavour. Some are historical, and might suit players of Bushido or Legends of the Samurai. Even if you do not like the actual art style of anime, there's plenty to mine from storyline and characters.

Overall, the authoritative style and comprehensive coverage of new and classic material make it a must for anyone who enjoys anime and manga, and an interesting read for someone new to this particular genre.

Return to Protoculture Addicts # 97 page.

Reviewed: 25 May 2009