Just Another Bloody Fan Girl

So the newest issue of NEO arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday. For those not living in the UK or for those living in the UK and simply unaware NEO is a UK based publication dedicated to Animé, Manga, Games and Asian film. I've been subscribed to this publication for something like five years now (since issue 18). It's been described as the UK equivalent of the now defunct Newtype USA, especially with the redesign which is what I'm writing about today.

Issues 82 marks yet another redesign and I think the mag is all the better for it. The old design was full of acid colours, felt confused and rather dated. This new design uses colour reservedly in the layout itself, saving it for the copious amounts of screen shots and promotional artwork contained within (as well as the short, full-colour comic story mid-way through this issue). The modern layout brings the mag bang up to date, makes the mag look fresh and also gives it a sense of professionalism. The overall tone of the mag hasn't changed but I am pleased to see an article on the series Wandering Son-a show about transgender issues and something much more meaty than many of the other series usually featured in the NEO (though that's no fault of the magazine itself. The article in question discusses the Japanese's somewhat immature attitude to sex and sexuality in its opening paragraph).

The magazine is still mostly a light hearted affair with it's 'wacky' captions (that I feel occasionally come across as 'trying way too hard'). Which is understandable as a sudden change in appearance and tone would likely alienate much of NEO's readership (Which would suck). My personal preference would be to see much meatier articles that go into greater depth about the series they're covering. Possibly plot analysis of retro series? IDK LOL :'D I personally feel that the publication needs to adopt a much more 'film literate' tone (But that may just be me).

None of the series reviewed this issue are rated lower than three stars which is a bit of a shame-the publication seems to still be playing it rather safe (some may say too safe). That said, I definitely want to check out Summer Wars which is this issues main review.

Coming towards the end of the magazine are two double sided pages of posters-a much requested and welcome addition to the magazine. For a publication dedicated to such visual stories it's a wonder this wasn't made a regular feature a long time ago...

Now, if you'll excuse me I've got a Summer Wars poster to add to my wall...
...and possibly a Battle Vixens Pin-Up too...

TL;DR: Don't hate on the new NEO, I like it and I think it's a step in the right direction.

Join us next time which will hopefully be sometime next week as opposed to sometime next year.

(Wow, no post in nearly half a year...I'll try not to do that again. In the mean time, have the salvaged remains of a post I was working on.)

At a party not too long ago I was discussing the film Battle Royale with a friend of mine. We both loved the first one and then got to talking about the sequel. He'd not seen it and I had. After ranting about how bad I thought that film was the host, a boy called Sasha, comes over and asks,
"Were you guys just talking about Twilight?"
"Uhm...no. Why?"
"Because I heard the phrases 'poorly written' and 'poorly acted'."

In this generation one will either find themselves adoring or loathing Stephanie Meyer's shockingly successful series. One will either find themselves obsessing over whether they're Team Jacob or Team Edward or they shall find themselves totally failing to see the appeal of what some consider to be essentially a choice between bestiality or necrophilia. As you can probably tell, I myself am not a fan of the Twilight books in particular. And I'll tell you why.

Firstly, given my last entry, I do acknowledge how odd my admitting to disliking something may come across as to some people. But that last entry wasn't about blindly liking everything everyone else likes; my last entry was about tolerating what interests others. That still applies here too. I'm not trying to demonize fans of the series, this is simply why I dislike the series (and possibly how some fans appreciate it. The tolerance thing works both ways).

Now secondly let me stress that I did try to give this series a chance. Just before the books got CRAZY!Ridiculous popular I remember hearing about Meyer's version of vampires and thought that it was an interesting take on the lore but nothing OMG! AMAZING! I didn't fully comprehend how ridiculous sparkly vampires would look until the Twilight-hate band wagon started up good and proper...and then I was forced to watch the first film. Yeah, I am of the opinion that Edward looked like he'd had a bucket of craft glitter dumped on him...Don't even get me started on the performances (I don't mean to boast but as someone whose been acting since before they can remember I know a good performance when I see it and I didn't see a great many decent performances in that film). But perhaps I'm being too harsh. Well, as it happens...

Speaking of my involvement in drama, a few years ago I was involved in a particular group and had been for the better part of a decade. Back stage at one of the last shows I ever did with them there was a copy of the first book in the series floating around. I thought I may as well see what all the fuss was about. I found, after the first few pages, I didn't like Meyer's writing style; the phrasing was awkward and it didn't flow naturally. I didn't finish the book but by the time I'd started reading I already knew what happened at least one book on.

To properly critique the 'saga' some people may feel that I need to have read all of it and watched all of the films. But I gave it a a chance, didn't enjoy it and I don't see why I should invest much more time in something I don't enjoy (Bitching about it TTLY doesn't factor in to that, right?) So now you know this is the opinion of someone on the outside of the Twilight bubble looking in.

Speaking of the Twilight bubble, another reason I'm not a huge fan of the series is the fans themselves; they're scary. Indeed, I acknowledge that animé fans can be just as scary if not scarier but that was briefly covered in my last post. Indeed, I'm guessing most of those that end up reading this have watched this and have probably laughed at it too. It is a little bit cringe worthy to watch but I've heard a fair few stories (of questionable validity, mind) where they've even turned violent (There was even a board detailing such instances known as The Twihard Attack Directory but that appears to be defunct now. Some people may think it's a little harsh to paint such an overly negative picture of the fans. I find it more worrying that there was a need for such a directory to exist in the first place. This is where that 'tolerance works both ways' thing factors in; fighting intolerance with intolerance never works). The violent fans aren't the only scary ones either. Returning to the fans in my old drama group for a moment, there was one younger girl among them who was only about eleven at the time. And that is the thing that bothers me the most; that a story about a girl that *SPOILER!* gets pregnant and married before the age of twenty has such young members in its fanbase. I really dislike that it's a lifestyle that is portrayed as something to strive for; I dislike that lust and uninformed decisions are portrayed as the components of a healthy relationship here (Mind you, that can be said for a great deal of YA Romance fiction, I suppose). And that is my main problem with Twilight. But I doubt it's a cultural phenomenon that's going to go away any time soon and I doubt that we won't see something similar with a different series a few years down the line.

TL;DR: I'm not a fan of Twilight. Go read The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike, The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith and Hellsing by Kohta Hirano instead*. Also, this.

Side Note: Seventh book in The Last Vampire series released in late 2010? I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS! *Happy Dance*

*: At least in those series the unhealthy relationships and bat-shit insanity of the plot is portrayed as just that and isn't prettied up (in fact, it's actually rather enjoyable in an unabashed way; one can't dither about such things). ^_^

Join us next time when 'next time' isn't five months from now...

^A reference to this Nostalgia Critic Review.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
...And if you don't celebrate that specific holiday...ah...SEASON'S GREETINGS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
...to whoever (if anyone at all) reads this silly little blog of mine.

A few projects vaguely planned in my head for the New Year.
However I'm not sure when (if at all) they'll come to fruition.
We shall see.

I feel that a few choice words may be in order for the Doctor Who Christmas Special...