| Megami Deluxe #1 (Gakken Mook) |
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| Saturday, 07 February 2004 | |
 Reviewed in the order I received them, which is why #2 appeared first.
First impression: if #2 was a work of art, #1 is the prototype - and
there was definitely tweaking done.The usual selection of sections & posters, giving this lot that I can identify: Swimsuits Megami's real strong point, this section, and there's some good stuff in it - but it's spoiled by them having printed the character names beside each character's first appearance in both Japanese & English. Handy for reference - I'd have had a hard time giving names for some of the posters otherwise - but spoils the pictures a bit. I'm fairly sure they weren't in the originals. Personal favourites from here would be the Kanon and Azumanga Daioh pictures. Four Seasons A collection of seasonal pictures, with kimonos getting a good look-in here. The lack of visible skin means this section has the lowest 'nosebleed' factor, but it's still not bad. Cosplay Nurse, maid & waitress uniforms for you viewing pleasure. Best Smile Strange section, this, as any picture here could easily have fit neatly into another section of the mag, and it's not like there's no dazzling smiles in the other sections either. Pictures run the full range of swimsuit to normal streetwear - good pictures but not really meriting its own section... Holiday Sexy Shot Mostly lingerie pictures for this section, which is disappointingly short. The Ai Yori Aoshi picture here is probably the best in the mook. Eternal Goddesses A few here I couldn't identify at all. Essentially pictures of girls from classic shows, and while I have a soft spot for Asuka, her picture here doesn't hold a candle to Ruri's pose. Very much a test run of the Megami Deluxe idea, and definitely not as good as volume 2 turned out to be. There are some good pictures in it, but most of them are just okay & this mook hasn't had the same repeat value as volume 2 has had. Nice for completists, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend breaking the bank to get it, especially since most of the images are available in one form or another from the various anime wallpaper sites. |
