| Megami Deluxe #4 (Gakken Mook) |
|
|
| Saturday, 19 March 2005 | |
 Take the best posters - allegedly - from a year's worth of Megami magazine, and you get Megami Deluxe:
A4-sized, all posters, and none of the distracting fluff (like
articles) that you get in the regular magazine. The problem is,
that for all the shows & characters that feature in the magazine
over the course of a year, Deluxe does seem to focus on just a handful
of shows...Part 1 - Air (TV & Movie) Misuzu, Kano & Minagi - x2, school uniform pics (1 pictured) Misuzu - with sunflower Kano, her sister & Potato Minagi & Michiru (pictured) Group pics - x3 Misuzu & Yukito - at sunset Misuzu & her mom Misuzu (movie version) Misuzu & Yukito (movie version)   Gakken can be forgiven for featuring Air so heavily, I suppose - in its various forms (game, TV series & movie) it's one of the most popular 'properties' in fandom at the moment, so plenty of Misuzu equals plenty of sales. Most of the pictures here are nothing special, although I'm pleased to see that my personal favourite 'sunset' picture makes an appearance. What does cost the producers some brownie points, though, is that the Misuzu & Yukito 'movie' picture has been heavily cropped - the full version features the two of them on a motorcyle, but in the form it's in here, so much has been removed it's hard to tell they're even on a bike. Grumble. Part 2 - Swimsuit Collection Kakyuusei 2 - x2 School Rumble Raimuiro Ryuukitan X Nurse-Witch Komugi-chan - x2 Galaxy Angel - x3 Girls Bravo - x2 (1 pictured) W Wish (pictured) DearS 2x2=Shinobuden To Heart ~Remember my Memories~ - x2 Musumet Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~   Moving on into territory that's definitely more Megami's 'thing', we get the first of the fanservice sections. Galaxy Angel dominates, with Mint, Mifuelle, Vanilla & Chitose all featuring, but my personal favourites are the Komugi and Girls Bravo pics. All things considered, a pretty good section.
Part 3 - Onsen & Lingerie Collection Kakyuusei 2 - x2 Raimuiro Ryuukitan X - x2 Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha - x2 Galaxy Angel (pictured) Tsukuyomi Moon Phase (pictured) He is My Master Musumet Final Approach   More fanservice for the frustrated fan, with the section that will probably be responsible for more wallpaper scan images than any other. With the featured characters in various states of undress (from He is My Master's maid outfits to Lyrical Nanoha's.. err.. nothing), there's something for everyone. Winners in my book are Raimuiro Ryuukitan X (for nosebleed value) and Tsukuyomi Moon Phase (for sheer cuteness). Part 4 - Ah! My Goddess Belldandy - x4 (2 pictured)   Needs more Belldandy. This is one section that
could really have done with being larger - four pictures just isn't
enough. What is here is good, though.
Part 5 - Cosplay Collection Akane Maniax - x3 HaniHani ~Operation Sanctuary~ - x5 BinKan Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha - x2 My:HiME - x2 (1 pictured) Kannaduki no Miko To Heart ~Remember my Memories~ - x3 Galaxy Angel - x3 School Rumble (pictured) Tenjou Tenge - x2 UG*Ultimate Girls Rozen Maiden Gunbuster 2 Kakyuusei 2 - x2 Uta~Kata   The Cosplay gallery covers everything from sera fuku, through miko costumes, santa suits and waitress gear to yukata and dolls' outfits (Rozen Maiden), which pretty much covers all the bases. Definitely some good pictures here, although given it's also the largest section of the book, that's only to be expected. Personal picks are the Kannaduki no Miko and My:HiME pics - from a purely 'obsessed fanboy' viewpoint, of course... Extras Two sets of pop-out character standees - three from Air, six from Clannad.   The standees are a nice extra, I'll admit - although like many people, I'm not planning on removing them from the magazine any time soon. Wouldn't want to ruin the collector value of it. ^^; If I could wish for one thing, it would be for Megami Deluxe to feature a greater range of characters and shows - I can understand the business argument for focussing on a group of popular shows, but given that the main magazine can carry a huge range, it spoils the feel of these collections when so many good pictures get left out in favour of some mediocre pics from popular shows. Overall, though, there are so many posters here (73 of 'em) that it's still well worth a few dollars of your hard-earn cash. Great stuff. |
