Megami Magazine volume 155 (April 2013) came right at the end of the winter 2013 season so there are a number of posters for completed series, but there are a few for series that are still airing. The cover features Akane from Vividred Operation in her transformed state. Her smile and pose really help to showcase her cheerful side and brighten the magazine’s cover. Before getting into the posters, just remember that any super ecchi content isn’t shown directly on this page, you’ll have to click on the links to view them.

This is the first time I’ve seen something like this from Megami. The cover actually folds out to show Rei on the opposite side of Akane. What’s even cooler is that the text in the background is mirrored on Rei’s side, helping to contrast the two characters.

The next interesting thing about this volume is that the first poster isn’t actually a poster, but a large fold-out consisting of the girls from Idolmaster in recognition of their upcoming movie. This fold-out is twice the size of a regular poster so I had to take a few shots and stitch them together, but it’s great to see them fit all of the girls into one illustration even if it can’t be taken out of the magazine.

The first regular poster has Kobato and Yukimura changing on a bed. It’s not particularly impressive when compared to the previous volume’s Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT poster, but still cute.

For once Megami actually has a Love Live poster where the characters, outfits, and background all flow together to create something that looks flawless.

Kud seems to get the most attention out of all of the Little Busters girls, but on the bright side she’s never alone so it gives characters like Rin to make an appearance. I like how this illustration has supplemented the plain bed scene with some pillows and ribbons. The folds in their clothes and the way Rin’s hair spreads out also helps to enhance the appeal of this poster.

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With the Index movie coming up as well, characters from that series are also getting some of the spotlight in Megami. I honestly think the illustrations used so far (this one included) could’ve been much better.

I don’t really have much to say about this poster, it’s the perfect example of an average Megami poster: not too impressive, but nothing is wrong with it.

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Aoi and Charles from Da Capo III seem to be playing dirty by going with the naked apron trick.

This poster is an example of how you can take something plain like a bikini shot at the beach and make it more impressive. To start, rather than use a single tone for the skin, it’s actually different shades depending on its exposure to the sun, which is clearly shown by the light rays to be in the top right. Next, having some sand on Katsu’s bottom makes it seem more like they’re at the beach. Having an actual background also helps.

I can’t say I was too happy about this Kotoura-san poster. Except for the detail in the fishnet stockings there isn’t really much that stands out.

As far as Star Plus One posters go, this one is actually not as eye-catching, but it still looks pretty.

It feels a bit weird to see two samurai dressed up as maids doing a heart pose, but then again, I’m not watching Hyakka Ryouran.

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Despite the ecchi level, I actually thought this poster was nice. The lines were done smoothly, giving the characters nice curves.

Personally I find things like camera settings in an illustration to be distracting, but besides that, this Robotics;Notes poster is quite detailed with al of the snacks lying around. It’s also fun to see the characters in nekomimi maid outfits.

I think this Henneko poster of Tsukiko is by far the most detailed in this volume. Not only does Tsukiko simply look adorable, but the amount of effort put into making the pockets of light shining on her as well as the different shades of moss behind her is amazing, making for one stunning illustration.

The Minami sisters always seem to have fun together, especially when they go out to places like the beach.

The Chikaoka Sunao poster in this volume has the characters indoors for a change. I didn’t get the same calming feeling from this one as I did from the others, but maybe it’s because studying isn’t exactly a calming activity. I wonder if they’re at a WcDonald’s.

One anime last season that seems to have slipped under my radar is Kick Start Generation. It appears to be a one episode OVA based on a visual novel. I’m not too sure what it’s about, but if I find it I’ll certainly watch it.

The Anime Character Catch Up section covers some of the series that are coming this year. Of course, number one is the highly anticipated Prism Nana anime. Many of the others like Nyaruko and Oreimo have already started airing.

Another interesting unaired series to note is Choujigen Game Neptune, which is a spin-off of the Neptunia PS3 game. The characters look a lot cuter.

As with the past several volumes, the back cover again features a full Puchimas ad.

There were no freebies with this volume, but as usual there was a B2 sized poster. The first side has an illustration of some of the Girls and Panzer girls playing at the beach. I think the character designs more than anything make this poster worth looking at.

The reverse side keeps up with the beach theme by featuring Rei in a black bikini. Attractive? yes, plain? a little bit. The illustrations on both sides of the B2 poster are nice, but I know Megami can do better.

Taking into account all of the posters though, this was an above average volume. Except for the Kotoura-san and Index posters, there was really nothing that looked terrible. As you can probably guess, my favourite was the Henneko poster of Tsukiko and I also liked the Idolmaster fold-out. While I didn’t mention it earlier, you should definitely get this volume if you’re an Idolmaster fan because there is a lot of content on the series, or if you’re a Vividred fan for the cover and poster.

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Decades of sci-fi robot anime has given us a good idea of how to become the pilot of a high-tech giant robot, commonly known as mecha. Admittedly, not everyone who wants to become a pilot will, but there are some things that you can do to increase your chances.

1. Start Early

Almost all good mecha pilots are teenagers so if you want to become one, you must make a decision to be a pilot early on and stick with it. Age 20+ is when your chances of becoming more than cannon fodder drop exponentially if you aren’t already a pilot. It’s still possible for older people to pilot a cool mecha, but you will more than likely be a side character if you do. If you’re 40+ then you should forget it, the most you’ll ever be is a cocky squadron leader that says something along the lines of, ”damn kids,” before getting blown to bits by said kids.

2. Establish your Social Status

It’s sad to say, but almost all main character mecha pilots are male. If you are male, then getting into a kick-ass weapon of mass destruction is pretty straightforward; enroll in a high school (preferably in space or close to a military installation) and try to fit in. Having an interest in or knowledge of technology may provide a slight advantage though a slight one. An alternative to enrolling in high school is to join some military force at a young age, but the side-effect is that you will be cold-hearted until a pretty girl softens you up.

Female pilots that are also main characters are few and far between, but they do exist, it just takes a lot more effort than for males. In order to become a main character mecha pilot, enrolling in a high school is also your best bet. The difference is that you can’t be that average girl, you have to either be at the top of the class in everything or be a rival to the person who is at the top of the class in everything. It’s still possible to be a ditz and end up piloting a mecha, but then a male character will usually steal the spotlight. Female pilot-wannabes also have the option of becoming a “princess” character. This could mean being a real princess or have a princess-like role such as being the daughter of the president. Having such a position usually means that state of the art mechas are at your disposal but you’ll end up in the damsel-in-distress role sooner or later.

If this all seems like too much work, one surefire way to get the pilot role is to have your father or mentor build/design a mecha. Of course, that leads into the next item you will need.

3. Tragic Background

Every hot-shot pilot needs a tragic background. If you took the surefire method mentioned above, that father/mentor will likely die before the end of your show. If not, you will need to lose your family and/or close friend(s). There are two ways to do this: ongoing conflict or a surprise attack. The ongoing conflict usually involves two superpowers at war, you simply need to suffer some loss due to collateral damage during a battle. For the surprise attack version, you need to see your loved ones killed due to a surprise attack on your home be invading forces.

4. Right Place at the Right Time

This typically only applies to people who have chosen to lose loved ones in a surprise attack, but can also apply to other situations. Unless you were trained to pilot a mecha from an early age (see item 2), you won’t get to pilot a mecha until the right circumstances happen. Generally, when a battle breaks out, run around like a headless chicken until a mecha just so happens to show up with an unlocked cockpit and no pilot. Simply jump in and take a few seconds (literally) to figure out all of the controls and start kicking butt. Keep in mind that “tragic background” must be present before or soon after getting in the cockpit or else you’ll get shot and die or blown to bits and someone else will take the spotlight.

There you have it, four easy steps to increase your chances of becoming a cool mecha pilot and main character of an anime. Note that this doesn’t guarantee you’ll achieve your goal, but it’ll set the conditions for it to happen. Also note that there are always exceptions and you don’t have to follow the steps above to become a mecha pilot, though it would help. If you’re already a mecha pilot, feel free to chime in with how you became one in the comments.

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This post is part of the Guide to Anime project. For more guides on various topics related to anime, check out the project page.

I had never seen any of the Da Capo series before , but after hearing about how good Da Capo I was, I thought that maybe I should give this franchise a shot. Since Da Capo III was airing last season, it was my first foray into the Da Capo universe… and I was sorely disappointed. I’ll just cut to the chase and say that the series was utter crap… so why did I keep watching to the end?

Before I answer that, I’ll just go through some of the background. Da Capo III is the third major title in a series of dating-sim visual novels by Circus, all of which have gotten an anime adaptation. The Da Capo III anime was produced by Kazami Gakuen Koushiki Douga-bu, a newcomer in the animation studio world, and consisted of 13 episodes which aired during the winter 2013 season. The series was directed by Kenichi Ishikura in his first role as head director. Like the previous Da Capo series, Da Capo III takes place on Hatsune Island and it revolves around the mystery surrounding the sudden blossoming of a magical cherry blossom.

There are several things that’ll keep me watching an anime: good story, action/suspense, entertaining comedy, and pretty girls.

Lets start with the story. Being a fan of popular visual novel adaptations such as Kanon and ef, and even less popular adaptations such as Sola, I was expecting Da Capo III to offer something along the same lines in terms of plot and drama. All dating-sim visual novels follow the same basic structure: girls have problems, guy solves problems, girls fall (more) in love, guy picks one girl. The girl problems are the bread and butter of these series as they really tug at your heartstrings and make you feel for the characters. This is where Da Capo III dropped the ball. The girl problems in this series were: the main character doesn’t spend as much time with one of them, one of them sleeps in, one of them sucks at sports, one of them is jealous (more than the others), one of them gets a cold, and one of them is a time traveler or something. Seriously, where is the domestic violence? where’s the bullying? where is the neglect and self-loathing? Without any drama, Da Capo III puts you to sleep relatively quickly.

As for action and suspense, there is none.

Comedy is few and far between. Unlike many main characters from similar series, Kiyotaka Yoshino is a major buzz kill. Whenever one of the girls gets mad at him, he calmly diffuses the situation, there is no Naru-punch or pail in the face to laugh at. Really, the only comedy comes from accidental run-ins with some of the girls, which are designed to provide some fanservice.

Now on to the final thing that’ll keep me watching a series, pretty girls, otherwise known as bishoujo. Da Capo III is full of them and they’re mostly perfect in their own way. As far as Harems go, Kiyotaka has one that’ll make most anime characters jealous. Of the main cast, my favourite bishoujo in order are: Ricca Morizono, Himeno Katsuragi, Sara Rukawa, Charles Yoshino, and Aoi Hinomoto. Shiki Edogawa was also cute. Naturally, a series that relies on bishoujo has to have good animation quality so there were no issues there. Just so you can see who each character is, below are some screenshots.

Ricca:

Himeno:

Sara:

Charles:

Aoi:

Shiki:

In the end, Da Capo III is just one of those anime that you watch for the bishoujo. Don’t expect anything else from it, especially a story.

Today we have Megami Magazine Volume 154 (March 2013). The front cover features Miho from the series Girls and Panzer on a camouflage background. I actually quite like the cover this time, it’s bright, cheerful, and of a high quality. There’s a good selection of posters this time, which you can see below.

The first poster has some characters from Tamako Market. It’s cute at first, but where are they putting their hands!?

Da Capo III was a bit of a disappointment for me, but I have to admit that the characters were cute. I absolutely love this poster of Himeno with her flower-patterned yukata and lying on a bed of flowers.

This Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai poster is also beautiful. The intricate designs on the qipao and even the couch add to the elaborateness of the illustration and the flowers in the vase maintain it even into the background. The only thing I have a problem with is that Yozora’s face doesn’t look right.

For once Megami has a Sakurasou poster where Mashiro isn’t in a state of undress. It still manages to maintain the cuteness of the series.

I’m on the fence with this poster. The sparkles and flowers in the illustration are eye-catching, but the girls are rather plain and it really clashes.

It’s nice seeing arch-nemesis Nibutani and Dekomari spending time together like this. So far I’ve enjoyed every Chuunibyou poster that has been included in Megami Magazine.

Star Plus One is again featured in this volume. This poster of theirs is by far my favourite; the detail that went into all the frills on their uniforms is stunning.

I don’t know about you guys, but fishing for bikini tops seems like it could be a painful experience for both the fisher and the fished, I’m not sure why these two girls from Senran Kagura are smiling.

I liked the cover image, but I thought Megami dumbed it down a little when it came to this pin-up poster. The camouflage background made it look a lot nicer than the tank tracks.

Considering Star Driver is about a galactic pretty-boy, it’s surprising the number of female characters in it. It seems they’re trying to draw in male fans with illustrations like this, but with something so dull I don’t see it drawing in many people.

Minami-ke posters are cute as always. I never noticed this, but for an elementary school kid, Chiaki is pretty tall, she’s already up to Haruka’s nose and she’s in high school.

Love Live posters seem to have some nicely drawn characters with good clean lines, proper body proportions, and a little blush to give them life, but the surroundings always seem plain and uninspiring.

Masuzu isn’t my favourite character from OreShura, but I have to admit that she looks nice in this poster. Not the best, but nice.

Tari Tari had nice animation and I’m glad to see some nice watercolour illustrations like this one too. The character may look a bit different, but the use of colours and shading is amazing.

I don’t think I’ve seen one Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de poster in Megami that hasn’t had a nude character on it.

This issue features another illustration from Chikaoka Sunao. The scene almost seems like something out of K-ON.

Besides the posters there wasn’t much to take a look at in this volume. There was a page full of Girls and Panzer stickers though. One of the stickers even has the Christmas illustration that was included in a previous volume. These seem like they would be great to stick on a laptop, folder, or notebook if you’re a Girls and Panzer fan.

The back cover of the magazine again has an ad for Puchimas.

The large B2 poster included in this volume features the Railgun and Index at the beach on the first side. It’s cute, but their feet look poorly drawn and the surroundings really don’t add much to their jump. I think adding a bit of water spray or doing something with the background would’ve made it feel more lively.

The reverse side has a nicer illustration of Kurugaya helping Kud learn how to skate. I find it odd that she’s wearing a winter coat as well as a skirt, but I guess that’s anime for you.

Overall this was an excellent volume of Megami Magazine. The first half of the poster line-up was especially impressive with highly detailed and colourful illustrations. My favourites are the Da Capo III, Haganai, Chuunibyou, and Star Plus One posters. It was disappointing that the Girls and Panzer poster used a less eye-catching background compared to the cover, but it was still nice. I definitely recommend getting this volume.

–>Subscribe to Megami Magazine<–

Sena Kashiwazaki is one of the main characters from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai. She’s smart, athletic, pretty, popular, and has no friends, which prompts her into joining the neighbours club. Kotobukiya released this 1/8 scale figure of her in August 2012 for a price of 6800 yen. There are a number of figures out there of Sena, but what made me decide to get this one was the butterfly that rests on her knee.

Pose and Sculpt

Sena is in a sitting pose so she does not take up much vertical space, but the horizontal space needed is a bit more than your average 1/8 scale figure. She’s also in a sexy state of semi-undress with a cute cherry-in-mouth pose.

At first glance Sena looks like one complete figure, but she’s actually made up of a few different pieces that are extremely hard to put together.

One of the interesting things about this figure is that Sena’s hair is done up in a ponytail instead of straight down. This means she doesn’t have her usual butterfly hairclip on the side, but Kotobukiya has replaced it with a larger butterfly clip to hold her ponytail; quite a nice touch.

Face

Before I decided to get this figure, I was a bit hesitant because Sena’s face did not seem to match her character design. Sadly, the final product still doesn’t match the character design. On the bright side, she still looks cute and she has some uniquely pretty eyes. I like the innocent questioning expression that she has; I think it brings out some of her femininity.

Paint Job

A cute figure like this deserves a good paint job, but it’s sad to see that Sena’s paint job was mediocre. While there are no extremely glaring issues, there are a lot of areas for improvement. Paint seems to spill into areas where it doesn’t belong, making a lot of lines appear rough. There are also splotches of paint here and there, the most obvious one in the above picture can be seen in the top right.

The painting on some places like the butterfly hair clip is a bit better, but still not close to even being smooth. As for colour tone and gradients in the hair, there is some, but it seems a bit random.

Fine Details

A lot of figures tend to have seam lines in the hair because of its complexity, but I was glad to see that Sena doesn’t have that. Unfortunately, her ponytail really doesn’t flow naturally and looks like a ginseng root.

The folds in Sena’s clothes do look nice though, and they help to hide the seams between her arms and torso. Her tie also fits snuggly in her bosom. Of course, you can remove it if you don’t like it covering Sena’s… neck.

As I stated earlier, the butterfly was the main reason I bought this figure. The blue parts are slightly transparent and it the black paint job is far superior to the butterfly hair clip. My biggest complaint about it is that it doesn’t stay on Sena’s knees like in the promo shots released by Kotobukiya. Sena came with some sticky stuff that you can use to stick the butterfly on, but it didn’t work very well so I used white glue. The glue held it in place for a while until I accidently bumped it and the butterfly fell off. I finally settled with using a piece of tape.

The basket of cherries wasn’t as impressive-looking as the butterfly, but it’s still a nice accessory.

I had mentioned earlier that there were some pieces that were extremely difficult to put together. Well, here they are. Sena’s skirt pieces do not really connect with anything so I had to glue them in place. Some people have given up on the skirt pieces altogether and enjoyed the panty shot, but I just didn’t think it was right for part of the skirt to be missing.

Base

The base is a plain white with the Boku wa Tomodahi ga Sukunai title on it and a kind of step to allow Sena’s feet to extend down a bit. It’s nicer than the standard round base, but doesn’t do much to compliment the figure.

Overall

I got this figure because I liked the butterfly theme, but that seems to be the only thing it has going for it. It’s hard to identify the figure as Sena, the paint job was mediocre, and it’s frustrating to fit pieces that don’t connect together. I recommend only getting it if you liked the butterflies as much as I did. There will be a re-release in June 2013 if you missed the first release.

Shin Sekai Yori is a 25-episode series produced by A-1 Pictures and released by Aniplex. Shin Sekai Yori had by far the most intriguing storyline of any anime I’ve seen recently, but it lacked in other areas, which prevented the series from becoming a masterpiece. I’m going to do this review a bit differently and look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

I can’t imagine anyone watching Shin Sekai Yori and not agree that the story was the best part of the anime. Based on a novel by the same title written by Yusuke Kishi, it is set a thousand years in the future. The human population has been devastated by war between normal humans and humans with telekinetic powers. Civilization has now degraded to small towns and villages resembling ancient Japan. The education system is designed to raise children to use their powers appropriately and Shin Sekai Yori tells the story of one of those children, Saki Watanabe.

The delivery of the story was done extremely well. Everything about the world is seen and told through Saki, allowing the viewer to discover the world as she discovers it. Not only that, but it also conveys the shock that she experiences throughout her life as she discovers the truth behind her society. Throughout the series you’re left wondering “what are they hiding?” and whenever Saki makes a discovery or revelation, you’re filled with mixed feelings of logically knowing that some action was the right thing to do, but at the same time morally wrong.

The story covers aspects that many anime can only dream of touching on. I’ve already written a post detailing the ethics of eugenic practice, but Shin Sekai Yori also enlightens viewers to issues surrounding security vs. freedom, sex and relationships, equality, democracy, and class warfare. Saki’s observations are thought-provoking and bring out discussion amongst the intellectuals in the audience. Almost every episode leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting more, not to see a big fight, but to learn more about the foundations of Saki’s society. If I had to compare Shin Sekai Yori to classic literature, I’d say it’s the 1984 of modern anime.

The Bad

In the past I would’ve said that a good story can carry any anime regardless of any other aspects of it; Shin Sekai Yori proved me wrong. The beginning of the series was so slow and seemingly pointless that I ended up dropping it after a few episodes. It wasn’t until news of the revelations in the 4th episode spread across the internet that I decided to pick up the series again. After completing the series, I now realize how important the first episodes were to establishing the foundations of the world, but it was just delivered is such  a way that it didn’t captivate the audience.

The animation was upsetting to say the least. Disregarding changing animation styles, the quality just didn’t compliment the story at all. The series relies heavily on terrorizing the audience with the truth, but also had many opportunities to do the same with violence. Sadly, the animation was at a similar level as mass-produced episodes from series such as Bleach. Much of the time when something violent was happening, the camera was off in the distance so you really don’t see much beyond some figure being torn apart and even when it was closer, it didn’t feel very terrifying.

The Ugly

People tend to hold themselves in high regard in terms of morality and ethics; few would say that they are racist or consider themselves superior to others. Watching Shin Sekai Yori is like the process of polishing a dull mirror, seeing your reflection and realizing how ugly of a person you really are. It lures viewers into empathizing with a character or group while at the same time entices viewers to antagonize another character or group. Once you have fully committed to one side and agree with its ideals, Shin Sekai Yori flips everything around and suddenly reveals how terrible of a person you are for judging the characters like you did.

The beauty of these flips is that they are perfectly set up so you are never surprised that they happened, but you are shocked that you didn’t see the truth before. There are characters described as monsters in Shin Sekai Yori, but really, the only monster here is you, the viewer.

Conclusion

Shin Sekai Yori has a very strong, captivating story once you get past the first few episodes. It could’ve done better with the delivery and atmosphere, but the message it gives still comes across strong: don’t judge others based on your own prejudices and instead learn to understand their circumstances. I know this series isn’t for everyone, but I still highly recommend Shin Sekai Yori.

P.S. Even if you don’t watch Shin Sekai Yori, at least listen to the first ending song, it’s one of my favourites.

Volume 153 (February 2013) of Megami Magazine features To Love-ru on the cover. To be honest, I’ve never seen To Love-Ru and I thought the gray tones in the cover made it look dull so I didn’t really like it. Although this is the February edition of Megami, it came out in January, meaning that this one comes with the annual freebie calendar. First though, lets take a look at the posters included in this volume. Note that very ecchi content is not shown directly on this page, you will need to click on the links to see them.

The first poster has Miho from Girls and Panzer in a nice white bikini. Normally I’m not a fan of plain shots like these, but I have to admit that this one is rather nice. The shading is far better than what Megami bikini shots usually have and the drops of water dripping down somehow draw out Miho’s appeal.

The next poster is also a with swimsuits, this time with Akiko and Arisa from OniAi. At first glance everything looks fine, but upon closer inspection their eyes seem to be off from the style of the anime.

Here we have the same image that was used on the cover. The dullness is more apparent without all of the wording around it.

I absolutely love the contrast in colours in this Little Busters poster. Yuiko almost looks tyrannical here and the streams of light make it look like she’s somehow superior. The only thing I don’t like is the way the perspective enlarges things closer to the “camera” such as her foot, while it shrinks things further away, like her bottom.

Star Plus One continues to show off its lovely character designs with more posters like this one. The shininess in their hair is cool.

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K has had some rather disappointing posters, and this one is no exception.

Despite still being a ways off from actually airing, Prism Nana continues to feature their main characters in Megami Magazine. Here we have Kotone holding her blue guitar while lying in bed.

I found this Sakurasou poster to be quite cute; it’s a shame that they decided to put it over a stock background rather than draw one fitting for the situation.

Rikka without her wicked eye? Blasphemy! Megami Magazine has again included a larger double-folded poster in this volume. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai has gotten at least one of the previous ones, but I’m glad to see it get another. Rikka is certainly cute.

The reverse side has Akane and Aoi from Vividred Operation. I think it’s pretty clear what kind of people would enjoy this poster.

I know Busou Shinki have weird-looking joints because of how they’re made, but that doesn’t explain why Hina’s right leg looks like it’s broken. I guess it’s a good thing that she’s a nurse…

I don’t consider Hayate no Gotoku to be a fanservice anime so when I see a poster like this, it’s a bit awkward. Nagi fans might enjoy it though.

If I didn’t like the characters of OreShura, I probably wouldn’t have liked this poster. It’s very plain and is a good example of what I was referring to earlier when talking about the Girls and Panzer poster.

Mmm, <3 Rikka and Charles.

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My first thought when I saw this poster was, “where’s that spout of water coming from?” It’s nice to see Senran Kagura try something other than the group shot.

This Love Live poster is simple, but cute.

Some of you may remember a series about a galactic pretty-boy, called Star Driver. Well, it’s back, but this time as a movie. I like the style and atmosphere that this poster was going for, but the character designs just don’t seem suited for the classy and sexy look.

One of Chikaoka Sunao’s illustrations is again featured in this volume. This time it’s of a young girl walking her dog in what looks like a late autumn morning or evening. These illustrations are always calming.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this volume comes with a calendar for the new year. This time it’s a bit smaller than a CD case and features swimsuit illustrations that have appeared in the magazine over the past year. You can see all of the illustrations they used below.

As you can see, the poster comes with a nice variety of illustrations from different series; definitely a good sampling of what Megami has to offer.

The back cover of the magazine has a Puchimas ad again. Cute, but I’d like to see some more variety.

Of course, the calendar wasn’t the only freebie in this volume. Inserted into the magazine was this booklet containing rankings of the top girls of 2012.

Unfortunately, I can’t read what all of the categories are, but I was glad to see that two of my favourites, Akiko and Nyaruko each won in a category.

The large poster this time was another one of these elongated posters. The first side features Momo from To Love-Ru. It’s a typical dakimakura shot, and like the other To Love-Ru poster, rather dull.

On the reverse side we have a sexy illustration of Sena from Haganai in a semi-unraveled kimono. I think the deep red of the kimono contrasts well with Sena’s pale skin and blonde hair. The tatami mats are also a nice touch and something different from the usual bed sheet.

Going by just the pin-up posters, I’d say this was of average quality for Megami, but with the calendar, girl rankings, and the lovely poster of Sena, it’s actually worth a bit more in my eyes. Disregarding the Sena poster, my other clear favourites were the Girls and Panzer poster, Little Busters poster, and Chuunibyou poster. A few of the others could’ve used some improvement, but there was nothing really deal-breaking about them. I say get this volume if you want either of the freebies or like the Sena poster as much as I do.

–>Subscribe to Megami Magazine<–

This month has been one of the busiest in my life with having to put in overtime hours, participate in competitions, and catching up with volunteer work. In that time I’ve come to realize how dedicated to anime I am. Despite all of the work I still managed to preview all of the new anime this season and compile my thoughts on them with a rundown of the best and worst anime.

Aiura

Aiura is simple, light-hearted, and innocent. It doesn’t seem like much really happens in the series.

Status: not watching

Aku no Hana

So from what I gather, the “evil flower” is a metaphor for lust as a result of raging teenage hormones. I can see how a series like this could appeal to a teenager, but puberty went by a long time ago for me. The character designs are also ugly.

Status: not watching

Arata Kangatari

When I started watching Arata Kangatari I thought it felt similar to Fushigi Yuugi except that the main character was male instead of female. After a couple of episodes I saw that this wasn’t the case. The main character is a crybaby with no backbone or will to stand up for himself, which reminds me too much of Shu from Guilty Crown.

Status: not watching

Danchi Tomoo

I started falling asleep after the first half of the first episode. Who really wants to follow around an ordinary elementary school kid all day doing ordinary elementary school things?

Status: not watching

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge

Hair, scissors, blushing like you’re about to have sex… um yeah, no.

Status: not watching

Date A Live

Let’s think about this for a minute. These super powerful girls from another world are appearing on Earth and when they do, they cause earthquakes that cause a lot of damage. People haven’t been able to stop them even using high-tech mech girls so they ask some random teenager to go date them? I don’t mind harem anime, but at least make it a little more believable.

Status: not watching

Devil Survivor 2

Admittedly, this anime doesn’t sound too bad. It’s a bit like Pokemon/Digimon with a hint of Mirai Nikki. My issue with it is that it’s rather cliché; it’s like a recycling of shows I’ve already seen so doesn’t feel unique or interesting.

Status: not watching

Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince

When you get attacked, normally you would send out your best pilots to fight the enemy. Instead, the worst pilots are sent out and somehow magically turn awesome. I’m sorry, but that’s just dumb.

Status: not watching

Glass no Kamen desu ga

It’s hard to pinpoint what was bad about this anime since nothing happened in the first episode.

Status: not watching

Hataraku Maou-sama!

At first I thought, “oh, here’s another dull fantasy anime”, but then Maou and Alsiel get transported to our world and I thought, “this is awesome!” Any anime that can make me laugh goes on my watch list, any anime that can keep me laughing is bound to become a favourite. I loved the katsu-don discovery, Alsiel becoming a housewife, and Emi being reduced to a deranged “ex-girlfriend”.

Status: watching

Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko

I was expecting some good things from this anime, but its been average thus far. The characters are cute, but not much has really happened in the first three episodes. I like Azusa, but I want to see Tsukiko display some emotions soon.

Status: watching

Kakumeiki Valvrave

A peaceful country suddenly gets attacked and a teenager just happens to get into a state-of-the-art mecha and save the day without any training whatsoever. Oh, did I mention he’s a body-swapping vampire? This series just screams of cliché. I’m only watching it because one of the characters in the ending looks like 16-year-old Ruri Hoshino from Nadesico.

Status: watching

Karneval

Lots of pretty-boys and a small hint of BL is turning me away from this one.

Status: not watching

Ketsuekigata-kun!

Japan has some weird obsession with blood types in the same way some people obsess over horoscopes. Ketsuekigata-kun is like a walkthrough of what each blood type means.

Status: not watching

Mushibugyou

Mushibugyou seems like a decent series with some good action, but given the number of titles I’m following this season, something had to be dropped. Given that this seems standard samurai comedy, I think it’s safe to assume I won’t be missing much.

Status: not watching

Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san

Wackiness is always a hit or miss for me. Sometimes I laugh every episode like with Excel Saga, but Muromi just didn’t do it for me.

Status: not watching

Otona Joshi no Anime Time

Are you a middle-aged woman who believes in romance and that one day a charming man will come to sweep you off your feet? Otona Joshi no Anime Time will help you continue believing that will happen.

Status: not watching

Photo Kano

Cool, a photography anime. Wait, isn’t this just voyeurism?

Status: not watching

Red Data Girl

The reverse-harem situation isn’t doing much for a male viewer like me, but the animation is simply gorgeous. P.A. Works really knows how to make everything look nice.

Status: watching

Shingeki no Kyojin

The premise for this series sounded dumb to me, but when I actually started watching it I was just blown away. Shingeki no Kyojin is dark, gritty, and violent. I love it.

Status: watching

Sparrow’s Hotel

Sparrow’s Hotel is about a busty crime-fighting, super customer service providing young girl that works at a hotel and makes all the customers blush. Considering the setting and the animation quality, I’m pretty sure this was conceived under 60 seconds and slapped together by amateurs.

Status: not watching

Suisei no Gargantia

Here’s another series I thought sounded dumb at first, but after I started watching it I changed my mind. The thing I like about it is discovering this new world and seeing Ledo experience cultural shock and adjusting to it.

Status: watching

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru

I hadn’t heard of this anime until it actually aired; it looks like a typical boy-meets-girl series with some quirky side-characters thrown in. I have a soft spot for romantic comedy anime like this.

Status: watching

Yuyushiki

Silly? yes. Funny? not really. Yuyushiki seems to be going for that Lucky Star vibe, but I just didn’t find it all that entertaining.

Status: not watching

Zettai Bouei Leviathan

I’ve been on the fence for this anime for a while. The story is very simplistic and of no value, but the characters are just so cute, especially Leviathan. I figure since I’ve already watched 3 episodes because of Leviathan’s cuteness, then I might as well watch the rest.

Status: watching

If you’re wondering about the other series airing this season, keep in mind that my round-up posts only cover new titles. I consider sequels and spin-offs to be continuations of a title, which I would’ve covered in previous posts. With that said, I am also watching the following sequels: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W, Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties, Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (season 2), and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S. I’m also continuing to watch Uchuu Kyoudai, which brings the number of series I’m following this season to 13.

———–

Awards

Now it’s time for the best and worst of the season, at least from my point of view.

Worst Series Award:

Sparrow’s Hotel

It’s ridiculous and just plain bad.

Most Underrated Series Award:

Otona Joshi no Anime Time

I’m not watching this series because I’m clearly not the target audience. If I were a middle-aged lady then I’d be all over this, much like how I am with romantic comedies.

Best Series Award:

Hataraku Maou-sama!

In my opinion, Hataraku Maou-sama and Shingeki no Kyojin were neck and neck for the first two weeks, but when both cooled down in the third episode, Hataraku Maou-sama edged ahead by maintaining some comedy while the shock factor in Shingeki no Kyojin disappeared.

———–

Final Comments:

This season looks to have a lot of potential. Hataraku Maou-sama, Shingeki no Kyojin, Suisei no Gargantia, and Yahari (this title is too long) are at the top of my list right now. There are also a number of continuations of series that I have enjoyed in the past. I think this will turn out to be one of the more enjoyable seasons of the past couple of years. To see my other round-up posts, click here.

It has been one hectic month for me so I haven’t been able to spend any time on the blog, but now that things have slowed down, it’s time to get through this Megami Magazine backlog again. Volume 152 (January 2013) was the last Megami Magazine to come out last year so it has a bit of a Christmas theme to it. The cover has Rikka from Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai sitting on a throne with a pet lion, pretty cool if you ask me. As usual, extremely ecchi content isn’t shown directly on the page, you’ll need to click on the links to see them.

The first poster is double-folded, I suspect to compete with Nyantype, which always has a larger double-folded poster in the first page. It features the crew from Girls and Panzer in cute Santa bikinis with a lovely Christmas tree background.

This poster is of Asuka Asagi from the yet-to-be-aired series Prism Nana. Her kimono is nice, but is nothing in comparison to the gorgeous moonlit background. I simply love posters like these that feature a cute character with a stunning starry background.

One thing I find odd about this image is that the skirts seem really flat… too flat to be made of anything other than paper. I guess it’s one of those things that the Megami editors missed.

Having a Busou Shinki clean your glasses is a brilliant idea; it also makes for an amusing scene.

Where’s Anastasia!? I find it odd that there would be an Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne poster with only 3/5 of the harem.

This is the same image of Rikka that was used on the magazine’s cover. I think it’s cool that we get to see what Rikka sees herself as.

Star Plus One continues its streak of appearing in Megami Magazine. I think I’m starting to get used to the really long and skinny arms and legs, but it still looks awkward at times.

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You can count on Muv Luv Alternatice to have a nude poster that doesn’t show anything.

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Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de also seems to be getting in on the ecchi genre.

In terms of design, this Robotics;Notes poster captures a pretty dynamic scene, but I’m a little disappointed in the shading and textures, the illustration looks rather flat.

Is it just me, or do Nagi’s legs look like they’re a bit too long?

There’s a bit more shading in this Sakurasou poster, which is what I mentioned was lacking in the Robotics;Notes one. If you compare the two, you can see how it could’ve looked better with just a slight change.

I’ve noticed that these Senran Kagura posters seem to show the entire team. It’s nice if you like group shots, but I think they could make some better posters by having some illustrations of the characters battling each other.

I don’t know what happened with the Girl’s Avenue section of the magazine, but it seems to have been replaced by this Chikaoka Sunao section permanently. It’s nice to see some calm illustrations like this, but I liked the variety that Girl’s Avenue provided.

Since this volume is a few months old, there aren’t really any titles in here to take note of. Some currently airing anime seen here are Hentai Ouji, Photokano, Date A Live, Crime Edge, and more.

The merchandise section of the magazine had something that caught my eye this time: a Fate/Zero wristwatch. On the surface it looks like a regular watch, but it actually has some symbols from the anime on it and has an engraving of Saber on the back. Unfortunately, it’s a hefty 18900 yen.

On the back cover is another Puchimas ad. Quite frankly I don’t see the appeal of Puchimas, but I’m guessing a lot of Idolmaster fans must be crazy over it.

Included in the magazine was this Star Plus One booklet with some information on the characters and the game. Not particularly great for anyone who can’t play the game.

The large poster included in this volume finishes up the Nanoha school swimsuit series. Volume 150 had Nanoha standing in front, 151 had Fate standing in front, and now we have Hayate in front. It’s great for die-hard Nanoha fans, but even I’m getting a little tired of all the attention the series gets from Megami.

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On the reverse side we have a couple of characters from K lying in bed. It’s not a particularly detailed or stunning poster so I wish they would’ve used a different illustration.

Overall, this volume was below average. The first two posters and the one of Rikka were nice, but the rest were nothing to write home about. If you count the number of pin-up posters you’ll also notice that there are only 14, below the usual 16 or 18. It makes me feel a bit like I was ripped-off this time. I really don’t recommend getting this volume unless there’s a poster you absolutely must have.

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It’s time to get your hard-on because Nopy’s Blog has grown up! After nearly 5 years blogging about anime, figures, magazines, and everything related, I’ve come to a realization: Nopy’s Blog was just like every other anime-themed blog out there. With web traffic steady declining, I had to do something in order to keep up the site’s popularity, but what? After looking at old traffic data to see what people were interested in, the answer finally hit me: hentai. There are more anime blogs out there than anyone can count, but how many hentai blogs do you know of? Considering the number of people that stumbled onto Nopy’s Blog searching for hentai, there’s definitely a demand for it. So without further ado, I present to you Nopy’s Hentai Blog.

What will I be doing on Nopy’s Hentai Blog, you ask? For the most part, everything will be the same as it was on Nopy’s Blog: I will still be writing reviews, posting pictures, and analyzing the finer details of things. The difference is that instead of focusing on anime, figures, and magazines, I’ll be focusing on hentai, onaholes, and Japanese adult videos (JAVs). To give you an idea of what’s to come, below is a preview of some posts that will be going up in the coming weeks.

Dark Blue Review

From animation studio PoRO, the creators of popular titles such as Oni Chichi and Fukubiki Triangle, comes another steamy hentai called Dark Blue. The first volume came out in April 2012 and the second volume was released in March 2013. I won’t bore you with the plot (who pays attention to that anyways?), but the series has a reddish-pink-haired girl named Suzuka, a blue-haired girl named Otoha, and a brown-haired maid named Honoka. Those looking for a blonde will probably be disappointed with this series, but if you don’t mind, then you’ll surely enjoy watching these three busty ladies moaning and begging for more as the men have their way.

Sweet Asoko Online by Tamatoys

Given the popularity of Sword Art Online and in particular, Asuna, it was only a matter of time before an onahole manufacturer gave everyone the chance to feel what it would be like inside of her. Tamatoys has released an onahole of Asuna so now you can enjoy the sensation of Aincrad’s top idol wrapped around you. Better yet, you can now re-enact SAO chapter 16.5! The onahole comes with some lube in case you didn’t already have some.

Sky Angel Vol. 152

The latest volume of Sky Angel features the lovely Airi Sawada. A relative newcomer to the world of JAV, Airi was born on May 8, 1993 and stands 144cm tall. Her three measurements are 80/60/82. Airi has a cute face, but don’t let that fool you, her innocent looks hide the true nature of this sex addict. In Sky Angel 152 Airi takes on hordes of horny men in a sticky white mess that would impress even the older JAV viewers.

P.S. Happy April Fools!