Monday, May 23, 2016

Magazine Monday: Anime Insider #6 (April 2003)


This Monday I unearthed Anime Insider #6, buried deep in the collection, from April 2003. This issue bears the distinction of being the first with the Anime Insider moniker, which had previously been Anime Invasion. This also marked their change from quarterly publication to bi-monthly.

Readers had a choice between a Yu-Gi-Oh! themed cover or one featuring Lupin the 3rd. Anime Insider #6 wasn't a fantastic issue, but it did have a few interesting articles.

One of the main write-ups is titled, "Yu-Gi-Oh-My! The Most Demented Dozen Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, Presented for Your Enjoyment." Among the twelve chosen cards were Karate Man, Beaver Warrior, Crass Clown, Malevolent Nuzzler, and the number one spot went to Monster Box. I was never much into Yu-Gi-Oh!, so I likely paid more attention to the article now, while writing this blog post, than I ever did when I first bought it.


The cover of the issue has huge text proclaiming, "Dragon Ball GT Goku's Final Adventure!" This turns out to be a half-page throwaway piece on the upcoming DBGT DVDs. Not very impressive, but Dragon Ball was hot at the time, so it's hard to find an issue of Anime Insider from around 2002-2004 without some DBZ filler piece thrown in.


There's a great lengthy article (with episode guide) for Noir. Ironic that there's no mention about it on the cover, since it's far meatier than the Yu-Gi-Oh! and DBGT articles combined.


Another article covers both the .Hack games and anime in nice detail. There's a fun piece titled, "An Exclusive Peek at the Desk of Inspector Zenigata," exploring the main characters from Lupin the 3rd.

The most worthwhile read of the bunch is "The Best of the Best: The Greatest Anime, Manga and More of 2002." Excel Saga was awarded "Best DVD Feature" for ADV's on screen Vid-Notes. "Best Hero" went to Arucard from Hellsing, while DBZ's Majin Buu was chosen for "Best Villain." FLCL was named "Best Dub" and the Cowboy Bebop O.S.T. boxed set earned "Best Soundtrack." A few other notables were Spirited Away for "Best Movie," InuYasha for "Best TV Show," and "Best DVD" went to Escaflowne The Movie: Ultimate Edition.


Other features in the magazine worth mentioning include an interview with Aeon Flux creator, Peter Chung, about his Alexander the Great anime, Reign, and its upcoming 2003 North American premiere on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block.

In the issue's readers poll on "which anime animal would you want as a pet," Ein from Cowboy Bebop won with a resounding 51%, while Tamago the turtle from Love Hina was least favored with only 2% of reader votes.

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