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.
