INSiGHT – MyM Magazine: Issue 58 (Review)

The cover article for this month's MyM Magazine is well deserved, as the spectacular Kubo and the Two Strings was one of the finest animated films of last year and MyM got a chance to speak with its creator, the head of LAIKA, Travis Knight. In an exclusive interview, Travis opens up about a childhood introduction to Japan, with the works of legendary creators Miyazaki and Akira Kurosawa being the main inspiration for Kubo itself. There are stories not even touched on in the extra features of Kubo's recent home release and some fantastic anecdotes.

The exclusive interviews don't end there, though, as Kim Sung-Su, South Korean director of works like Runaway and Beat in the '90s, sits down to speak about his latest work, Asura, following his return to the field in 2013 with The Flu. Beloved South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung talks about his part in the movie, too, in this passion project action movie. Another South Korean actor was in London town to receive a recognition award and stopped by for an interview with MyM. Baek Yoon-Sik has been a major star in Korean movies and TV for over four decades and has been a part of some amazing works.

Anime fans have an exclusive interview to look forward to as Naoyoshi Shiotani, the director of the best cyberpunk series of this generation, Psycho-Pass, speaks about his initial entry into the world of anime, working on breakout series like FLCL and Blood-C, how his series relates to iconic cyberpunk Ghost in the Shell, and how his colleagues remind him of different types of Japanese alcohol.

This month's reviews hold some massive games that have been hotly anticipated. Vita owners have the sequel to one of the greatest visual novels of all time in Steins;Gate 0, while 3DS owners have some superb JRPGs in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and 7th Dragon III Code: VFD. Some games that many doubted would ever get released finally arrived this month, too, including Final Fantasy XV and Fumito Ueda's The Last Guardian reaching PlayStation after nine years of development. Not to mention the latest instalment in Telltale's The Walking Dead series, with the first two episodes of A New Frontier, and the hot farming revival project, Stardew Valley, which featured in Cubed3's Game of the Year awards recently.

This month has some plenty of anime releases, as well, with the required romantic harem series of the month being Invaders of the Rokyujoma. One of the greatest Seinen of all time gets a re-release in Berserk Collector's Edition, and one the best Shonen of all time returns in One Piece Collection 15, which sees the Strawhats take on the Shichibukai Moriah in Thriller Bark.

All of this, along with a Top Ten list on movie dystopias, a beginner's guide to the horror icon Stephen King, a look at Disneyland Japan, and an article on the rise of Digimon, along with plenty more including, of course, the usual plethora of reviews for all the big movies, anime, comics, and manga. MyM Magazine, Issue 58, is available now from all good retailers.