NEO Magazine: Issue 226

Ascendance of a Bookworm adorns the cover of this latest issue, alongside the title promising a 2023 Anime Preview! The amount of anime featured in this issue is impressive and includes some top billing from the likes of Kyoto Animation with their new movie Liz and the Bluebird from A Silent Voice director Yamada Naoko. Visually this issue is a marvel of imagery, highlighting at least one key scene from each of the numerous anime featured.

Alongside the preview content are feature articles with highlights such as 'Totoro and Chihiro', covering recent movie critic polls ranking these Ghibli classics among the best films ever (as they should be). Additionally, there is an obituary for Jason David Frank who was well known for his role in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers which aired in 1993. Another feature to highlight from the many that are present in the issue is the article 'Live Kawaii or Die', a comedic look at how kawaii can and will be used in unusual situations and can mean a lot of different things. It's a great read.

Not only does the issue focus on anime and manga but also covers live action content. 2023's upcoming movies on streaming sites, blu-ray and cinema screens are numerous and varied, with particular emphasis being put on movies by Kurosawa Akira, famous for his samurai movies (see Cubed3's review of Sanjuro). The BFI are doing a 30-movie retrospective of Kurosawa's coloured career, and this feature article breaks it down offering further insight for NEO readers into his various epics.

Naturally there is a smattering of game content in each issue. This time there is a review of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, see Cubed3's review here, and adverts for Gungrave Gore, the cover game of the previous issue.

This month's manga extract is DE ADDIE DU DEAD, a manga created by Arunas Murnikovas from Lithuania. It features a cool art style and a story that seems to be going somewhere interesting, one to check out for sure!