PiQ Ep.1 - The Sausage Fest
Published on March 19th, 2008 by Robert
Now that we’ve slogged through our deadline for Issue 2, we’re able to share our much-delayed discussion about Issue 1 with all you fine folks.
If you have Issue 1, feel free to follow along as we talk about some initial reactions to the magazine, and go into a bit of discussion on Appleseed Ex Machina, Avatar, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Honey & Clover, recent legislation in Japan, Tweeny Witches, Battlestar Galactica, Independence Day (!), our Monitor think-piece “Is Anime Dead?” and more.
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Picked up issue 1 the other day good stuff I really liked it. Podcast was ok but I think I could see a little more towards certain articles instead of just reading over what was in the magazine.
Although after seeing the article on robot models I have now went and ordered 2. Thanks alot now I am going to have another hobby to suck my wallet dry. Keep up the good work.
I don’t think anime is dead, just maybe in a slump. Videogames went through the same thing years back and look where it is now. I think many new forms of entertainment go through slumps at one time or another. But look at Comi-con and how many cos-players for both anime and manga appear each year, and Dark Horse comics, possibly one of the top 10 comics companies(below Marvel and Dc of course) hires many japneses artists and talented american one for manga and manga-style comics a few of “witch” (Witchblade reference) become anime (or anime-esque cartoons, however you prefer to call it) So I think although I agree it’s in a slump, it’s far off from dead.
Hey, if you guys ever want a female voice, I’ll volunteer. I keep getting passed around from podcast to podcast specifically for the purposes of breaking up sausage fests already anyway.
Kevin’s levels are still way too low!
As per Paul’s previous comment - could it be no women write for your magazine? Women only cover design positions on your staff? Who is covering yaoi?
@Anonymous: Agreed, I think the problems are mostly with distribution, not the medium itself.
@Erin F: The sexy whisper is part of Kevin’s subtle charm. Women do write for our magazine though; in fact, half of the pieces in issue 2 are written by women.
I’ve yet to go get my first copy of the mag, but I’m fairly interested to see what PiQ has to offer. =3 The pod cast however was really boring. T___T It felt fairly random, and very slow. And no offense, but the humor wasn’t good. >___>;;
w00t?
Ok so I just ordered the mag, but it says 4-6 weeks for shipping. Do you guys think i will get the first issue or start getting it with the second? If so I want to pick up the first so I can at least start from the beggining.
Dre, judging from how things went with the first issue, i’d imagine you’ll start recieving issues with Issue 2. So if you’re looking to get the first issue, you should probably try and find a copy in stores.
I agree with Erin F. - let’s have some yaoi coverage! I would totally volunteer to do yaoi manga reviews (I am a book reviewer, but the site I review for does not cover “erotica” which is what most yaoi would fall under).
Anyway, back on topic…this podcast was not quite as fun as your last one, although I did like your discussion of “Honey & Clover.” It is fine to talk about the articles in the magazine, but it would be best to cover the topics indepthly or from a different angle than just to rehash or summarize what is in the issue.
As a side note… you guys forgot the contest winners…
@Ricki You and Erin will be pleased to note that Lisa Cooper’s “On The BL” yaoi column will be making its return starting in the next issue, and there’s no reason we couldn’t include more yaoi coverage as it makes sense to do so.
No I don’t think anime is dead!!!!!!!! It’s just that the prices are going up to levels above normal, some people are getting tired of buying single volume eps, and what is up with the complete series being on 8 disks with 3-4 eps per disk, the thin packs you use to get on ebay were 3-5 disks 6-9 eps/disk????
Now about the yaoi if you put it in at least cover yuri in the same quantity so not to make all the guys sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you ask me if anime is dead i would have to say by far no. I have been a long time anime fan, and i do believe that creatively there has been a slump in the anime genre. This is when a changing of the guard happens; someone younger will step up and start creating new and wonderful anime.
I also see the economic downturn a problem with the anime industry. They got greedy as all of us do. I recently bought “Samurai Deeper Kyo” the entire TV series new for 39.99 this to me was a great deal, but today some of the newer titles will cost me 39.99 and only give me 4 episodes. I do also believe that the business model for the anime industry is wrong and must change if it is to survive into the future.
I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. I’m currently stationed overseas, and I was subcribing to NewtypeUSA. They were on time at first, but then they were gradually getting ‘late’. That was frustrating, true, but at least I knew they were talking mainly anime.
Don’t get me wrong; Piq isn’t bad, but I guess I’ll need more time before I can truly judge. But the one thing that kinda irked me was all the live-action stuff that was talked about (Terminator,Battlestar Galatica? Independence Day–com’on, a movie many of us have seen years ago?)
When I was told in a letter via e-mail that PiQ was to replace Newtype, I was expecting it to talk about anime, manga, and games, like they did, not stuff that’s on Adult Swim (I mean, com’on, Frisky Dingo?? I was not impressed by it when I chanced by it, nor did it make me even REMOTELY smile!) And for heaven’s sake, Avatar!? A show that’s on Nick!? I scrunched my nose on that one, and laughed my ass off on Crayon Shinchan. Now that I loved on Adult Swim. All that other ‘mess’ outside of the anime other than Robot Chicken was just dumb and stupid to me, and every show they came out with got more and more retarded (Saul and the Molemen *shudders* –case in point). But that’s just my opinion.
But getting back to PiQ, I think this can be a nice magazine, just…forgo on the live-action stuff we see here in the US. Stuff about these shows come up in the US mags and shows, TV(duh, I know), and critic articles. I think it has no place here. If I wanna know about Battlestar Galactica, and Sweeny Todd (cool movie that it is), and other shows/movies, I can read about that stuff in People and Entertainment Weekly.
But again, these are my initial impressions, and I’ll judge later on.
I totally love that it is covering US and live-action stuff! If fact, this is what is making me keep subscribing. I got tired of reading about stuff that was over in Japan and not here, plus I actually subscribed to Newtype USA for the manga reviews and insert, not for the anime, and I can take or leave anime.
I have to strongly agree with tamita, I’ve only signed up for one subculture guys, and Larping was NOT it. Nor was hearing about live action shows I have no interest in, reading reviews for several year old movies, or hearing (yet again) how “wonderful” Avatar is.
Big thumbs up to all Anime (and Video gaming) content, excellent format, great paper, nice art and pictures, and great article on the Is Anime Dead? issue. (come on people, buy and you will recieve more, pirate, and you sink everybody’s fun)
So great first issue, let’s just try and focus on what 90% of your readers first picked up the mag for…Inteligent Anime coverage, which it seems you have in spades since you no longer have to play NEWType’s Hype machine.
Keep up the good work, I’ll be awaiting further issues.
BTW, I really did give Avatar a try, I really wanted to like it, my cousins and nephews love it, but the best I can say is it’s the best thing on Nick…That’s not saying much. Stick with anime PIQ! I can’t stress it enough!
I’m going to disagree with most of the people here and say….
Hooray for wide coverage! There are already magazines that focus solely on anime, manga, and other assorted Japanese things. It’s rare to find a magazine for the well rounded geek. I watch anime, read manga, read comic books, play D&D, play video games, watch Battlestar Galactica, putter around on the Internet quite a bit, etc. So I think it’s nice to get a single magazine that covers everything I’m interested in, instead of multiple magazines that cover single interests.
It looks like some people are just upset that it’s not Newtype 2.0. I really enjoyed the mag, personally, and thought it was high in quality.
It seems most people here are saying what i wanted to say~
Thanks to that, I really want to subscribe to PiQ now, so I hope I can soon~!
Not even NewTypeUSA could satify yuri/GL fans before.
Stick with anime, manga and video games. It’s your best bet. =D (and thats not saying you cant have a few other things, tho~)
Since NewTypeUSA is no longer, I will definately give this magazine a fair try~ (I am awaiting issue 2 now~)
There was one thing in particular I was worried about a great deal (as well as many other of my friends)– Where’s the yaoi coverage~?!? But, now I know that it will make a come back later on in this mag, so I’m totally happy~
I also would like to ask you to consider covering some yuri or girls love titles or something in future issues.
Also, keep up the great work~! =D
Viva la PiQ~! <3
I loved the first issue of PiQ! I don’t believe it will ever be as good as NTUSA (no mag in my eyes will) but its a very very nano-meter size 2nd. I don’t believe that anime is dead…just in a slump….and I liked the articles that appeal to the non-otaku interests that I have. Keep up the good work and I’m looking forward to the next issue ^_^!
I like the first issue!
Although I really missed all the anime coverage there could have been, it was nice to see some page time given to Avatar (which is a really fun show, what a shame it’s on something like Nickelodeon!) and some LARPing, but I really thirsted for more manga and anime.
Actually, I subscribe to GameInformer, so I’m set for gaming news- I was always of the opinion that while Newtype was a little soft on some games reviews, you guys were always very spot-on with anime/manga.
So, I actually found it a little unsettling to see things on shows I didn’t even watch or find any interest in; one exception probably would have been what you did for “Tin Man”.
Oh; and I miss the centerfolds. Even if they *were* usually covered with girls and rarely guys (the ones I recall were very friendly with each other; and I still wish Sakis was featured in a centerfold.I) I mean, yaoi and yuri just aren’t quite my thing, you see. I’m fine with it in itself, mostly, I even have my own yaoi pairings; but, lately I’ve felt like it has been swung in my face with a large paddle, no pun intended.
Erm, and a suggestion… is anyone going to cover the Vampire Knight anime? I’m a fan of the original manga, and I recently got tipped off on an anime being in the works in Japan.
I see there are mixed feelings about the first issue. Personally I was not that impressed and would like my NewType-USA back. I know that some thought it was full of fluff and advertisement for ADV but I still liked it. I have every issue from the beginning to the end. Unfortunately I just renewed my subscription if I would of know this I would not have renewed. I would prefer a magazine of Anime and Manga only but that is me. PIQ will need to listen to its readers and go with what the majority wants to see. I have not given up hope yet hope to see the improvements in the future. As Chi would say. “Do Your Best”
Hey Guys Great Mag!
I have yet to see any potential from this magazine, you need more reviews. As for the “anime is dead”, that isn’t true all the way. Anime went from being straight to gay in a matter of months, i believe japan is running out of good ideas. Take for instance all the Key/Visual Art’s animations, alot of the stories and hardships in each series are the same, but somewhat different. Is there episodes in this magazine like Newtype? I enjoyed the episodes, posters and manga insert.
I think while it’s great that everyone is so enthusiastic about NewType (yeah, it really was a pretty sweet mag), let’s not forget that no one wanted the magazine to end. So there must be something that inhibited it from becoming the great success that many dreamed that it should be. Let’s give PiQ a shot, a chance to find it’s identity and a chance to balance it’s content. I think PiQ is heading in the right direction in becoming a magazine towards a broader consumer market and versatile in its content. I think in the future it’s going to be the best source in covering the entertainment outlets that I am interested in reading more about! Good job, I know the next issues are going to be getting better and better!
Oh man, these guys are funny. I can’t wait for future podcast and hopefully vidcast. The magazine is awesome as well. Can’t wait to see issue 2 and the future issues. Keep up the good work guys.
I do agree with some of the comments that were give up there before- too many magazines cover Yaoi, but ignore Yuri. I just finished reading Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ and it was a compelling, powerful story with just enough fanservice without going over the top. (And before you call me a pervert, pick up one of those yaoi books. Yeah, you’ve got no right.) I’m starting another yuri series right now, Strawberry Panic!. If you need someone to comment on it or write a review, I’d love to contribute. I’m sure you get that offer a lot, but it couldn’t hurt!
@Ricki, Erin, and Paul… If you’re gonna do a thing on Yaoi, ya gotta give equal time to Yuri… It’s becoming increasingly popular — esp. with Seven Seas’ Strawberry line of manga (which, incidentally is extremely good - naming honorifics, TL Notes, and no localisation)… @Dan gives some pretty good reasons for including it, too. Also, since RSI’s picked up the Mother of all Yuri, Maria-sama ga Miteru (The Virgin Mary Watches Over Us), it’s here to stay. I dunno if I have the time or talent to write any reviews or anything, but I’d love to see a small column (or a big column… doesn’t make any difference ^_^) dealing with the current Tetragrammaton Labyrinth or the fact that Area 11 (Code Geass-speak for Japan) is dragging their feet releasing Strawberry Panic! Vol 3 or how cute the girls in The Last Uniform are, etc…. Anyway, Equal Rights for Women!!!!!!
@Ichigo69 Nice username there, Ichigo. Not suggestive at all.
Seriously, though, we’re not snubbing yuri, and I’m as excited as anyone about Right Stuf’s acquisition of Maria-sama. You can be sure we’re not ignoring it.
I can’t find the magazine anywhere. Is at Wal-Mart, Kevin? WHERE IS IT!