Animerica Extra (Vol. 4)

(Viz, 2001-2002)
™ and © Viz Communications, Inc.

Although Animerica Extra calls itself “the anime fan’s comic magazine,” all the better to differentiate itself from its manga anthology competitors, only half of its features actually have anime counterparts out in America. Those that do are Fushigi Yugi (the epic fantasy becomes a soap opera here), Revolutionary Girl Utena (the manga is actually more accessible than the anime), and the usual bittersweet teen romance of Video Ai (which takes a sudden, realistic turn; when a willing magical girl materializes in front of a teen boy, he immediately takes advantage).

So far, there’s no sign of an anime for Marionette Generation (nor a sign of a point in this shaggy cartoonist and living ragdoll story) or Steam Detectives, a wonderfully retro series where boy hero Narutaki battles evil armed with only a cool gun and entirely too many buttons on his coat. In this installment, he’s too depressed to detect, so his Nurse (he sure doesn’t look sick) Ling-Ling takes up the slack. Regardless of the animation tie-ins, Animerica Extra remains, hands down, the best of the manga anthologies.

—S.A. Bennett

Jump to issue:

Notes

Writer

Artist

#1

January, 2001
Cover Price: $4.95
1 copy available for $4.50

Yu Watase, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Kia Asamiya, Masakazu Katsura, CLAMP, Chiho Saito

#3

March, 2001
Cover Price: $4.95
1 copy available for $14.98

Yu Watase, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Kia Asamiya, Masakazu Katsura, CLAMP, Chiho Saito, Be-Papas

Yu Watase, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Kia Asamiya, Masakazu Katsura, CLAMP, Chiho Saito

#4

April, 2001
Cover Price: $4.95
1 copy available for $14.98

Yu Watase, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Kia Asamiya, Masakazu Katsura, CLAMP, Chiho Saito, Be-Papas

Yu Watase, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Kia Asamiya, Masakazu Katsura, CLAMP, Chiho Saito