Newtype Magazine - What was your first experience....

[kndy]

For those who read "Newtype", what was your first experience purchasing or reading the magazine and do you remember the first issue that you purchased?



My first Newtype was this 1989 issue. Personally, I didn't know much about what was happening in Japanese animation or what was airing in Japan. While I was online via BBS by 1989, it was only visiting BBS like "Hams & Hackers" for the latest utilities or chatting with people or playing text games. Lol...

But I stopped following anime as I felt I was a college student, not making much money and this was a rich person's hobby. Lol.. So, I stopped. I felt that video games and comic books were more accessible and from this point, I actually had more focus on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Until 1992 and Animerica Issue zero came out. Was introduced to "Ranma 1/2" fan subbed by the Ranma Project and thought...wow...I can finally watch Japanese animation and there are other people who are Americans interested in it.





My first subscription to Newtype was in 1994-1995. I couldn't read Japanese at the time (I would take my first Japanese class later in 1996) I remember paying maybe $60 for six issues through Kinokuniya and scanning with this black and white scanner that you had to roll with your hand. Oh, it sucked so bad but my visitors to my anime BBS loved the images. And ended up purchasing a flatbed scanner which was so expensive but it gave you color and higher resolution. But I felt it was so necessary to subscribe as people wanted images or anything that were in these magazines that could be posted on the BBS at the time.

But that's my story of my first experience with "Newtype"...have not read or purchased a Japanese issue of it since the '90s (as I switched from BBS to the Internet).

[_D_]

I had the earlier mags starting in 1980 and since NewType came out later, it was no big deal. I don't think there were inserts for things like scripts, so the mag was never used for that. It was bigger and louder than earlier mags, sorta like comparing The New York Times to USA Today. But there were so many mags in the marketplace back when that the only way to get noticed was to be big and brash. I guess it worked out in the end...

[SteveH]

I will go into more detail elsewhere, but I was 'in' on the 'ground floor' when it first came out, and as was my nature I sought to find a mental classification for it, a reaction when I sorted material for my personal 'knowledge bank'.

Newtype, above all else, was clearly 'style above substance'. The physical production was sleek. The art direction was downright lush. The only downsides were the unusual size (larger, awkward to store, wouldn't fit in traditional comic store magazine boxes) and the saddlestich stapling instead of a square glued binding which meant the magazine didn't 'shelve' well.

They were light on the gimmies even at the start. Generally a poster and maybe a sticker set, once in a while a booklet on something or other. Newtype was wedded to the hip of Sunrise, so the main focus was always whatever the new show was.

The important thing for me was their new line of '100% Collections', dedicated materials mooks on various shows, and since by the later '80s Animage (Tokuma Shoten) had all but given up producing the Roman Album line, my need for books about shows...I was jonesing like crazy for a new 'fix' and Newtype did a decent job. As long as it was a Sunrise production of course. Mostly.

[kndy]

I had the earlier mags starting in 1980 and since NewType came out later, it was no big deal. I don't think there were inserts for things like scripts, so the mag was never used for that. It was bigger and louder than earlier mags, sorta like comparing The New York Times to USA Today. But there were so many mags in the marketplace back when that the only way to get noticed was to be big and brash. I guess it worked out in the end...

I would love to see covers of those magazines from the '80s if you still have them....I only have late '80s, nothing earlier...

[kndy]

I will go into more detail elsewhere, but I was 'in' on the 'ground floor' when it first came out, and as was my nature I sought to find a mental classification for it, a reaction when I sorted material for my personal 'knowledge bank'.

Newtype, above all else, was clearly 'style above substance'. The physical production was sleek. The art direction was downright lush. The only downsides were the unusual size (larger, awkward to store, wouldn't fit in traditional comic store magazine boxes) and the saddlestich stapling instead of a square glued binding which meant the magazine didn't 'shelve' well.

They were light on the gimmies even at the start. Generally a poster and maybe a sticker set, once in a while a booklet on something or other. Newtype was wedded to the hip of Sunrise, so the main focus was always whatever the new show was.

The important thing for me was their new line of '100% Collections', dedicated materials mooks on various shows, and since by the later '80s Animage (Tokuma Shoten) had all but given up producing the Roman Album line, my need for books about shows...I was jonesing like crazy for a new 'fix' and Newtype did a decent job. As long as it was a Sunrise production of course. Mostly.

I would love to hear your story of your involvement back then. For Newtype, I think what caught my attention is the flashy art and high color images. I purchase animage but it never struck me to subscribe to it.

[_D_]

[danth]

Damn, D, is that your collection?

[usamimi]

Wow, _D_! Totally jealous of your collection!

My first experience with Newtype was at a Kinokuniya in the 90s. I recognized the name as being related to Gundam, so I was confused because the cover picture was something else (I want to say it was Slayers, but I can't remember). Back then I couldn't even read hiragana or katakana that well, so I basically was buying it for the images and furoku, but I LOVED it. I don't have the first issue I ever bought anymore because after I looked through it a million times, I promptly cut it up and hung most of the magazine on my bedroom walls.

Newtype did help me learn a lot of creator, seiyuu, and artist's names kanji, though...which was very helpful once I learned how to translate that into English & look up their names online. From that, I'd find titles I hadn't heard about & would check out work by the people I enjoyed. So even when I couldn't read it all, it was really helpful. (And OH MAN, some of the furoku! I used to have so many posters that I eventually had to sell/throw away a lot of them...I miss em. )

[kndy]

wow!!! Impressive collection!!!! Awesome!

[_D_]

They are all over the house in boxes. Mags from 1980 to the late 1990s. I also have a couple Terebi mags from 1980 and 1981 as well but those are really kiddy stuff. I guess this would be a boon to people looking to translate old articles on subjects they are interested in but I'd have to know what they are looking for. As such, these are not sorted by year or publication. I want to do that hopefully this year...

Just thinking this must have cost my bud a small fortune at the time and all he wanted was my friendship and some videos. For that, I am truly grateful...