#裏世界ピクニック

[hurpdurpburps]

I don't really use tumblr but today I found something that I absolutely thought was necessary to share with all my fellow gay pals here to the point where I created a whole new account just to do it lol.

Apparently there was an Otherside Picnic x ramen collaboration all the way back in 2018, to commemorate the publication of vol 1 of the manga adaptation.

TLDR: it's called Ultra Blue (ウルトラブルー), featuring a chilled lemon and basil "Italian-style" chicken soup (the "tori" in Toriko), with seasoned enoki (wriggly aka the kunekune) and the blue jelly on top is made from spirulina and fish broth (the "uo" in Sorawo).

"As the Sorawo jelly and Toriko soup melt together in your mouth, are you in the real world or the Otherside?"

OG tweet here.

Miyazawa the GOAT himself has tried it as well.

Ramen Guy even posted a review video on YouTube lol.

[communist-ojou-sama]

Otherside Picnic manga vol. 11, Side Story excerpt

"It's okay, I won't do anything. I'm just curious."

"Curious...?"

"That's right. I'd like to be friends with Kamikoshi-san. That eye of hers is so pretty, I'm really taken with it."

"Friends, huh."

"I mean, there aren't many chances to meet other girls who have experience with the Blue World, right? If she was also Satsuki-sama's fan, then I'd have to make a little "request" and have her give up on her, but Kamikoshi-san isn't, so I might be able to become friends with her without using my gift, right?"

"Haha, I wonder about that. I don't think that girl... is suited for friendship."

"Why? Is she a bad person?"

"No... she's not exactly bad..."

As she mumbled, Kozakura wondered to herself what exactly she's trying to defend Sorawo for.

From her perspective, Sorawo's personality isn't a matter of good or bad. As twisted as it may seem at times, at others it's it's shockingly straightforward. She's reckless and shortsighted, but lacks the maliciousness that'd lead her to try to control or constrain the will of others either.

She's no saint or sage, but she's no demon either. In other words... she's ordinary.

The problem is that she's fatally unhinged along a totally different axis.

"I don't get it."

Kozakura thought she heard a hint of impatience in Luna's voice, and suddenly she hoisted herself forward. She brought her face in close to Kozakura's and met her gaze from below.

"You sure are anxious to defend her, just what is she to you?"

"What do you mean 'what'? I don't understand what you're ask-"

"Won't you tell me?"

Kozakura shuddered. Without even a moment to run, Runa's whispers flowed into her ear.

"Eek...!"

With a smoothness that elicited a shiver of disgust, Runa's voice slipped in through her ears, and went inside of her. It felt as if there was some sort of soft, invisible organism inside of her. The most blood-chilling part of all was that, even though it was clearly a foreign entity, her body wasn't rejecting this intruder. If anything, it was the opposite. Like cool water flowing down a thirsty throat, her ears were rejoicing. Her brain, her spine, her whole body were yearning for, and greedily feasting upon Runa's voice.

ASMR doesn't even compare. This is something... something totally different. This voice was something different from the mere airwaves produced by the vibrations of an ordinary human voicebox.

"Stop... it..."

Even though she was no longer tied up, her body wouldn't move. As she sat frozen upon the chair, Kozakura struggled to rebel against the sensation Runa's voice was causing within her. In her ever-blurrier vision, she could see Runa's underlings standing behind her. Each and every one was watching with entranced, envious expressions.

It irritated her to imagine that she was also making such a slovenly expression-- but, she could feel even that irritation being ground to bits by the overwhelming power of the voice.

"Tell me. Just what is Kamikoshi-san to you, Kozakura-san...?"

She didn't understand what she was being asked. Who is Sorawo? To me?

Something like that... that's...?

Contrary to the confusion in Kozakura's mind, her body attempted to obey the voice. Her mouth opened, she sucked in air, and spat out:

"...I DON'T KNOW!"

The words came out like a roar.

"Huh!?"

"What is she? I don't KNOW. I have no idea. What in the world is she?"

Runa, seeming shocked, kept looking at her for a moment with her eyes wide, but then abruptly opened her mouth and began to laugh.

"Ahaha! you don't know! That's so funny!"

"...What's so funny about that?"

Kozakura managed somehow to squeeze that question out. The sweet sensation brought on by the voice began to fade. It seems that after obeying her "request", the dominating power of the voice was lifted. Kozakura felt that made sense, and tucked it into the back of her mind. Runa's victims indulge in the sensation once, and from there on grow to await her further "requests".

"I didn't think I was asking such a serious question. But I see. To you, Kozakura, Kamikoshi-san is someone so important you can't put it into words. That's fun! I'll have to ask Kamikoshi-san how she feels about you, later!"

Kozakura didn't have the energy to reply to this taunting intimation. Luna flashed a smile at her as she leaned, drained, against the back of the chair.

"Well, putting that aside! The real thing I wanted to ask about was Satsuki-sama. Will you bear with me for just a little longer, Kozakura-san?"

Runa's voice tickled her ears and brain pleasantly. Her mouth opened and began to answer Runa's questions of its own accord, and she was now powerless to stop it.

(translation courtesy of yours truly)

[blenselche]

trying to remember how 2 anime w/ the spooky picnic lesbians

i lov them sm

[voidoftheotherside]

🦢Soratori edit/animation practice🐠

I was gonna post the gifs without other effects too but to fit the size requirement I’d have to squish them super bad

Translations by @vgperson and song is:

[ninaryo]

「裏世界ピクニックのキャラにリコリス・リコイルの服を着せてください」とのオーダーで描きましたが、思った以上に良い感じになってお気に入りの1枚です。

[animehouse-moe]

Otherside Picnic Volume 3

Yeah yeah, I'm pretty well behind on having only just read this volume, I know. I'm slow with a lot of light novel reading because I really want to be in it, you know? I want to savor every moment and feel like I don't want to put the book down while I'm reading.

And it just happened that lately I've really been craving for the horror and fear that stems from Miyazawa's expert understanding of net and folklore horror. So imagine my surprise when I pick up the volume and see just how far Shirakaba's art has come. Sure, it was never bad by any means. But my god, this volume's illustrations are amazing. The level of detail has skyrocketed, but at the same time a more clear and personal style appears. Heavy and dark contrast, an overall feeling of weight with each piece of art. Even though they can look vastly different due to moments, the overall feel of it remains. Really, hats off in that regard, truly some outstanding art.

Of course, Miyazawa's writing withstands the shock of this incredible improvement from Shirakaba.

Their perception of horror - what comprises it and causes fear- remains absolutely expert. From the endings of the previous omnibus volume we continue the downwards spiral into Sorawo's personal hell. The types of contact, and the overall fear that arises from it are spine chilling.

Perhaps the biggest proponent is Miyazawa's ability to guide readers to answers. You can connect the dots as things go on, realize that there is something wrong, that there's a heavy feeling in your stomach and that all your hairs stand on end as your mind races to the finish line. It's such an incredible experience, where at times they don't even tell you the answer. Instead, you're left with a lingering feeling and concern for what things are and why.

Personally, it's my perfect definition of horror. Beyond us. You can come up with as many answers as you want to everything that unfolds, but for just as many things there are that Sorawo and Toriko resolve, there are just as many spine shudderingly disturbing pieces left hanging.

Of course, Otherside Picnic does like to remind readers that it's not just about disturbing and scary stuff. It's a healthy mix of characters that are poorly adjusted in the social sense (among many others), and their attempts to grope through their incredibly odd predicament. All of the characters that appear in this volume are so full. They're all hopeless and oddball versions of the more "simple" characters that they're portrayed as in the anime. They all have very glaring character issues, and present as far less perfect even in spite of how others view them. It's incredibly refreshing, and they all stumble through their interactions in an endearing and believable way that develops as the story continues.

The biggest thing from this volume though is just the sheer effort Miyazawa puts into the horror. It's not middle of the ground, on the spot horror stories they themselves come up with, but a far deeper and darker world that they draw from. Hours upon hours of historical and archival searching of books and webpages and chat forums to produce countless stories that end up interwoven and meld together into a cohesive framework to address the Ultra Blue Landscape via.

It's insane. Not only are we, as readers, attempting to understand the Otherside and its creators and/or inhabitants, Miyazawa is translating it. They're pulling from our reality, adding their own spin and twist to it, and spitting it out in the form of communication. The sheer talent to preserve the original value of the stories used, while at the same time repurposing them is incredible.

In terms of horror, I truly feel that Otherside Picnic stands comfortably separate from so much of what makes up the genre, not even just within the framework of animanga, but of modern media in general. So much of what's popular and talked about is on the absolute fringes of what horror is: that sense of dread and fear. Not 30 seconds of buildup into a single jumpscare reveal that the characters run away from. Rather, the tension building and things seeming wrong, like something is lurking around the corner and you absolutely must find out. Or that there's some terrible figure/creature staring right at you that has you frozen in place. Horror is not thriller, and Otherside Picnic continues to establish that beautifully.

Also, for the best reading experience, the anime OST is actually outstanding for furthering that fear. Plenty of songs that will put you perfectly on edge. You can find the full playlist right here.

[haveyoureadthisscifibook2]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book. vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[gladosluver]

裏ピク漫画！うれしいよ！！！！！

urapic manga!!! IM SO FUCKING HAPPY!!!!!!!

[mjintm]

"Are you the real Sorawo Kamikoshi?"

Drawing Otherside Picnic fanarts is my coping mechanism as I wait for the next pre-pub chapter.

(please ignore the badly drawn gun. i have never seen nor held a gun in my life. im just making excuses lol. It's my first time drawing a gun have mercy on me.)

[yuu707yuu]

Otherside Picnic keychain and Warrior Nun postcard now available on Kofi!!

Keychain: ko-fi.com/s/493d043e98 Postcard: ko-fi.com/s/e3f99d0130

[anianimals-moe]

Cat from Otherside Picnic

Today's AniAnimal is this sleepy kitty from the episode "Attack of the Ninja Cats" in "Otherside Picnic". 今日のアニアニマルは『裏世界ピクニック』のエピソード『猫の忍者に襲われる』に登場するこの眠そうな子猫です。

[hurpdurpburps]

Otherside Picnic Manga Yuri Club Special Story 1 English Translation

It has recently come to my attention that Japanese animanga merch store Gamers (ゲーマーズ)'s Yuri Club (百合部) benefits programme's publication of the OP manga series come with an exclusive bonus short story for every volume (not the same as the Kozakura POV shorts).

Since I haven't come across any English translations of these bonus stories online, and they seem unlikely to receive official English licensing, I've decided to translate them myself and share them with the internet.

You can check out the official Yuri Club website if you wish to find out more (Japanese-only).

-

SPOILER WARNING: Takes place immediately before the events of File 3 - Station February in Vol 1 of the novels.

Written by: Miyazawa Iori

Translated by: @hurpdurpburps

-

Chapter 1: Shinjuku, The First Meet-Up

As it was my first time meeting up with someone in Shinjuku, I asked about where we should meet.

A message saying "I don't know, I'm not very familiar with Shinjuku," returned in response.

What an unreliable woman. You’re the one who insisted on having an afterparty…

I was glaring at the screen of my smartphone when the next message appeared along with a goofy pop-up sound effect. "You can pick a spot, Sorawo."

You’re not supposed to say "You can pick a spot". Shouldn’t you be saying "Could you pick a spot, please?" [1]

Oh, whatever. She helped me out when we encountered Hasshaku-sama the other day, so I'll pick a meeting place as a way of returning the favour…

After consulting the internet, I decided for us to meet at 4.30pm in front of an installation called "The Eye of Shinjuku". From there, we would make our way to the commercial district along the West Exit of the station and pick a restaurant at random.

It's going to be early Friday evening, so it shouldn't get too crowded yet… Is that too optimistic of me? No, I'm sure it'll be fine. This is Tokyo, there are lots of shops, I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.

With excessive trust in Tokyo's crowd capacity that was typical of someone from the countryside, I informed Toriko of the meeting place.

The next evening. The station's layout was more complicated than I thought, so I got a little lost. I cut through the underground hurriedly and finally arrived at my destination five minutes late. Toriko, who was leaning against “The Eye of Shinjuku' - a shining eye-shaped object against a black stone wall, waved as soon as she saw me.

Toriko stood out, so she'd caught my eye before `"The Eye of Shinjuku" did, which was supposed to have been the focal point of attention. Perhaps we might have been able to catch each other anyway if I’d gotten Toriko to stand at a random location.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No, it's okay. I just got here." [2]

"When did you actually arrive?"

"About fifteen minutes ago, I think."

"… That's a little early?"

"I was looking forward to it!"

Toriko was in a good mood despite having been kept waiting, and looked like she was about to start hopping around.

"Let's hurry up. I haven't eaten anything since I woke up, so I'm really hungry."

"Fine, fine. Well, um… I guess it’s this way."

Together with Toriko, I started walking towards the West Exit.

"By the way, why did you choose this side of the station? Isn't the East Exit side more bustling?"

"Well, that side seems a little scary… Isn't Kabukicho or whatever over there?"

"Yeah. Haven't you been there?"

"Absolutely not. Isn't it scary?"

"No it’s not. There’s lots of stuff over there, like a movie theatre. It's annoying when people call out to you when you're alone, though."

"It's scary after all."

"It'll be fine, I’m with you. Wanna head over there now?"

"Nope, I’m good. Maybe next time if I feel like it." [3]

As we engaged in frivolous conversation, I was suddenly struck by a strange feeling. Meeting up with a friend to go drinking made me feel like an ordinary college student. I wasn’t planning on going to the Otherside today, had a surplus of cash in my pocket, and I didn't have my gun with me either.

So even I can do something like that…

As I indulged myself in the sentiment, I walked side-by-side with Toriko through the streets of Shinjuku, where bars were starting to open for business.

TL Notes

General note: I adopted a more 'literary' prose style to match the tone of the novels. Hence, the translation in this series will be significantly more liberal than my usual analytical posts. Feel free to ask me anything. Feedback regarding translation accuracy is also welcome.

[1] The original Japanese here says 決めていいよじゃないよ。決めていただけませんか、じゃないの？

TLDR Sorawo is just being petty and griping about Toriko's not using formal/polite language for what was essentially a request/favour while not having the 'moral high ground' so to speak.

[2] More of a cultural note than a translation one. These two lines are something of a standard greeting for scenes depicting a (new-ish) couple going on a date.

And also throwback!!!! To their conversation at Shosen Grande when Sorawo was waiting for Toriko before their second trip to the Otherside in Vol 1 (File 2 - Hasshaku-sama survival).

“Did I keep you waiting?” “Fifteen minutes.” “Isn’t this where you’re supposed to say, ‘I just got here’?” “Did you think this was a date or something?” I said curtly, heading outside without listening to her response.

Gotta love how Sorawo just punched through social niceties and interrogated Toriko about the truth. But more importantly she didn't call out Toriko again on the date-ish line lol.

[3] Vol 5 foreshadowing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 'Nuff said.

List of Yuri Club's Otherside Picnic Short Stories [my translations]:

1. Shinjuku, The First Meet-Up (新宿、初めての待ち合わせ)

2. Hasshaku-sama Epilogue (八尺様エピローグ)

3. Ochanomizu, The First Afterparty (お茶の水、初めての打ち上げ)

4. Ikebukuro, Cafe Meal For One (池袋、ひとりカフェ飯)

5. Naha, After The Big Job (那覇、大仕事の後)

6. Ishigaki Island, A Dazed Vacation (石垣島、呆然のリゾート)

7. Mercedes AMG, The Backseat (メルセデスAMG、後部座席)

8. Otherworldly Elevator, On The Way Back (異世界エレベーター、帰路)

9. Kozakura Mansion, Pizza Party (小桜屋敷、ピザパーティー)

10. Ikebukuro Bookstore, Meet Up (池袋の書店、待ち合わせ)

11. Hannou, In The Car From The Station (飯能、駅からの車中)

12. TBD

[communist-ojou-sama]

Otherside Picnic (manga) vol. 12, bonus chapter

Bonus Chapter: Flashback to That Night

“...Hey, Sorawo.”

Nishina Toriko had been quiet for a while, as I was thinking she was making an odd expression as she opened her mouth, her next words were “What should we do about the wrap-up party?” for a moment, Kozakura lost the thread of the conversation.

...Hm?

Kamikoshi Sorawo, like Kozakura, was looking at Toriko quizzically. Seeing those looks, Toriko added, as if making an excuse,

“Look, we went into the Otherside this time too, right? Then we’ve gotta have a wrap party.”

If you didn’t know anything about these two’s usual routine, this addition wouldn’t serve as much of a justification, but with that Kozakura was able to reorient herself within the conversation. Toriko and Sorawo have a habit of going out for food and drinks after coming back from exploration of the Otherworld, and calling it a ‘wrap party’. To Kozakura, who’s so afraid of the Otherside that she can’t help herself, the exploration that serves as a precondition to this celebrating is already so abnormal that she couldn’t imagine wanting to celebrate it, but on the other hand, she could undertstand it a bit. As a sort of ritual of return to daily life from a dangerous environment full of fear, the idea of a wrap party didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Perhaps the reason why she felt that way was because she herself was in need of such a ritual.

As she lifted her gaze, her eyes met with Migawa, who was standing with butler-like good posture. As if reading her thoughts, he nodded once. After finishing the rest of her tea, she set the cup down on the table with a clack.

“All right! Got it! Let’s go eat some meat!”

The two girls on the sofa looked up at her in surprise.

“Eh? But I don’t have that kind of money.”

Hearing Sorawo say something so timid brought an involuntary laugh to Kozakura’s lips. She trapises into the Otherside without a thought, but she’s afraid of an expensive meal.

“This time, I’ll treat you-- You did save me after all.”

We settled on the meat bar in front of the Shakujii Park station for our celebration. Ordinarily, Kozakura was not much of a meat-eater, but right now she felt like her body was craving some animal protein.

It had only been three days since she and Sorawo were abducted off of the street. Just three days! In that short span, entirely too many things have transpired.

Getting kidnapped is a big enough deal on its own, but then they were brought to a ruin in the middle of the mountains of Hannou. The person waiting for them there was a 4th-kind contactee, and had the ability to brainwash anyone with the sound of her voice.

Urumi Runa-- the teenage wannabe streamer.

Just remembering it sent a shiver down her spine. It was a terrifying voice. Far beyond the domain of ASMR, this voice from the Otherside rendered anyone who heard it a literal prisoner.

Urumi Runa brainwashed untold dozens of people with it, and made a cult centering around worshiping her. Kozakura was interrogated by Runa’s voice, and made to spit out everything she knew.

That said…

As she watched Sorawo and Torako across the table choosing from the wine menu, Kozaku was spurred into a bittersweet train of thought.

While she might have told her everything she knew, Runa’s questions were mostly about Uruma Satsuki, or well… the version of “Satsuki-sama” that existed exclusively in her mind. And in being asked, Kozakura realized that her knowledge of Satsuki didn’t really amount to much at all.

Ultimately, just what sort of person was she?

As she succumbed to Runa’s voice, that’s all Kozakura could think of.

She never did find an answer to that question, and she may never have a chance to get an answer, going forward.

“What drink do you want, Kozakura-san?”

Sorawo’s question brought her back to the present.

“What are you two drinking?”

“We’ve never had rosé before, so we were thinking of trying it.”

“Ah, is that so. I’ll just go with that.”

After she answered, Sorawo wrinkled her brow.

“Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seemed a little bit out of it.”

Kozakura was internally surprised that this girl had developed the capacity to worry about others.

“I’m fine. Well, I am tired, so I might be a bit out of it.”

“Ah…”

The two of them nodded.

“I’m sure you are tired…”

“Thanks for everything, really.”

“You two, too.”

The information Runa wanted to hear about “Satsuki-sama” was, from Kozakura’s perspective, all inconsequential trivialities. Where she lives, what food she likes, whether or not she ever mentioned Runa, whether there were any pet-peeves of hers that she should avoid… While her ability was terrifying, Kozakura understood straightaway that the girl herself was nothing more than a mentally immature fangirl. This realization depressed her more than anything.

After a litany of mostly unanswerable questions and questions to which Kozakura didn’t know the answer, Runa clearly became a bit irritated at the slow going, but when she learned of the existence of Satsuki’s office at DS Research, and that notebooks written by Satsuki herself were stored there, she got excited, and ordered her underlings to to prepare for a raid.

Runa’s impulsive armed forces, driven on enetirely by her voice…While their organizational principles and doctrine were all childish and immature, If you have no way to deal with her voice, they’re quite formidable.

As she was worrying about the safety of the people at DS research, Runa ordered her followers to detain her and handed her over to them.

It was then that Sorawo saved her.

While her consciousness was still hazy from the effects of the questioning, Runa’s followers seemed to have a falling-out, and before she had any idea what was going on Sorawo had saved her and woken her up. While she was a bit disconcerted by how different Sorawo’s aura was from usual, they attempted to escape from the ruins, but…

The wine and ham arrived.

“Wha!? Sorawo, this isn’t sweet!”

“You’re right. This isn’t what I was expecting.”

“But this also tastes good in its own way.”

“It’s nice and refreshing.”

Sorawo and Toriko are surprised at their first time drinking rosé. When they’re relaxing and chatting like this, you could never take them for a woman who mercilessly destroys others’ minds, or a woman who’d raid a cult’s base of operations, assault rifle in hand. Not unlike Urumi Runa, Kozakura felt unease about the mismatch between these girls’ capacity for destruction and the childishness of their mentalities.

However, it’s also true that that immaturity likely saved her. Had they not been so foolhardy, she may not have made it out of that situation.

Their escape attempt came to a dead end, and Kozakura and Sorawo were once again caught in the basement of the ruin. Kozakura, now Runa’s hostage, passed through the gate and was brought into DS Research. Perhaps because she was rendered unable to resist by the voice, her consciousness became vague, as if in a dream.

And then, when she came to, Satsuki was there.

But what stood there was… that, was not Satsuki.

It was some completely different thing, imitating Satsuki’s form. Kozakura understood the the first instant she saw it. Within the empty husk of the woman she’d once loved, some unknown creature was was wearing it and moving it around.

And Toriko was moving toward that monster. While calling Satsuki’s name.

Stop it, Toriko.

Can’t you see? That’s not Satsuki.

From the depths of terror that kept her body frozen, Kozakura desperately clawed her consciousness back together. Summoning up all her irritation at Toriko for not recognizing this Satsuki as a fake, and her fury at Satsuki for trying to involve herself with such a young and immature girl, desperately, she moved her body.

Get yourself together, Sorawo-chan.

Hurry! Grab her! Toriko’ll get taken away!

She squeezed out that shout, and had no memory of what happened after that. When she came to, she was back at DS research.

There was no sign of Satsuki, and Runa was unconscious with her mouth gruesomely torn open.

Kozakura, with her mental and physical energy entirely spent, fell asleep on the spot without being able to take so much as a step-- in fact, she felt like she fell unconscious.

The main thought in her head as her consciousness faded was surprise that Sorawo and Toriko brought her back with them and didn’t abandon her. It was that extreme of a situation.

They might be hopelessly impulsive brats, who’ve matured in bodily terms alone, but they’re good kids. That was Kozakura’s appraisal of the two of them now.

So, well, there’s no harm in treating them to some overpriced steak, just for today.

As she gazed in a generous frame of mind at the two of them eating their meat, suddenly, a scene that she’d forgotten about flashed back across her mind.

Kozakura and Sorawo, having escaped from the cultists, hiding in a narrow locker.

Sorawo’s hand resting on Kozakura’s head as she trembled.

Her head being petted, as if to pacify her.

Over, and over.

Back then… why the hell did this maniac pet her!?

Kozakura couldn’t take her eyes off of Sorawo, who was cutting meat with her knife.

...No, really, why the hell did she do something like that???????

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Sorawo looked up.

The instant before their eyes met, the smartphone on the table began to shake. On the screen was a message from Migawa.

Sorawo looked curiously at her, and Kozakura looked back.

“...It seems like they finished cleaning.”

Kozakura replied, unnecessarily evasively.

END

[voidoftheotherside]

Backstory: I feel like Toriko bought the patch for her while drunk, Sorawo called it embarrassing but wore it anyway for her. For anyone unaware Sorawo’s name (空魚) includes the kanji for fish (魚) so fish really is her!･:༄🐠༄･:

Based on this post by @/i-am-a-fish

[ayanos-pl]

宮澤伊織『裏世界ピクニック９』（ハヤカワ文庫JA）読了。裏世界を介した私たちふたりの独自の関係が世間一般の恋愛の文脈に回収されてしまうのが嫌だ！という空魚の心の叫びに至極共感した。

キャンプで焼くソーセージがめっちゃうまそうで、急遽フランクフルターを買ってきて食った。

[animehouse-moe]

The Weird And Interesting Existence of Japanese Manga Magazines

I don't exactly have 30,000 different magazine issues across countless publishers and demographics, but I do have a few (because they have some of my favorite series on the covers), and flipping through them they're all very different to one another, and interesting in their own ways, so I wanted to show just how different, unique, and even at times worth it, these magazines are to NA readers.

⚠️Warning: Minor/Mild Spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen, Otherside Picnic, and Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun⚠️

I'm going to break it down by magazine, and I'm going to go left to right from the above image. I'll be talking about bonuses, pricing, quality, content, and a few other observations throughout these three magazines.

Monthly Shounen Gangan

Unsurprisingly, the monthly magazine is better quality than the weekly one. Monthly Shounen Gangan is a monthly shounen manga magazine under Square Enix and carries titles such as: Otherside Picnic (manga adaptation of the LN, and the cover of the issue), Daemons of The Shadow Realm, Final Fantasy: Lost Stanger, and a few others. I wouldn't call it a "packed" magazine per se, but it's definitely got a list of recognizable titles to it.

Anyways, getting into the numbers of this magazine, they're as follows:

Cost -> 650Yen

Number of Chapters -> 21

Number of Bonuses -> 1

Build / Print Quality -> 6/10

Number of Color Pages -> 4

So, only one bonus, but I think it's a pretty solid one, as it's an Otherside Picnic clearfile. Not exactly a super decorative or functional bonus, but I really like the art on it so I'm happy with it.

Anyways, into some more detailed information about the magazine issue. The paper itself is very smooth, though it's quite literally paper thin. You won't have any real issues with it, but in lighter or blank areas on the page you can very easily see through to the next page. Similarly, the quality of the ink is pretty hit and miss. Lighter and more gray colors are preserved and displayed quite well, but anything close to or right at black is very spotty and grainy. It even shows in the black used for the panels. I don't think it's something that will really get in the way of reading the issue (if you want to do that), but I also wouldn't say it's all that great.

Weekly Shounen Jump

Weekly Shounen Jump from Shueisha is arguably the biggest/most popular magazine for manga. It's got to be accessible, it's got to be quick and it's got to be highly available. Carrying manga monsters like: Jujutsu Kaisen, Sakamoto Days, My Hero Academia, Black Clover, and countless more titles. But does it hold up?

Well, these numbers/thoughts speak to that ability.

Cost -> 290Yen

Number of Chapters -> 19

Number of Bonuses -> 0

Build / Print Quality -> 3.5/10

Number of Color Pages -> 4

So, there you have it. Dirt cheap and highly available magazines require the lowest of standards to get out there. Now, a 3.5/10 might seem a little low, but trust me when I say that this thing is barely readable. The inking is as light as possible to save a Yen or two where they can, and the pages themselves are colored, and they're not even all the same color. It's absolutely something I wouldn't recommend trying to read from period, even if it's less than $3 USD. In reality, for a North American/English reader base, this is a collectable item purely for the covers/color pages.

Yeah, I know this page isn't really a great example of the issues with the inking and page colors, but it's one of the few pages from the JJK chapter that isn't a massive spoiler for readers. Instead, take a look at this view of the open end of the magazine.

Monthly G-Fantasy

And last, but certainly not least, we've got another magazine from Square Enix: Monthly G-Fantasy. Interestingly enough, this magazine started off as a special issue of Monthly Shounen Gangan all the way back in 1992, but found its way into a fully fledged magazine of its own, sporting popular titles like Hanako-Kun, and well, a lot of titles that I don't really know that much about. Anyways, how does this second helping from Square Enix match up against its progenitor?

Cost -> 650Yen

Number of Chapters -> 22

Number of Bonuses -> 2

Build / Print Quality -> 8.5/10

Number of Color Pages -> 5

A quick interlude to show off the bonuses. You get a (one-sided) poster, and a really cool special edition dust jacket for Hanako-kun (that you have to cut out). Really awesome pieces to add to the issue.

Yeah, I didn't really expect it either. G-Fantasy knocks it out of the park as a magazine, especially at its price point when compared to Shounen Gangan. The paper quality itself is pretty comparable, as both are somewhat thin yet very smooth, but the ink quality for G-Fantasy is just way ahead of Gangan. Really, if it's not better than a lot of Viz manga in terms of ink quality, it's at the very least on par with it. Wholeheartedly, I'd say that it's a better read than most modern regular sized viz manga. Massive trim size with nice paper and lovely ink quality, there's not a whole lot to complain about when you think about it being around half the price of a viz volume for such a large amount of content. So yeah, if you like Hanako-Kun, and potentially some of the other titles in here, and you want to work on your Japanese (and like bonus stuff), there's not really a big reason or limiter in keeping up with G-Fantasy.

And just a bit of a closing statement/final remark on these magazines. Alongside the chapters, the advertisements and information within were all super interesting. They were sorta all over the place, ranging from ads for pop up shops or merchandise to character information and statements to all sorts of polls and opinion panels. It's a really interesting look into how the culture surrounding manga works in Japan.

So, at the end of the day I definitely think that the monthly magazines are more likely to be worth it for NA readers, but if you're a collector and want to have a cover for your favorite series, I wouldn't really say it's a waste of money at the end of the day.