#裏世界ピクニック

[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

[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。

[solspuren]

図書館で借りて裏世界ピクニックの小説を読んでるけど、

8巻が図書館になくて7巻止まり。

ネットの怪談ミームネタがちょくちょく出てくるから、

某イルカ某夢が出てきたらおもしろいなと思ってたけど

8巻完結で7巻まで読んで、これは出てきそうにないな。

[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

[saccharinescorpion]

4 Things You Can Try Now That You’ve Read THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR

(technically 5 things)

Mabel - a podcast by Becca De La Rosa and Maybell Marten.

Anna Limón is a home help worker currently looking after the elderly Sally Martin. When Sally has a bizarre and frightening reaction to a box of letters Anna finds in her attic one day, Anna attempts to seek answers by contacting Sally’s only known living relative: Mabel Martin.

“A podcast about ghosts, family secrets, strange houses, and missed connections,” Mabel is a story that is difficult to describe, but one of the most important points is that the vast majority of it is an epistolary narrative between Anna and Mabel, just like how This Is How You Lose The Time War is an epistolary narrative between Red and Blue. It also has a very distinct writing style- dramatic, flowery, and a little bit intimidating. However, if you loved the writing style of TIHYLTTW, I personally think that Mabel is a perfect match for you.

And I’m not just saying that because Mabel is a story about two extremely overdramatic women who are somehow both frighteningly caustic yet almost adorably useless.

The Honey Month - a book by Amal El-Mohtar 

I certainly hope I don’t have to tell you this, but Amal El-Mohtar is one of the authors of This Is How You Lose The Time War, and The Honey Month is a short book she wrote several years ago.

The Honey Month is almost more of an experiment than a book- in its introduction, a friend of El-Mohtar explains how she sent her several small samples of honey, leading El-Mohtar to use the gift as in a unique way. For one February, every day she used a different vial of honey as inspiration for a small piece of writing.

The Honey Month contains 28 short pieces of writing, poetry, prose, and some things in between. It’s a small book full of things with big impact, and contains the lyrical yet meaty writing I enjoyed from El-Mohtar in TIHYLTTW.

Otherside Picnic (裏世界ピクニック) - A series of novels by Iori Miyazawa (illustrated by Shirakaba)

College sophomore Sorawo Kamikoshi longs to find an escape from other people, and in trying to find it discovers the Otherside, a strangely beautiful yet unfathomably dangerous parallel world inhabited by the-once-fictional creatures she knows from net lore. She also meets Toriko Nishina, another young woman with a knowledge of firearms and a desire to find her missing mentor. Together, these two girls explore the Otherside and find themselves changing little by little, both due to their adventures, but also due to their relationship with each other.

If you know me you probably aren’t surprised at this reccomendation. Otherside Picnic is a truly odd beast- it’s sci-fi, it’s horror, it’s comedy, it’s yuri. It’s about trauma, it’s about Japanese creepypasta, it’s about useless lesbians, and it’s about how the scariest thing of all is being vulnerable with another human being. I think fans of  This Is How You Lose The Time War  will enjoy it- Otherside Picnic’s writing style will likely feel almost spartan compared to TIHYLTTW, but in my opinion there’s a similar level of poetry in it. There’s also a similar level of women who are “badass” yet kind of messes. You’ve heard of “Enemies to Lovers,” get ready for “Accomplices to Lovers”!

(there’s also a manga adaptation by Eita Mizuno, as well as an anime adaptation directed by Takuya Sato)

The Handmaiden (아가씨) - a movie directed by Park Chan-wook (written by Park and Chung Seo-kyung, based on the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters)

In Japan-occupied Korea, the pickpocket Sook-hee is recruited by a con-man to aide him in his scam of a Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko. While the con-man poses as “Count Fujiwara” and woos Hideko, Sook-hee will play the part of her maid and subtly push the heiress towards him. But as time passes, Sook-hee begins to realize there are things occuring in the mansion that are even more sinister than her and the Count’s scheme, and there is much, much more to Hideko than meets the eye.

This is a list of recommendations for “people who have finished “This Is How You Lose The Time War,” but I try to recommend The Handmaiden to as many people as I possibly can. I’ve described it in the past as the cinematic equivalent of running a marathon: with a 144 minute runtime full of gorgeous direction and set design, dark machinations, twisted yet romantic writing, often troubling themes, and so, so many plot twists, it’s a movie that nearly feels like too much of a good thing. But for fans of TIHYLTTW, I’m sure what will intrigue you most is the relationship between the two main characters, one so complicated that “Enemies to Lovers” can’t hope to capture the roiling feelings of pity, guilt, hatred, desire, annoyance, sympathy, and everything in between. 

It’s also just really hot.

The Handmaiden is a movie that is best enjoyed going in knowing as little as possible. That said, it is also a story with dark and often upsetting themes that are absolutely crucial to its narrative. If you are concerned about that statement,  I reccomend looking at the movies’ entry on DoesTheDogDie, which I have looked at and found to be a pretty comprehesive list of content warnings that can be examined in a way that doesn’t spoil the twists of the story.

Fingersmith - a novel by Sarah Waters

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I swear I’m going to get around to it!! I can’t technically recommend the book that inspired The Handmaiden since I haven’t read it yet, but I have at least one friend whose opinion I trust who sings its praises, so it’s good enough for me. Besides, if the recent popularity of This Is How You Lose The Time War has showed us anything, it’s that people constantly crave stories about complicated women, so it certainly can’t hurt, right?

[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.

[ari0921]

「宮崎正弘の国際情勢解題」　

令和六年（２０２４）３月１６日（土曜日）

　　　　通巻第８１７７号　

　捏造数字の一人歩きは戦争の情報操作の定石である

　　ハマスの犠牲者数は偽造とペンシルバニア大学教授が実証

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

ガザ地区の使者��「三万人以上」。この内の「７０％が女子供」と報道されている。

世界の同情があつまり、イスラエルの残酷生を非難する。また米国は、この数字をバイデンもオースチン国防長官も追認しているため、西側のメディアは裏付けも取らずに報じていることになる。民主党上院院内総務は「ネタニヤフ対陣が望ましい」と言い出した。

思い出されたい。南京「大虐殺」、アゥシェビッツ、パターンetc。。。捏造された数字が一人歩きした。しかしこれは戦争におけるプロパガンダ戦争の定石である。

不都合な真実は絶対に報道したり、認めたりしないから日本人が虐殺された通州事件も通化事件も頬被りする。それどころか日本の教科書がこんな甚大な被害を受けた日本人の惨劇を書かないのだ。

米国が中国国民党ですら知らなかった「南京」を『ジャーナリスト』やら『牧師』の肩書きを持たせた事実上のスパイに出鱈目を書かせた。米国は広島、長崎、そして日本の五十都市への無差別攻撃（死者は３０万人を超える）への批判をかわすために、日本軍の残虐をでっち上げる必要があった。それで南京を、架空の数字を２０万としたが、それでも足りないので３０万として、便乗した中国は『記念館』をつくり国民を洗脳した。ピクニックと替わらず途中珈琲ブレークもあったパターン行進を「死の行進」と作り替えた。

ハマスが毎日発表するガザ地区の犠牲者数は「捏造だ」と米ペンシルバニア大学教授が実証した。ペンシルバニア大学ウォートン校（ＭＢＡでは世界一）で、データサイエンスを教えるアブラハム・ワイナー教授は「ハマスは毎日の死者を２５０名プラスマイナス１５％と恣意的に決めており、また犠牲の７０％を女子供とするなど、毎日の発表基準としているようだ」と述べた。

　直近の報道例。「（３月１５日）ガザの保健当局は１５日、支援物資を待つパレスチナ人がイスラエル軍の攻撃を受け���２０人が死亡、１５５人が負傷したと発表した。イスラエル軍報道官は「報道は正しくない」と否定した」。

　つまり、ガザの発表数字を毎回イスラエルは否定しているのである。