#manga magazine

[sekaiichi-happy]

nakayoshi feb 2001 issue

[highresshojosei]

Fruits Basket On the cover of Hana to Yume - May 2004

[90sfantasyanimestuff]

Chapter image from an Ys-based manga. Source.

[oldbrain]

Some of my favorite Feel Young (フィール・ヤング) magazine covers!

[akissaura]

[iukasylvie]

Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama wouldn't look out of place in Kadokawa and Enterbrain's magazine Harta. In fact, Shirahama's previous series Eniale & Dewiela ran on this magazine.

Other licensed titles from the magazine include A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori, Call the Name of the Night by Tama Mitsuboshi, The Coppersmith's Bride by namo, Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui, Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest and Ran and the Gray World by Aki Irie, Hakumei and Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods by Takuto Kashiki, Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto by Nami Sano, Hinamatsuri by Masao Ohtake, Immortal Hounds by Ryo Yasohachi, Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World by Asaya Miyanaga, Stravaganza: The Queen in the Iron Mask by Akihito Tomi, Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times by Kenji Tsurubuchi, and Wolfsmund by Mitsuhisa Kuji.

I hope Aoi Horus no Hitomi by Chie Inudoh and Vlad Drăculea by Akiyo Ohkubo would get licensed too. Both are historical manga series starring rulers but they couldn't be more different. I love Inudoh's vibrant world of ancient Egypt in Aoi Horus no Hitomi and Ohkubo's Vlad III, Stephen III, Mehmed II, Ilona Szilágyi, and Radu III in the grim world of late medieval Eastern and Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire in Vlad Drăculea.

[animehouse-moe]

The Animanga Find Of A Lifetime

Yeah, I haven't really been too active this week. I've been busy during the week with life and whatnot, but a good chunk of the end of this week has been about this pile of anime and manga magazines. It's no longer just a "pile" of Animerica Extra, but a bonafide Mt. Everest encroaching on 400 issues, so I have lot to explain with just this haul alone.

So, where to begin? An outline is probably best.

This haul is a total of about 311 issues (a little more because of a few duplicates and magazines that aren't strongly related to animanga). That huge number is split across 16 different magazines, 4 of which (combining for 37 issues) are Japanese language.

The full list, in alphabetical order, is: Animage (JP), Animerica, Animerica Extra, Anime USA, AX (JP), AX DVD (JP), Mangajin, Neo, Newtype (JP), NewtypeUSA, OtakuUSA, Pulp, Protoculture Addicts, Shoujo Beat, Super Manga Blast, and Yen+.

Protoculture Addicts and Animerica stand out in the bunch because they together combine for over 100 of the issues in the haul, which is good because they're by far the longest running in the lot.

Speaking of those, let me give a bit of broad history in regards to the magazines.

While the majority are English language, there's actually a pair of them that were created/published outside of the US.

Starting it off, Protoculture Addicts was created in Montreal, and was actually ran as a Robotech Fanzine for about a year or so before becoming a full fledged magazine.

And then there's Neo, the UK based magazine. It's arguably the most interesting ongoing magazine out of the lot (with Otaku/Anime USA being the only others). It's also the only monthly animanga magazine to be currently published in English as OtakuUSA is bimonthly, and AnimeUSA is quarterly.

But that's enough history, what about the insides? For the most part they're relatively standard, but there's not "as many" manga anthology issues in this mountain.

Super Manga Blast, Shoujo Beat (only 9 issues), Animerica Extra (which I now have extras of), Pulp (only 2 issues), and Yen+.

That last one is the most interesting to me purely because of an editorial/column penned by "The Otaku Pimp". Yeah, that's a real thing that appears in that magazine which is incredibly funny to me.

More on the interesting side though is Mangajin, a magazine focused on teaching Japanese through Japanese culture, which of course includes manga. This one is especially interesting because it oftentimes features the only instance of the manga inside being translated to English.

And this is all just the tip of the iceberg. There's an insane amount of information and history in the magazines, and an exciting amount of unknowns with the frankly incredible amount of promotional DVDs that remain attached to so many of these issues.

I just have to get through it all.... which will take a long time. Will certainly be recruiting friends and whoever to help out, so hopefully I won't be doing this for the rest of my life haha

[skipandloafer-anime]

Skip and Loafer once again on the front cover of Monthly Afternoon Issue 06/2023

I’ve never seen a character drawn so authentically happy she looks so vibrant!!!! My girl!!!!!

[lauraagrace]

I know manga "licensing season" is over compared to how many licenses we've gotten in recent months, but I'm still holding out that Lingerie for a Day of Love will get picked up in English! 🙏

It seems like such an incredible josei series and desperately want to read it! 🥹

YouTube Video of Top 5 Manga (In Every Demo) I Would See To Licensed in English: https://youtu.be/aQj3bBXM0RA

[shoujochan]

Got my October ciao issue (*ﾟ∀ﾟ人ﾟ∀ﾟ*)♪

[titles-for-tangents]

In conjunction with @silvermoon424’s new project to scan and archive Mitsukazu Mihara’s 6-volume manga series Dolls: IC in a Doll, here is a copy of an interview Mihara gave in 2006 with Manga Magazine at Otakon, recorded here by Tokyopop!

What a Doll! An Interview with Mitsukazu Mihara

(On the left-hand side):

Goth Loli goddess Mitzukazu Mihara has garnered an impressive level of fan devotion in Japan, largely due to the intricate and inspired Gothic Lolita fashions worn by her characters.

A master of the manga short story, Mihara-sensei began her career as an illustrator, gaining recognition and acclaim for her distinct illustrations in the Gothic Lolita Bible. Going on to create such noteworthy titles as Happy Family and IC in a Sunflower, Mihara-sensei took storytelling to a new level with Doll, a six-volume anthology series about a world where humankind coexists with an intelligent race of androids called “dolls”.

Gothic Lolita enthusiasts and sci-fi lovers - Mitsukazu Mihara fans are passionate, dedicated and intelligent. And with the release of Mihara-sensei's Beautiful People in February and Haunted House and R.I.P.: Requiem in Phonybrain in the fall, they're about to grow significantly in number. Get on board while you still can.

Manga magazine sat down with Mihara-sensei at the Otakon convention in Baltimore, where she discussed fashion, fandom and some of her surprising influences.

-Tim Beedle

(At the bottom:)

MIHARA-SENSATIONAL: FIVE FLAWLESS FABLES

New to the work of Mitsukazu Mihara? For those looking to sample the best of the best, we offer a few suggestions.

"A Maid Servant" (Doll, Vol. 1) When Tokiko's fiancé leaves her for another woman, Tokiko assumes it's because she's ugly. But when someone starts defacing Tokiko's doll, we soon learn that ugliness has many forms.

"Beautiful People" (Beautiful People) Telling the tale of Mimi, a strong-willed woman who achieves beauty through plastic surgery, Mihara-sensei reveals where the true beauty lies, while serving up some of her most intriguing character design work to boot.

"Grave" (Doll, Vol. 4) Mihara-sensei gave life to the dolls, but in this story, she gives them death. "Grave" takes us to the SG Corporation's press room, where retired or illegally remodelled dolls are scrapped. A fascinating look at mortality, "Grave" is chilling...and life-affirming.

"Haunted House" (Haunted House) A very black comedy. "Haunted House" tells the story of Sabato, a hapless teenager whose attempts at romance are continually ruined by his outrageous family. Boasts detailed gothic art and plenty of dark humor.

"Home" (Doll, Vol. 6) An emotional story that serves as a denouement for the entire Doll series, "Home" is only fully appreciated when read after the stories that preceded it.

(In the center:)

Manga: Welcome to Otakon, Mihara-sensei! Is this your first time in the United States? Mitsukazu Mihara: Not only is it my first time in the United States, it's my first time traveling abroad. I'm having the best time!

Manga: What are you impressions of Otakon? Mitsukazu Mihara: I love it. All of these amazing cosplayers - I could sit and watch them all day long. This is something you just don't see in Japan!

Manga: In Japan, the vast majority of your fans are Gothic Lolita devotees. What attracted you to Gothic Lolita fashion? Mitsukazu Mihara: I just love the spirit of Gothic Lolita culture. When I first started drawing manga, Gothic Lolita was just taking off and I wanted to incorporate the trend. I think we've grown together. Actually, though, my first works were not Gothic Lolita - they were inspired more by punk.

Manga: Let's back up a bit. How did you begin your career as a manga-ka? Mitsukazu Mihara: When I was first starting off, I was very much inspired by the work of Yumi Tada (Yukikaze, Ludlow Garage, Sitting in the Balcony). I actually became her assistant. While working for her, I was scouted and asked to enter my work in an amateur manga competition and was very surprised when I learned that I won! I then went on to submit my work to Shodensha, who accepted it. I've been extremely lucky in my career.

Manga: Other than Yumi Tada, who are some of your influences? Mitsukazu Mihara: Kazuo Umezu (Orochi, Scary Books) and Junko Mizuno (Hansel & Gretel, Pure Trance). I also really love Tim Burton.

Manga: Really? He's an influence? Mitsukazu Mihara: Oh yes! He's my biggest. Edward Scissorhands is my favorite film of his. I find the way he balances dark themes with humor and heart to be inspiring. And I can't wait to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Corpse Bride!

Manga: What about the science fiction aspect in many of your books? Your stories in Doll and Beautiful People remind me of the work of Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. Are you a fan? Mitsukazu Mihara: I'm a very big fan of science fiction. Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies. I'm also a fan of Asimov's robot books. In fact, the dolls in Doll actually follow the Three Laws of Robotics, even though it's never explicitly stated.

Manga: Let's talk about Doll for a moment. Aside from being a great piece of science fiction, there are a lot of social and psychological issues brought up by it. Did you intend for it to make so many statements? Mitsukazu Mihara: Yes, there were many issues I wanted to write about. Domestic violence, for one, remains a problem in Japan, and I felt Doll could be a good place to address it.

(Off to the left:)

Doll is fearless in its subject matter, tackling controversial issues such as spousal abuse, gender inequality, bulimia and sexual objectification.

(Center, continuing from previous page:)

Mitsukazu Mihara: However, it was never intended to be at the sacrifice of the story. Telling a good story comes first.

Manga: Your stories often cross into the fantastic or surreal, but the characters and their emotions always feel real and relatable. How do you pull this off? Mitsukazu Mihara: I take my inspiration from my own life and I only write about what I know. Now, I'll often take familiar things and exaggerate them for effect, but I have to stick to what I'm familiar with. For me to do it any other way would weaken the story.

Manga: How does Gothic Lolita fit into it? Mitsukazu Mihara: In Doll, Gothic Lolita fashion symbolizes eternal beauty. The perfect Ghotic Lolita never ages - she remains young. It's as if she's not human, but a machine - or a doll.

Manga: Do you have a favorite character in Doll? Mitsukazu Mihara: I like Ichiro, the Remodeler. Of all the characters, he's the most I like.

Manga: What has your experience been like working with an American entertainment company, as opposed to a Japanese company? Mitsukazu Mihara: It's actually easier to work with TOKYOPOP than with Japanese companies. Most publishers are not as concerned with quality, but TOKYOPOP pays extra attention to keeping the integrity of my work. I am extremely happy.

Manga: What are you working on now? Mitsukazu Mihara: I have a couple of projects I'm working on: Doku Hime and Shigeshoshi.

Manga: Do you have a message for your fans in America? Mitsukazu Mihara: Thank you for all your support! I'm so pleasantly surprised and grateful that the American fans "get it" despite all of the cultural differences! The fact that Gothic Lolita is so popular here in the States pleases me very much!

(End of interview and article)

[sekaiichi-happy]

nakayoshi jan 1993 issue

[highresshojosei]

Fruits Basket On the cover of Hana to Yume - May 2002

[doizy]

Mr. Mallow blue on the cover of this month's issue of Asuka!

[oldbrain]

SHUEISHA 集英社 Ribon Deluxeりぼんデラックス

Spring Issue, 1978

Summer Issue, 1977

Autumn Issue, 1977

Source

[lestcat-de-lioncourt]

“Should I… apply it with the lipstick itself, my finger, or… my mouth?”