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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

December 18, 2011 by Erica Friedman 7 Comments

Magazine no Mori in the Evening

It’s a well-known, unwritten rule of otakudom that one should never write or talk about something that other people know anything about. If one should venture into known territory, there’s a high likelihood that someone will be moved to explain to you how wrong you are.

Many people are familiar with Kodansha’s Morning magazine, and its slightly odd twin brother Morning Two. Likewise, people are relatively familiar with their older sister, Afternoon. But, because it’s out all day at work, and doesn’t get home until late, very few people know about their big brother magazine, Evening.

Evening magazine has a 2010 circulation of 147,980/month. It sells for 330 yen for just slightly over 400 pages an issue. Evening is one of those magazines you see most walking into convenience stores anywhere in Japan.

A few of the Evening series are going to be well-known to western readers. Most well-known are Moyashimon, that comedic series by Masayuki Ishikawa about cute bacteria, which is still ongoing in the magazine, and BLOOD ALONE, Masayuki Takano’s manga that shifted from Dengeki Daioh to Evening. Evening was involved in another another notable shift, when Gunm, Last Order (translated here as Battle Angel Alita, Last Order) was famously picked up and huffed from Ultra Jump to Evening finish its run when the creator, Yukito Kishiro, had issues with management.

Of note to people like myself who like oddball series, is “Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san,” by Yasuhisa Kubo about “funny”  demons in hell (which has recently gotten anime treatment) and “Shoujo Fight!,” a series about women’s volleyball that will never make it over here because, while sports manga in the west sells indifferently, sports manga about girls never even make it here at all. Forget then, ever seeing “O-Gari,” Tachiko Aoki’s action gaming story around women playing Shogi. (Fans of Saki, and Shion no Ou take note of this one.)

On Evening‘s website, one finds the typical features one expects with a manga magazine website – series overviews, interviews with creators, sample comics, features of new series, downloads and, somewhat less usually, a job board and special non-profit collbgoration with Father’s Quarterly (FQ) magazine related to a series “Prochichi,” a story about a stay-at-home father by Mieko Osaka.

Instantly a reader of Evening will realize that they are presumed to be an adult. The focus is on story, character and art, instead of gimmick or service. Where something like “Captain Alice” would, in Ultra Jump be full of T&A, in Evening, it focuses on great reactions shots and a surprisingly detailed  plane interiors. It’s easy to imagine salarymen picking up a copy of Evening on their commute home, and so they do.

Evening magazine from Kodansha: http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/magazine/index.php/02134

 

 

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Filed Under: FEATURES, Magazine no Mori Tagged With: Kodansha Comics, Magazine no Mori, Manga Magazine

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Yukimi says

    December 18, 2011 at 10:54 am

    I don’t think it’s the same series but when I was growing up, they broadcasted an anime in the regional channels on Tv in Spain an anime about femenine voleiball. I don’t remember much about it anymore (I think the translated name they had given the protagonist was Katya?) except that they did hardcore training with chains. It’s probably well known but I’m not veyr on the loop. A bit earlier we also had Naoki Urasawa’s manga and anime about a Judoka Girl (I think it was called Black Belt around here) but I was too little when they were broadcasting it to remember it.It seems here if it’s sports they used to bring it, it didn’t matter if it’s girls or boys :P Things seem to be harder now here, good thing we have the internet.

    Reply
  2. Aaron says

    December 18, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    Well not run in Evening but some of Cromson Hero made it over here so I wouldn’t say ever.

    Reply
  3. Erica Friedman says

    December 18, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    @Aaron – Yes, there have been several boys’ sports series that have been translated. “Eyeshield 21”, “Cross Game”. But no girls’ sports, like “Rising Shot”, “Shoujo Fight”, “Ace wo Nerae” or “Attack No. 1″…and definitely no girls’ playing Go, Shougi or other traditional Japanese games, like “Shion no Ou” or “Saki”.

    Reply
    • Aaron says

      December 18, 2011 at 4:59 pm

      Wen’t back and re read what you wrote misunderstanding on my part my bad, still eagerly waiting for you’re article on Comic’s High! or Dengeki Daioh if only to see them get a critical drubbing (that Mariaholic review you did a while back was a thing beauty maybe something like that)
      I will be waiting eagerly with my copy of Love Plus and can of coke because who needs a girlfriend when I’ve got those (lol)

      Reply
  4. Yukimi says

    December 18, 2011 at 7:04 pm

    In Spain, they brought the manga and anime of a Judoka Girl by Naoki Urasawa but I was still too young to remember it and tey brought and anime of a volleibal player girl whose name was translated to Katya (I don’t think it’s the same and the only ting I remember about it, it’s tat they did extreme things like training with chains on their arms or medicinal balls).

    Reply
  5. Vito says

    December 18, 2011 at 10:39 pm

    You mean Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl? Urosawa also did a series about tennis called Happy!

    Shoujo Fight has some fan scanslations but even those died off, not sure why All Rounder Meguru didn’t merit a mention with a fairly diverse cast representing both genders.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Links: Privileged says:
    December 22, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    […] Manga | For her latest Magazine no Mori column, Erica Friedman focuses on Evening, home to such series as Moyasimon, Blood Alone, and Battle Angel Alita: Last Order. “Instantly a reader of Evening will realize that they are presumed to be an adult,” she notes. “The focus is on story, character and art, instead of gimmick or service. Where something like Captain Alice would, in Ultra Jump be full of T&A, in Evening, it focuses on great reactions shots and a surprisingly detailed  plane interiors.” [Manga Bookshelf] […]

    Reply


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