Manga Phonebooks
What are Phonebooks? When talking about
phonebooks, I am not talking about actual phone books, but like I
mentioned in my Full Moon wo Sagashite (Searching for the Full
Moon) review, phonebooks are monthly Japanese manga
magazines. They’re nicknamed phonebooks because these magazines
are very thick and large in size and resemble phone books.
In Japan, manga does not simply come out in volumes at a time,
but as chapters published in a certain magazine such as
Shounen Jump, Ribon, Nakayosi and many others. The stories
are published as the mangaka (manga artist) finishes them,
meaning, to know about the latest story plot, you must buy the
magazine. When there are enough chapters to make up a volume of
manga, then a manga volume is published.
A manga phonebook usually has a few series that are running,
and alongside it, short stories or short comics are also
published. You’ll notice after buying a few that the themes and
drawing styles in each magazine are usually similar. This is
because each magazine is aimed to attract a certain audience.
Mangas aren’t only for kids (as my parents believe), because
there are actually mangas aimed toward adults (with stories about
housewives, working businessmen, etc).
Ribon Ribon, one of the most popular
magazines for young girls, is published by Shueisha. A new issue
comes out every month on the third. It is around 380-420 yen
($3.16-$3.49), depending on the issue and has around 500 pages.
There are color inserts for most of the main manga stories.
Ribon includes furokus (extra goodies
such as notebooks, pencil boards, cards, posters, etc) but the
special thing about Ribon is that there are zen-ins.
Zen-ins are goodies(such as organizers,
wallets, stationary sets, etc) that aren’t included with the
magazine, but can be yours if you send in money for postage. To
get a zen-in, you have to send in the envelope Ribon
provides with the needed amount of money (money for S&H) and
a filled-out sheet of paper that is inside the Ribon
issue. You don’t have to live in Japan to get the zen-ins, but
you have to make sure to actually give the needed amount of
postage. Zen-ins must be sent before the next issue of the
magazine comes out, but since the magazines are dated a month
earlier, you must send it in by the month on the magazine (ex:
zen-ins from March issue must be sent in by March).
Some zen-ins may last for more than a month, meaning you have
to have bought all the issues that the zen-in is for. Say the
zen-in is for the March and April issues, then you’ll receive
your item after the April issue. To receive the item, you must
have bought both the issues because you’ll need to include
something from both issues to get it- sort of like a proof of
purchase.
There is actually more than one type of Ribon. How
confusing, huh? These may or may not give furokus, but definitely
no zen-ins. Ribon Original comes out every month and has a
few running series but mostly contains short stories from the
series that run in Ribon. This costs about 380 yen.
Ribon Bikkuri comes out 4 times a year, one for every
season, and has around 1000 pages! It costs about 570 yen
($4.74). Ribon Natsuyasumi/ Fuyuyasumi Otanoshimi
Zoukangou comes out twice a year, once during summer and once
during the winter holidays. It costs around 380 yen ($3.16).
I subscribed to Ribon at Kinokuniya (just tell the
salesperson that you wish to subscribe). I love the cute furokus
they give me but I’m disappointed that I’ve been unable to get
any of the zen-ins because Kinokuniya always gets the magazine a
month late! Ribon (and Cookie) stories are
published into volumes under the Ribon Mascot Comics. In
my opinion, Ribon mangas have the best drawing styles
because they are very detailed and pretty. The style is rather
girly with flowers suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The stories
are usually sweet and romantic, making you feel all warm and
fuzzy inside.
Some stories that ran in Ribon are: Marmalade Boy,
Kodomo no Omocha, Good Morning Call, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Full
Moon wo Sagashite and many others that are virtually unheard
of in America.
A few other phonebooks Margaret comes
out twice a month and I believe it is targeted toward older girls
because some stories have mature content in them. It is 280 yen
($2.33) and usually comes with one furoku and sometimes there is
a zen-in offer. There are other types of Margarets such as
Betsuma Margaret, The Margaret, and Deluxe Margaret.
Some stories running in Margaret Love Monster, Bronze,
Tsuki no Shippo, Hana Yori Dango (Meteor Garden in Chinese) and
many other great stories.
ShoComi is for older audiences because it contains some
mature content. I don’t subscribe to this so I don’t know much
about it. ShoComi comes out twice a month and costs about 280
yen ($2.33).
Hana to Yume also contains some mangas that have
slightly mature content and isn’t for everyone (blood and gore,
homosexuality, etc). It is targeted toward slightly older girls,
I believe. Hana to Yume comes out twice a month and costs
280 yen ($2.33). It comes with a furoku and zen-in offers, which
usually last for more than one issue. There’s also the Betsuma
Hana to Yume, which is usually around 1000 pages and costs
about 590 yen ($4.91).
A few titles from Hana to Yume: Angel Sanctuary, Yami
no Matsuei, W-Juliet, Never Give Up!, Fruits Basket, Hanazakari
no Kimitachi E (commonly known as Hanakimi) and other
really great mangas.
Nakayosi comes out once a month and comes with many
furokus. It is targeted toward younger girls around ages 8-15 and
the mangas have very cutesy art styles. There is also
Nakayosi for summer and winter holiday specials.
Some stories in Nakayosi are: Morning Musume
Story (yes, a manga on the J-pop group Morning Musume), Da!
Da! Da!, Tokyo Mew Mew, Pichi Pichi Pitch, and many other
cute stories.
Shounen Jump is a really famous magazine targeted
toward boys (meaning action, gore, some nudity, etc). There is
even Shonen Jump in America now, published by Viz as a
monthly magazine that contains some of the titles that ran in
Jump. There are three types of Jump: Monthly Jump,
Weekly Jump and V Jump.Monthly Jump is around 370 yen
($3.08) while Weekly Jump is 220 yen ($1.83) and V
Jump is 520 yen ($4.33). Judging from the site, I think V
Jump is a magazine that is more about anime that have been
made from the manga series that ran in Jump.
Titles from Monthly Jump: Dragon Drive, I’ll, Claymore,
Go Da Gun and other titles that’re probably fabulous (I haven’t
heard of them though).
A few mangas in Weekly Jump: Naruto, Shaman King,
Hikaru no Go, Prince of Tennis, Hunter x Hunter, Yugioh, One
Piece and tons more great stories! The best Jump in my
opinion.
I know my explanation was long and maybe confusing, but
it’s because there’s a lot to explain about these manga
phonebooks. So, I advise you to try buying one and seeing for
yourself or try going to the sites I’ve listed. However, remember
that if you buy them, they’re all in Japanese. If you’re
interested in knowing more, just email me your questions and I’ll
do my best to answer them. =) I’ll do more comprehensive reviews
on each individual magazine in the future (maybe).
Used currency conversion: 120.23 yen = $1
Links:
Hakuensha (Hana to Yume,
Lala, etc)
Shueisha’s page for their
shounen magazines (Monthly Jump, Weekly Jump, V Jump)
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