One staple of Japanese popular culture is the regularly published newsprint manga magazine, such as Nakayoshi, Big Comic Spirits, and Shonen Jump. As manga becomes more popular in the west, spawning everything from truly inspired art to poorly drawn rip-offs, it is amazing to see the American take on publishing a magazine in such fashion. In the past year two companies have released American versions of manga "Phonebooks" (the American nickname for serial manga magazines) in order to bring some of the more traditional flavor of manga to the United States. Reviewing the sample issues released at Anime Expo and other events, one wonders whether the companies that release them will achieve their target of a massive readership of Manga in the US.

First is the preview for the American issue of Shonen Jump published by Viz Communications. Viz has been very successful at translating manga and anime in the US, tailoring its advertising to attract mainstream audiences. This reflects on the choice of titles to serialize; at least 3 titles contained are also shows popular on American TV, Yu-gi-oh, YuYu Hakusho, and Dragonball Z. Read in traditional right to left fashion, Shonen Jump's design layout tries to emulate the bright titles and bold cover splashes of Japanese manga magazines. On opening, the paper for the comics is of a higher quality than the cheap newsprint normally used in traditional "Phonebooks". Mixed in the magazine are a few glossy pages for articles and advertisements, things not found in the current Japanese Shonen Jump. The artwork is nicely printed, with care to keep the lines crisp and fresh as in a translated tankoubon.

However, there are some drawbacks to the magazine. There are no transition pages between stories, only a small logo at the top of the page. Also, at its future proclaimed size of 250 pages, it will only be half the size of its original. Lastly, while incredibly good at targeting a mainstream audience it is also its drawback. If this is all to the magazine, it will simply be no different than any other magazine title once the popularity of the series within is exhausted.

Second is the preview for Raijin comics by Coamix. Coamix is a Japanese manga company that created the popular Weekly Comics Bunch, a magazine aimed at an older audience. The addition of Japanese staff to the American endeavor shows. In staying true to the original style of magazines, Raijin's English version is almost identical to its Japanese counterpart. While Raijin does not go for mainstream titles or hit show tie in, it seems to capture the spirit of traditional manga magazines much more. The magazine also is read right to left and has the bright coloring of manga magazines that US Shonen Jump has, but the true difference is inside. Raijin's preview issue contains the beautiful watercolor transition and title pages found in the better quality manga magazines. Printed on cheap newsprint, this allows spending money on a weekly publication that is the size of US Shonen Jump's monthly, giving more comic enjoyment per month. Also the giveaways and contests are more interesting, with free books, t-shirts and CD's for simply subscribing instead of game piece or entries in the hopes of winning.

The series shown in Raijin are new; most of them not well known in the mainstream (except for City Hunter) and are a fresh injection of titles to the US market. The only hurdle for Raijin will be building popularity for its obscure titles, however with so many giveaways they will at least be able to put their foot in the door and move above the rest in the end.

Depending on your taste, whether a supplement magazine to your favorite anime shows or a sample of new series to enjoy, both magazines have something to offer the mainstream media in their own ways. Whether they will make more people want to read manga has yet to be seen.

Links of Interest:

Shonen Jump: The Party - Gerry Poulos reports on Viz's premier event for the U.S. version of Shonen Jump.