August 1990 Pt. 4 Mangajin Magazine

Mangajin Magazine 

Consisting of 80 pages (not including front & back covers), with a Cover price of $4.50. Mangajin was Distributed by KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORES (in the U.S.) & was available in Japan through SEKAI SHUPPAN KENKYU CENTRE (Tokyo) Issue Volume 1 #2 Printed August 1990, the start of print run of 1990. Last issue published Volume 7 #70 November\December 1997. Mangajin was published 10 times a year, Monthly except for January and July each year.

Editor & Publisher Vaughan Paul Simmons (Based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.)

This is the start of the monthly Print run of 10 magazines per year.  The magazine was aimed at helping those interested in the Japanese language, studying both its politeness and slang, alongside what business tourists who may want to add to their understanding.

I have only included a few samples of what you would find within the pages of Mangajin from my own view as someone that appreciates all aspects Japanese manga, in the hope it will spark a search for knowledge in you the reader.

Front cover 

 Editorial (Vaughan P Simmons) 

& Ads.  

Contents Page

 Ask Mangajin; Send your Questions to

 Classifieds  

Questionnaire\Reader's Survey
(this can be read at the end of this post)

 Feature Story; Kanji, Kana & Brand Imeji

 VIZ comics – Volumes of Trade paperbacks of Translated Manga

Nausicca, of the valley of wind

MAI, The Psychic Girl

GREY

LUM – Urusei Yatsura

 The Politeness Levels

 Pronunciation Guide

 About books  

 About books  

 About books:  Japanese words & their uses.  

 Vocabulary Summary

 Japan Travel Service, INC.

 “What's Michael” By Makoto Kobayashi

 “Jimi-Hen” By Nakazaki Tatsuya

 “Tanaka-Kun” By Tanaka Hiroshi

 “Hotel” By  Ishinomori Shotaro

Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia 
(the same City that Mangajin was created in.)

[NOTE: the following is the text taken from the replies to the first issue's questionnaire, and I think it is worth reading, and preserving. ] 

Feedback from a total of 147 people.

From  June to July of 1990 - questionnaire;

Reader's Survey

Q1. In my study of the Japanese langue I consider myself to be:

#of responses

Beginner         1       26

        2       14

Intermediate 3       8

        4       26

5 22

Advanced 6 17

7 7

(Teacher 20

Q2. Please indicate the features or manga from Mangajin which you like.

#of responses

Q&A Column 73

Feature Story 68

Sushi Primer 84

Basic Japanese 96

Book Reviews 81

Puzzlegram 45

Manga

Tanaka-kun 69

Assari-kun 55

Bravo Theater 55

What's Michael 78

Q3. Next, please indicate the features or manga from Mangajin which you did not like.

#of responses

Q&A Column 2

Feature Story 3

Sushi Primer 4

Basic Japanese 5

Book Reviews 9

Puzzlegram 25

Manga

Tanaka-kun 5

Assari-kun 9

Bravo Theater 5

What's Michael 11

Hotel 8

Q4. What kind of features, stories or articles would you like to see in Mangajin?

responses

More on Japanese religion, especially popular forms of religion.

An article on availability of video tapes - both feature films and documentaries in Japanese.

Japanese attitudes towards Americans

Any kind that continue to show the uniqueness that several of your first issue articles have;

For example, the "Titles in Translation" is the first article I have see (in English) on the subject.

Many publications meant for Japanese language students seem to all cover the same subjects over and over. Yours seems to be designed to be different. Good for you!

Emphasis on business conversation.

Stories about Japanese-American relations, both country perspective and personal.

Business etiquette and conversation.

Song translations, maybe a poem every now and then.

More history and/or cultural articles, how do westerners cope with cultural shock (if any) when living for a long time in japan.

Stories which help to understand Japanese etiquette/human relations.

More female characters like Sazae-san, also politically critical manga.

Developments in Japanese film industry (especially animation), and feature on Akira Kurosawa would be really great.

Cassette tapes with this publication would be be extremely useful.

Book review of recent literature.

I have lived in Japan so the basic "this is Japan" kind of articles are boring. 

Perhaps articles on what Gaijin in Japan find strange (riding Tokyo trains, the Office life, relationships) would be good.

Articles about slang and levels of language usage.

Japanese cooking;

U.S. Japan relations - describing or discussing the political trends/current news.

Entertaining Japanese guests, playing with japanese infants & toddlers (baby talk/kiddie talk).

Type of music, books liked in Japan; Fashion; computers.

Information on use and construction of Japanese verbs, maybe a section of Kanji learning.

More about authors of Manga, the popularity of Manga in Japan and what type of people read what type of Manga. 

More political cartoons - _ I never get the point.

Japan as seen by the traveler from abroad and the traveler as viewed by the Japanese.

Pop Music, news from Japan.

Japanese film reviews.

Articles by people who have life in Japan.

A regular feature on medium to advanced grammar topics.

Work/Office culture related manga; cultural events/ceremonies with new (special) vocabulary (shrines, etc).

Japanese cultural, both "pop" and "high" movies, literature, plays, poetry, etc.

More comedy.

Some family situations or daily situations (not business) - manga on the order of Tora-san movies. 

[NOTE: Otoko wa Tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as Tora-san, a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans.]

Q5. What type of manga would you like to see?

#of responses

Business/Economics related 58

Science Fiction 45

Sports         26

Golf            2

Baseball            5

Sumo    2

Martial Arts    3

Historical         61

Contemporary Fiction 59

Romantic         23

(mentions of specific titles were very mixed, and no patterns emerged)

Q6. Any other comments?

responses

I think a lot of foreigners want to learn Japanese from manga. 

Yours is the only publication I have seen that explains the words in their context. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations on a well made and much needed publication!  Mangajin finally fills a void that has been empty too long.  Keep it up!

Great as it is - more humour would be nice.

I love the magazine!  I think it is a wonderful idea for people trying to learn the japanese language. 

I would also like to see it (in a small way,perhaps) teach customs and their origins. 

(Although the comics serve this purpose to a great extent for the modern culture.)

I particularly appreciate the discussion of different levels and differences between the language of men and women.

I think it is a very good idea, why didn't you do this earlier! 

This was the magazine I was hoping to find. Maybe a periodic audio-cassette would be nice.

I love this book, what a great idea!  Now I will be able to say things as Japanese people do, and not just like the books!

 The first issue was great fun to read! 

Very impressed. Titbits on basic Japanese culture and entomology can be utilized in classes.

Manga themselves are informative and entertaining.

Will encourage my students to subscribe.

What a wonderful publication!  I like the colloquial tone - your translations of slag are  great.  

Best wishes for all success!

This is great and much needed - you ought to have a big following soon, but why is the female character in 'What's michael' referred to as "young woman" on page 36 and "girl" elsewhere?

Either she's over 16 or she's not.

I wish you would publish more often.

A first-rate publication!  Great for learners at all levels.  I will spread the word.

I have been looking for a publication like this for a long time.  This is great!

It makes learning fun and painless.  I am frequently baffled by manga Japanese and Japanese humor. 

This publication gives clear explanations of both and was great fun to read.

If this first issue of Mangajin will be typical of future issues, then this is a real find.

Anything which deals with contemporary social issues, but especially woman's roles including mothering, working, marriage, aging.  

Anything available on "Oyaji-gal".  Also, perhaps on role conflict men are feeling with work/family conflicts.

Japanese was never so much fun"  First magazine I enjoyed enough to subscribe. Outstanding!

[NOTE: By the late 90's Mangajin had ceased being published, it did have a presence on the Internet, sadly that too is now in the past - using the Internet's Archive Way-back machine http://web.archive.org/web/20110215113738/http://www.mangajin.com/ you can discover the WASABI BROTHERS Trading Company run by....]