Kindai Mahjong

is a mahjong-focused magazine line created by Takeshobo. The first title published under the line was the text magazine ''Monthly Kindai Mahjong'' (1972–1987). It has since then spawned four manga magazines: ''Kindai Mahjong Original'' (1980–2013), ''Bessatsu Kindai Mahjong'' (1981–present), ''Kindai Mahjong Gold'' (1985–2006), and ''Kindai Mahjong Gamble Com'' (2006).

History

, described by Takeshobo as "Japan's first mahjong magazine", started in November 1972, one month after the publisher itself was established. It was mainly a text magazine, and it spawned a manga magazine in December 1980, . Two sister magazines, and , were created in December 1981 and August 1985. The original magazine went defunct in 1987, and then ''Bessatsu'' changed its title to simply ''Kindai Mahjong'' in 1997. In February 2006, ''Gold'' ceased its publication and, in March, it was replaced by the short-lived , whose issuance lasted until June 2006. ''Original'' had its last issue released in December 2013, and then was reconceptualized as a female character-centered ''seinen'' magazine (aimed at adult males) titled , starting from January 2014.

Content

All ''Kindai Mahjong'' magazines feature manga series that involve mahjong, although they can vary in genre from comedy to romance or science fiction. Despite the similarities, each has its own editorial staff, emphasis, slogan, and artist line-up. ''Bessatsu''s focus is to promote tie-ins with other media, and as such features guest appearances by television personalities like Yoshikazu Ebisu, who wrote a manga in 1994. In addition to the manga, there are also informative articles. ''Gold'', for example, constantly features mahjong former players, such as , who appears in photos, illustrating mahjong technique, and is portrayed as a character in manga. The magazine line also advertises mahjong parlors, and ''Original'' and ''Bessatsu'' also held women's mahjong tournaments and mahjong dating forums to attract female readers.

Among the most popular series published in the magazine line are (1981–1989) by , '' Mahjong Hishō-den: Naki no Ryū'' (1985–1990) by , '' Akagi'' (1991–2018) by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, and '' The Legend of Koizumi'' (2006–2015) by Hideki Ohwada. The magazines also frequently serialize mahjong spin-off of manga originally published in other magazine's series, such as adaptations of '' Higurashi When They Cry'', ''Iron Wok Jan'', and ''Getter Robo''.

Reception

By 1996, ''Original'', ''Bessatsu'' and ''Gold'' had monthly circulation numbers around 180,000–200,000. At that time, the former two's average readership consisted of people aged 16–22, while the later was read by a public of more than 25 years old. Although most ''Kindai Mahjong'' readers are male, comedy manga such as ''Super Zugan'', attracted a considerable female readership.

The ''Kindai Mahjong'' magazines were the only mahjong magazines that were not closed because of the effects of the Japanese asset price bubble in late 1980s. Although there were over ten publications in the genre, the recession and the "depressing image" the game had in that period, as ''Kindai Mahjong'' editor Michiyuki Miyaji put it, made most of them to close. Miyaji said one of the series that made possible the magazine line survival through that period was ''Naki no Ryū''.

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Works cited

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External links

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1972 establishments in Japan
Semimonthly manga magazines published in Japan
Magazines established in 1972
Seinen manga magazines
Takeshobo

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