, stylized ''NOU NOU HAU'', abbreviated ''NNH'', was an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

dōjinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

anthology first published in November 1998. The magazine serialized the manga series '' Afro Samurai''.

History

Manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

Takashi Okazaki (born March 18, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist, visual designer and graphic designer, most notable for writing and illustrating the manga series '' Afro Samurai''. Early life Okazaki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture and graduated from the Tama ...

started drawing

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

characters on

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, tampons, and diapers. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue in the United States and Canada, the nam ...

boxes when he was younger, inspired by his fondness of hip hop music and culture. Takashi Okazaki threw in some elements of

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

into his work, eventually developing '' Afro Samurai''. Takashi Okazaki started writing the series when, he and his other artistic friends created the magazine ''Nou Nou Hau''. The magazine debuted in November 1998 with a preparatory "issue 0", featuring ''Afro Samurai'' on the cover. The lineup of the first issue consisted of Takashi Okazaki, and his friends Dai Okazaki, Ryoji Shibasaki and Mai Shibasaki. The official first issue of ''Nou Nou Hau'' was published in January 1999 and manga artists Motonobu Hattori and Hiroyuki Hiwatashi began to contribute to the magazine. By the second issue, the binding was changed and contributors of the magazine were asking bookstores to put the magazine on sale, making the magazine's readership increase. Dai Okazaki (now going by the name "Smelly") was asked to be on the Japanese show , which made him famous in the later years. The fourth issue of ''Nou Nou Hau'' was released right when "Smelly" became a star on ''Takashi no Dare Demo Picasso'', which increased the sales of the magazine. The artist Imaitoonz also started to contribute. By issue four, in October 1999, puppet animator Kaori Kuniyasu joined the magazine and for the first time began making a manga. In 2002, German artists named

Moga Mobo ''Moga Mobo'' is a German comics magazine published since 1994 by the Berlin-based art group of the same name. The group consists of artists Titus Ackermann, Jonas Greulich and Thomas Gronle (Legron). The comic has an irregular publishing schedule, ...

, who liked the works of ''Nou Nou Hau'', asked the artists if they could collaborate. The collaborative effort was included in the September 2002, issue six of ''Nou Nou Hau''. In September 2002, ''Nou Nou Hau'' opened an exhibition called "Show Yavay!!!" in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, with advertising by Moga Mobo. ''Nou Nou Hau'' was brought to a close when the artists could no longer afford the printing costs.

Features

The magazine ran many manga series as well an additional "''Nou Hau Talk''" section, featuring interviews with other Japanese artists. The magazine had an array of contributors who serialized many series in the magazine: * Dai Okazaki — One of the first contributors out of four who became famous on the TV show ''Takeshi no Dare Demo Picasso'' and became known as "Smelly". Dai was also featured on the cover of issue 3. Dai Okazaki started serializing a ''Smelly'' manga in May 1999 and also started the series entitled ''Bijutsu Techō'' in October 1999. *Mai Shibasaki — Also one of the first contributors who illustrated the cover of issue 1 in January 1999. *Ryoji Shibasaki — Along with his sister Mai Shibasaki, Ryoji was also one of the first contributors who illustrated the cover of issue 2. *

— Also one of the first contributors who serialized the manga '' Afro Samurai'' within the pages of ''Nou Nou Hau''. ''Afro Samurai'' first appeared in the promotional issue 0, and then was officially first serialized in the January 1999 issue.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Anime magazines published in Japan Defunct magazines published in Japan Magazines established in 1998 Magazines disestablished in 2002 1998 establishments in Japan 2002 disestablishments in Japan Irregularly published magazines Avant-garde magazines