Boy's Life (Japanese magazine)
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese monthly shōnen
magazine published by Shogakukan
from April 1963 until August 1969. The magazine was marketed to boys in junior high school and older, and included a manga
section as well as general interest
articles and information.
and many other magazines.
The magazine included several regular features, including a life counseling
column, novel
reviews, discussions of popular culture topics such as aliens
, androids, cryptid
s, the Hollow Earth
hypothesis, and the Vietnam War
. The editors of the magazine often travelled abroad to gather information and photographs for stories on adventures (such as cave exploration) and unexplored regions of the world as well as the indigenous peoples
inhabiting them.
Boy's Life also published a number of well known artists including Sanpei Shirato
, creator of The Legend of Kamui
.
The last issue of Boy's Life was the August 1, 1969 issue, and the magazine was replaced by the Weekly Post
, also published by Shogakukan.
In 1967, Shogakukan wanted Shirato's The Legend of Kamui
. They planned to purchase Garo
, the magazine in which it was serialized, then merge it with Boy's Life into a new magazine. However, this idea was never realized because Katsuichi Nagai, the editor of Garo, declined the offer. Shogakukan pursued another angle on the idea, however, and launched Big Comic
in April 1968. They published , the sixth chapter of Shirato's , in full color after the first five had originally appeared in Boy's Life.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese monthly shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
magazine published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
from April 1963 until August 1969. The magazine was marketed to boys in junior high school and older, and included a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
section as well as general interest
Interest (emotion)
Interest is a feeling or emotion that causes attention to focus on an object or an event or a process. In contemporary psychology of interest, the term is used as a general concept that may encompass other more specific psychological terms, such as curiosity and to a much lesser degree surprise.The...
articles and information.
Outline
Boys' Life was launched on April 1, 1963 to take the place of Chūgakusei no Tomo. The first editor of the magazine, Yūnosuke Onishi, went on to be editor of Big ComicBig Comic
is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since 1968-02-29 by Shogakukan in Japan. It was originally launched as a monthly magazine, but switched to twice monthly on the 10th and 25th beginning in April 1968. It is paired with sister magazine Big Comic Original, going on sale in the weeks...
and many other magazines.
The magazine included several regular features, including a life counseling
Advice column
An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist . The image presented was originally of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt"...
column, novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
reviews, discussions of popular culture topics such as aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, androids, cryptid
Cryptid
In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...
s, the Hollow Earth
Hollow Earth
The Hollow Earth hypothesis proposes that the planet Earth is either entirely hollow or otherwise contains a substantial interior space. The hypothesis has been shown to be wrong by observational evidence, as well as by the modern understanding of planet formation; the scientific community has...
hypothesis, and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The editors of the magazine often travelled abroad to gather information and photographs for stories on adventures (such as cave exploration) and unexplored regions of the world as well as the indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
inhabiting them.
Boy's Life also published a number of well known artists including Sanpei Shirato
Sanpei Shirato
, known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as his realistic drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He is considered a pioneer of gekiga. The son of the Japanese proletarian painter Toki Okamoto, his dream to become an artist...
, creator of The Legend of Kamui
The Legend of Kamui
is a manga by Sanpei Shirato. Set in feudal Japan, it tells the story of a low-born ninja who tries to flee his clan. The series combines historical adventure with social commentary and themes of oppression and rebellion that reflect Shirato's Marxist convictions...
.
The last issue of Boy's Life was the August 1, 1969 issue, and the magazine was replaced by the Weekly Post
Weekly Post
The Weekly Post was a weekly newspaper published in Rainsville, Alabama by Southern Newspapers and serving the DeKalb County, Alabama region.The Weekly Post was founded in 1986 by the editor and former employees of The Sand Mountain News, the previous Rainsville newspaper which had ceased...
, also published by Shogakukan.
In 1967, Shogakukan wanted Shirato's The Legend of Kamui
The Legend of Kamui
is a manga by Sanpei Shirato. Set in feudal Japan, it tells the story of a low-born ninja who tries to flee his clan. The series combines historical adventure with social commentary and themes of oppression and rebellion that reflect Shirato's Marxist convictions...
. They planned to purchase Garo
Garo (magazine)
was a monthly manga anthology magazine in Japan, founded in 1964 by Katsuichi Nagai. It specialized in alternative and avant-garde manga.-History:...
, the magazine in which it was serialized, then merge it with Boy's Life into a new magazine. However, this idea was never realized because Katsuichi Nagai, the editor of Garo, declined the offer. Shogakukan pursued another angle on the idea, however, and launched Big Comic
Big Comic
is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since 1968-02-29 by Shogakukan in Japan. It was originally launched as a monthly magazine, but switched to twice monthly on the 10th and 25th beginning in April 1968. It is paired with sister magazine Big Comic Original, going on sale in the weeks...
in April 1968. They published , the sixth chapter of Shirato's , in full color after the first five had originally appeared in Boy's Life.
Works which appeared in the magazine
Listed alphabetically by year(s) of appearance.- Chōjintachi (Shotaro IshinomoriShotaro Ishinomoriwas a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and tokusatsu, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009 and Himitsu Sentai Goranger, what would go on to become part of the Super Sentai series, and the Kamen Rider Series...
, November-December 1963) - Holiday Run (バカンス航路) (Katsumi Kasuko, August 1963)
- Sanpei Gekijō (Sanpei ShiratoSanpei Shirato, known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as his realistic drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He is considered a pioneer of gekiga. The son of the Japanese proletarian painter Toki Okamoto, his dream to become an artist...
, April-August 1963) - Yumei ga Ippai Vacation (Katsumi Kasuko, June 1963)
- Yōki na Nakama (Katsumi Kasuko, September 1963-March 1964)
- Katame Saru (Mitsuteru YokoyamaMitsuteru Yokoyamawas a Japanese manga artist born in Suma-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo. His personal name was originally spelled , with the same pronunciation. His works include Tetsujin 28-go, Giant Robo, Akakage, Babel II, Sally, the Witch, Princess Comet, and adaptations of the Chinese classics Outlaws of the Marsh and...
, September 1963-March 1965) - Kogarashi Ippei (Osamu Kishimoto, April-November 1964)
- Sebangō 0 (Hirō Terada, April-November 1964)
- Funky Boys (Katsumi Kasuko, August 1964-March 1965)
- 007 SeriesJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(Takao SaitoTakao Saitois a Japanese manga and gekiga artist. He is best known for creating the successful series Golgo 13.-Early life and career:Takao Saito was born on November 3, 1936 in Wakayama Prefecture. During his school days in Osaka he was the best in his class in drawing and fighting, and also considered...
, December 1964-August 1967) - 1 no 1 no 1 (Kenji Morita, April-July 1965)
- Ijiwaru Kyōju (Fujio AkatsukaFujio Akatsukawas a pioneer Japanese artist of comical manga known as the Gag Manga King. His name at birth is 赤塚 藤雄, whose Japanese pronunciation is the same as 赤塚 不二夫....
, July-December 1965) - Kōryō (Mitsuteru Yokoyama, April 1965-February 1966)
- Akanbe Akanbo (Jirō Tsunoda, March 1966)
- Obake no Q-tarōObake no Q-taro, by Fujiko Fujio, is a Japanese manga about an obake, Qtarō who lives with the Ōhara family. Qtarō, also known as Q-chan or Oba-Q, is a mischief-maker who likes to fly around scaring people and stealing food, though he is deathly afraid of dogs.The story is formulaic, usually focussed on the...
(Fujiko FujioFujiko Fujiowas a nom de plume of a manga writing duo formed by two Japanese manga artists. Their real names are and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987....
, March 1966) - Oba-Q no Otoboke Gihyō (Fujiko Fujio, April-December 1966)
- Osomatsu-kunOsomatsu-kunis a manga series by Fujio Akatsuka which ran in Shōnen Sunday from 1962 to 1969. It has been adapted into two different anime series of the same name, the first in 1966, produced by Studio Zero, and the second in 1988, produced by Pierrot and aired across Japan on Fuji Television and the anime...
(Fujio Akatsuka, April-December 1966) - Thriller Kyōju (Fujio Akatsuka, January-March 1966, April 1967, August 1967)
- Mizuki Shigeru Yōkai Gekijō (Shigeru MizukiShigeru Mizukiis a Japanese manga author, most known for his Japanese horror manga GeGeGe no Kitaro . A specialist in stories of yōkai, he is considered a master of the genre...
, September 1967) - Shirato Sanpei Gekijō (Sanpei Shirato, January-August 1967)
- Tama no Uta (Kazuhiko Miyaya, December 1967)
- Z to Yobareru Otoko (Masaaki Satō, September 1967-September 1968)
- Chōsen Yarō (Takao Saito, September 1967-January 1969)
- Unabara no Ken (Goseki KojimaGoseki Kojimawas a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Kojima was born on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income....
, May-August 1968) - Phoenix Jyo (Kazuhiko Miyaya, October 1968)
- Zubeko Tantei Ran (Tōru ShinoharaToru Shinoharais a Japanese manga artist.He was born in Niihama, Ehime. After graduating from high school on March 1955, he started working at a factory in Osaka making car parts but quit after only ten months. He studied manga via a mail-offered course and wrote to various manga magazines...
, October 1968-August 1969) - Matt HelmMatt HelmMatt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.-The character and the series:The...
series (Jin Kimura, created by Donald HamiltonDonald HamiltonDonald Bengtsson Hamilton was a U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Westerns such as The Big Country...
, November 1968-March 1969) - Uragiri no Gunpoint (Ken Tsukikage, February 1969)
- Karasu (Takao Saito, March-August 1969)
- Gunman / Fukushū no Mugonka series (Ken Tsukikage, April-July 1969)