Ask John: Is There an Alternative to Shonen Jump?

Question:
Is there a chance that there will be another manga magazine series similar to Shounen Jump to be released in America, such as Comic Dragon, Shoujo Comic, or Super Manga Blast. Personaly Shounen Jump is pretty dull seeing that most of the mangas in there are things shown on TV.

Answer:
Unfortunately, seemingly not that many consumers are aware that there already is another domestic version of an import manga magazine available in America: Raijin Comics. While the American Shonen Jump is a monthly English language version of the Japanese Shonen Jump magazine, Raijin Comics is a weekly English language version of the Japanese Comic Bunch magazine. At $4.95 per week, Raijin Comics is certainly an investment, but at well over 100 pages a week with no advertisements, the magazine is a far better value than buying normal 32 page comics at $3 each. Shonen Jump and Raijin Comics are both published in Japanese format right to left, but while Shonen Jump alters its original artwork and sound effects to suit American readers, with rare exception Raijin Comics leaves Japanese text, sound effects and background art intact, the way its creators intended it to be. This is largely because, while Shonen Jump is published by large publishing companies Shueisha and Viz, Raijin Comics is published by Gutsoon, a company owned by the original manga artists themselves. Raijin Comics is English language manga translated and published under the direct supervision of the manga creators themselves. And if you find the titles published in Shonen Jump too conventional or “dull,” you may find the wider variety and greater maturity of manga in Raijin Comics a welcome change. Raijin Comics’ current line-up includes titles like the shoujo-esque romance/fantasy Guardian Angel (Mammotte! Shugo Getten); the political drama First President of Japan; the popular sports drama Slam Dunk; the romance/comedy Bow Wow Wata; the suspense/action/drama loosely adapted from the events of September 11th, Revenge of Mouflon; the exciting martial arts/sports drama Grappler Baki; Hojo Tsukasa’s classic City Hunter; and Tetsuo Hara’s epic and violent prequel to Fist of the North Star, Fist of the Blue Sky (Souten no Ken). While nudity is censored out of Raijin Comics, mature themes, violence and graphic, bloody mayhem are presented uncut, exactly as Japanese readers read.

Furthermore, for the die-hard otaku fan of Japanese culture, Gutsoon also publishes the weekly Raijin Game & Anime magazine, which will soon be incorporated into the pages of Weekly Raijin Comics itself. Since it’s completely written in Japan by die-hard Japanese otaku, Raijin Game & Anime magazine presents a weekly, thorough examination of Japanese pop culture that no other English language magazine can match. From lengthy introductions to “gal games” ranging from Sakura Taisen to Kita-He to Memories Off to even hentai games for the PC and PS2, to coverage of Japanese “light novels” such as the Slayers novels, Sentou Yousei Yukikaze novel, Scrapped Princess novels, and even the Devil May Cry novel, to a peek inside Japanese doll otaku culture and collectors of Volks famous “Super Dolfie” line, to a detailed history of “Jidaigeki” movies, anime and manga, not even the English language Newtype USA magazine comes close to matching the depth and variety of extensive, detailed and “otaku obsessive” coverage of Japanese anime, manga and video game culture that Raijin Game & Anime Magazine provides.

With its unfortunately limited distribution and limited advertising, Raijin Comics has been massively overshadowed by its sister publication Shonen Jump. For an enthusiastic manga fan, both Shonen Jump and Raijin Comics should be “must buy” magazines, but if you’re looking for English translated manga that’s a bit more challenging and diverse and mature than what you’ll find in Shonen Jump, Raijin Comics is definitely worth your effort and money to locate.

PS: Super Manga Blast is not a domestic version of a Japanese magazine. Super Manga Blast is Dark Horse Comics’ excellent serial manga magazine which also skews toward an older, more sophisticated target readership than Shonen Jump.