Swords and buckwheat noodles… A new sense of the world in the hit magazine “Pinpoint Magazine

It all started with George Tokoro!

Takarajimasha’s “Hanamaru Udon FAN BOOK (series total) more than 450,000 copies sold) and Gakken’s (series total: over 450,000 copies) and Gakken’s “Otona no Kagaku Magazine” (series total: over 60,000 copies). more than 600,000 copies in total). (series total: over 450,000 copies), Gakken’s “Otona no Kagaku Magazine” (series total: over 600,000 copies), and other “pinpoint magazines” with extremely narrowly targeted readers and content are selling well.

How long has this been going on?

Daikanyama I talked to Ms. Michiko Mamuro, the original charismatic bookseller and literature concierge at Tsutaya, and she told me, “Pinpoint magazines are certainly popular. It all started in ’90s. I think it started with Tokoro-san in the ’90s,” she said.

There is also the extraordinary story of the birth of the magazine itself being taken over by a special feature!

Mr. Mamuro assumes that ” Daytona” ( Neko Publishing) is the root of pinpoint magazines. It was a bimonthly magazine launched in 1991 with George Tokoro as the main character.

“The theme of the magazine is George Tokoro, and it introduces cars, motorcycles, fashion, homes, sports, and other topics from a unique perspective under the theme of “ingenuity in lifestyle. A spin-off of “Daytona” is “Tokoro George’s Setagaya Base,” which is also currently being published. Issue 46 It has now reached 46 issues.

Setagaya Base is another name for Tokoro’s garage. Boys yearn for a base, don’t they? I think Setagaya Base is the pinnacle of that longing. Both magazines follow Mr. Tokoro, the “genius of play,” so there is no blurring of content.

It’s amazing that a magazine has been running for 20 years by solely following a single celebrity, but there are also pinpoint magazines that were born when the main magazine was taken over by a special feature.

The original issue of ” Kengaho” (Hobby Japan) was a magazine called “Rekishi Kanka” published in 2007. The first three issues of the magazine featured “The Beauty and Soul of Japanese Swords,” and the “sword girls” who emerged from the game “Swords Dance” took notice, and the issues sold very well.

“However, the editorial department hadn’t realized what was going on yet, and continued to run features on the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and “Japan’s 100 Great Castles,” but sales were nowhere near the level of the first three issues. Oh no!　We decided that we would like to do a Shinsengumi feature in issue 6, and although we weren’t sure if it was just for the sake of it or not, we changed the title of the feature to “Shinsengumi: Swords and Bloody Battles” and it sold well again.

From that point on, it was always swords!　At any rate, if you attack with swords, you will sell!　It’s just my personal opinion, but I think we should turn this into a sword magazine, don’t you? I’m not sure if this was a discussion, but February ’20 From the February 2008 issue The magazine was relaunched in February 2008 as “Sword Art Journal” (with a small “Rekishi Kanbutsu Presents” at the bottom), and the original “Rekishi Kanbutsu” no longer exists.

Individuals are OK, hijacking is OK…I mean, anything is possible now!

According to Mr. Mamuro, the best-selling pinpoint magazines tend to be divided into several categories. Our interest was suddenly piqued, so we asked him to explain each trend in depth.

Soba for Soba, Shima for Shima!

Shonan is the place to live

Setagaya Base” is about admiration for people, but it’s also about admiration for places.

Shonan Style” (A Publishing Co., Ltd.) is a lifestyle magazine for people who live in the Shonan area, people who want to live in the area, and people all over Japan who want to live like Shonan. Shonan Style is a magazine that promotes Shonan with a strong sense of status. The “Shonan TURNS TURNS” is an immigration magazine that introduces the appeal of living locally and provides a variety of information.

These two magazines are in growing demand now that “you don’t have to stay in Tokyo” has become a mainstream trend. In addition, Japan’s only magazine on remote islands, “Island He. (Kaifusha), the only magazine on a remote island in Japan. The magazine is not limited to a specific area, but is dedicated to the islands. Anyway, it’s an island! That’s what makes it so hot.

2_Oh, soba noodles. Let’s see.

“Magazines that focus on hobbies are also popular.

A stubborn economic magazine The magazine was born as a separate volume of “Monthly Liberal Time” (Liberal Time Publishing Co., Ltd.) Soba Shunju” was launched as a separate volume of Soba Shunju” is the only Japanese soba quarterly magazine.

Soba Shunju is the only Japanese soba quarterly magazine in Japan. In fact, it is a pinpoint magazine that often starts out as an extra issue or a separate volume, and is created when someone in the editorial department is incredibly passionate about the hobby or project and says, “It doesn’t have to be a new magazine. Let me do it just once! Let me do it just once!” I’m thinking.

3_I did it too, I had it.

“Showa 40 “Showa 40 Nen Otoko” (Crete Publishing) is an information magazine that emphasizes “not age, but age only! The point is to share real experiences.

The point is to share real-life experiences, and this one started out as an extra issue of the motorcycle magazine “Tandem Style. “I narrowed it down so much to Showa 40 It’s only for guys born in 1965!” I guess the editorial department had an air of, “Well, that’s true, but you…” and decided, “Well, it’s a motorcycle magazine, so how about Kamen Rider? The first issue had a cover by Fujioka. The cover of the first issue was by Hiroshi Fujioka.

It was so popular that it was followed by Later, “Showa 50nen Otoko” and “Showa 45nen Onna” were also published. The first issue of “Showa 50nen Otoko” was published. The website of “Showa 50nen Otoko” says, “This is for all boys born in 1975 and raised in the 1980s! and “Showa 40 The website of “Showa 50 nen Otoko” says, “For all men born in 1975 and raised in the 1980s! “ ‘ 80s I think it was a little bit of a letdown because it said, “Welcome to the 80’s! That’s just my personal opinion (laughs).

People are intoxicated with the joy of having their “favorite” become a citizen…

The characteristic of a successful pinpoint magazine, says Mamuro, is that it has a story of its own. The magazines that sell well are the ones that make you feel like you are moving forward with the magazine by reading it and empathizing with the way it is.

“This is also true of recent hit TV shows. This is also a trend seen in recent hit TV programs such as “Emergency SOS! ” etc. are also popular because viewers find narratives in the lives of ordinary people and empathize with life-sized people.”

Another factor in sales is that “the title is right.

“For example, if it’s a show about a single house, there won’t be a big meal in the middle of the show. For example, in the case of “One House with a Pile of Food,” there will be no gluttony in the middle of the show, and the viewers will see who the house is without changing the channel.

The same goes for magazines. With “Rekishi Kanka”, you never know what will appear in each issue, such as the Three Kingdoms or famous castles, but with “Katana Gahou”, you can buy it without hesitation because there will definitely be a sword in it.

It seems to take a lot of courage to publish a magazine like this. It must take a lot of courage to publish a magazine with the title “swords,” because once you put “swords” in the title, you can’t run away from castles or the lives of ordinary people in Edo. A pinpoint magazine needs to be prepared to do just that.

The fact that we can throw a super-duper ball of change with only swords in every issue is due in large part to the fact that we live in an age of diversity, and there is now an atmosphere in which it is okay to say you like this kind of core stuff.

“I think that becoming a magazine is also a guarantee of citizenship. “I think that becoming a magazine is a guarantee of citizenship, and I think that Japanese people still treat publishing a magazine or book on paper as a status.

Even if the circulation doesn’t increase dramatically, it can ensure a minimum level of sales, and depending on the feature, it can sometimes explode. The niche demand for such pinpoint magazines is likely to increase in the future.

Michiko Mamuro is a literature concierge at the Daikanyama Tsutaya. She is also the “original charismatic bookstore employee” who recommends books in various media. She is also a regular contributor to magazines such as Fujin Gaho, Precious, and the Asahi Shimbun Digital “Hon’ya no Hon. She is also active as a book reviewer, and her paperback commentaries include “Tiny Stories” (Eimi Yamada/Bunshun Bunko), “Motherhood” (Kanae Minato/Shincho Bunko), “The Meandering Moon” (Shino Sakuragi/Futaba Bunko), and “Staph” (Shusuke Michio/Bunshun Bunko).