She said, &#8220;I&#8217;m glad that my skin responds to the effort I put into it. I was really moved by Mr. Kamazuka&#8217;s experience, and I could relate to him. I was really moved by Mr. Kamazuka&#8217;s experience and sympathized with him.
I was really moved by Kamazuka&#8217;s experience, and I could relate to it. The manga, which focuses on men&#8217;s makeup, was serialized on the VOCE website and published in book form on February 10.
Immediately after its release, Mr. Itoi shared a trial reading of the book on his Twitter page, which received more than 110,000 &#8220;likes&#8221; in three days. The book has become a hot topic.
<figure id="attachment_230267" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 430px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230267"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-230267" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/cover-1.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="610" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（c）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230267" class="wp-caption-text">Boku ha make-up desutemo itte&#8221; (written by Nozomu Itoi, original story by Ryo Kamatsuka/VOCE Comics) (C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamatsuka/Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
Originally an essay entitled &#8220;Introduction to Men&#8217;s Makeup&#8221; that appeared on the VOCE web site, this work was about the experiences of Ryo Kamazuka, an office worker in his thirties, who &#8220;became interested in makeup&#8221; and &#8220;tried it out,&#8221; and received a great response from readers.
The editorial department planned to comicalize the book, and manga artist Nozomu Itoi was chosen to write it. Her works include &#8220;Porbolon at Noon&#8221; and &#8220;A Five Minute Walk from the Farthest End,&#8221; and her soft, delicate illustrations and skillful psychological descriptions are very appealing.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 When I was approached by the editorial department of VOCE, I was happy, but at the same time I was worried, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know much about make-up or beauty at all&#8230;? But at the same time, I was also worried.
 At that time, I couldn&#8217;t keep my motivation for makeup and skin care. I couldn&#8217;t go out because of the coronary heart disease, and I didn&#8217;t meet many people, so I started to neglect my self-care more and more.
 I felt like, &#8220;This is not good &#8230;&#8230;! I also felt that I was in a crisis. It was also because of this sense of crisis that I accepted the offer to make a manga. I was fascinated by the idea of portraying a man who, for the first time in his life, is exposed to makeup and is able to look at himself and grow. I was attracted to the idea of portraying such a man,&#8221; says Itoi.
When you hear that this is a serialization in the beauty media &#8220;VOCE&#8221; and that the theme is men&#8217;s makeup, you might think that it is a story about men who are fashionable and have a high sense of beauty. The main character, Ichiro Maeda, is a 38-year-old single businessman who could be found anywhere.
<figure id="attachment_230246" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 430px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230246"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-230246" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/i_0008-1.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="610" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（C）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230246" class="wp-caption-text">From the very first episode, Ichiro is portrayed as a tired and exhausted man. &#8230;&#8230; He is aware that he is not the same as he was when he was younger, but it is hard to face the reality again. &#8230;&#8230;!　(C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamazuka / Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
One day, Ichiro looks at himself in the mirror and is shocked, &#8220;Am I really like this? He was shocked. Realizing that his appearance is a far cry from when he was younger, he takes on the challenge of skincare and makeup, which he had never been interested in before. The story is about how she learns to take care of herself through trial and error.
In the process of creating the story through repeated meetings with Mr. Kamazuka and the editor in charge, the male perspective of Mr. Kamazuka often made him realize that he was right.
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-start"></div>
(Continued on next page)
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="'Men buying cosmetics at the store' is a hurdle!"></div>
 I incorporated into the manga the feelings and impressions of the cosmetics in Mr. Kamazuka&#8217;s experience book. The episode in which Ichiro, the main character, goes to the cosmetic corner of a department store made a deep impression on me.
 Originally, I was going to draw it earlier in the series, but Mr. Kamazuka pointed out that Ichiro might not have the courage to make his debut at a department store.
 As a middle-aged man, going to a store to buy cosmetics is a huge hurdle for me. Mr. Kamazuka&#8217;s advice that department stores are the most difficult to go to, with online stores being the easiest, followed by drugstores, made both me and the editor think, &#8220;I see.
 I realized once again that it takes more courage for a man to buy cosmetics at a store than a woman would imagine. That&#8217;s why we changed the story to one where he goes once, runs away, and tries again much later in the story.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<figure id="attachment_230255" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 450px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230255"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-230255" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/i_0012-1.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="577" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（C）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230255" class="wp-caption-text">For Ichiro, a makeup beginner, the cosmetics section of the drugstore was still a high hurdle. As a makeup novice, the cosmetics section of the drugstore is still a hurdle for him. I can&#8217;t help but nod my head and say, &#8220;That&#8217;s what happens when it&#8217;s your first time. (C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamazuka / Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
He was also surprised to see the difference between men and women in Kamazuka&#8217;s reaction to one of the characters, Tama-chan.
 Tama-chan is a girl who loves make-up and is a mentor to Ichiro. Tama-chan is a girl who loves makeup and is a mentor to Ichiro. Mr. Kamazuka said.
 We women talk about the cosmetics and makeup we use on each other, and introduce cosmetics we&#8217;ve tried and liked on social media. I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s that special to teach or have someone teach you.
 However, men don&#8217;t often have the opportunity to discuss skincare with someone, let alone makeup. When Ms. Kamazuka asked me, &#8220;Don&#8217;t you hate it when men ask you for advice on things like this? Mr. Kamazuka asked me, &#8220;Don&#8217;t you hate it when men ask you this? That&#8217;s not true at all! The women were all surprised.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 Of course, it depends on how you ask and the relationship you have with the person, but it made me think that it might be because the image of &#8220;makeup is for women&#8221; is so strong that it makes men think that they shouldn&#8217;t step in. &#8230;&#8230;
 Drawing this manga also made me look at cosmetic designs from that perspective, thinking, &#8220;This is something men would have a hard time getting their hands on. Recently, there are more and more men&#8217;s makeup brands and unisex products, but I think these various things are leading to the &#8216;men have a hard time&#8217; attitude.
This work was created by referring to Kamazuka&#8217;s real-life perspective, and the recommended cosmetics that appear in the work are one of them. The cosmetics that appear in the story are one of the things that Kamazuka recommends. He was particular about choosing products that are as easy to pick up as possible for men who are interested in makeup after reading the story. For this reason, most of the products in the manga are readily available on the Internet.
<figure id="attachment_230269" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 430px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230269"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-230269" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/i_0021-1.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="610" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（C）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230269" class="wp-caption-text">With the help of Tama-chan, a woman who loves cosmetics, Ichiro is awakened to the joy of makeup. As Ichiro&#8217;s eyes sparkle with wonder at the world he doesn&#8217;t know, the reader can&#8217;t help but be captivated by the magic of makeup!　(C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamazuka / Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Full make-up is not the only &quot;make-up&quot;."></div>
In addition to being a great introduction to men&#8217;s makeup, this book is also an interesting story about Ichiro&#8217;s growth as he jumps into an unknown world.
The characters around Ichiro are also attractive, such as Tama-chan, a woman who plays the role of a &#8220;makeup master,&#8221; and Maeda-san, the only person in the company who can talk about makeup. The most impressive character is Hasebe, a friend who is deeply involved in the story.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
Hasebe seems to support Ichiro as he begins to pay attention to self-care, but he only says that it is acceptable as long as it is in the category of &#8220;adult male grooming.
In the latter half of the story, Hasebe&#8217;s harsh words to Ichiro, who is absorbed in makeup, &#8220;Wake up,&#8221; make us think about the strong prejudice against men wearing makeup.
<figure id="attachment_231543" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 430px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-231543"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-231543" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/i_0120_re.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="559" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（c）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-231543" class="wp-caption-text">Hasebe has been Ichiro&#8217;s friend since high school. They have often clashed over differences in thinking. &#8230;&#8230; (C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamazuka / Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
 As depicted in the book, &#8220;men&#8217;s makeup&#8221; is an extension of &#8220;grooming,&#8221; with some focusing on skincare, while others go all out with eye shadow and lipstick. In the case of Mr. Azuma, one of the characters, he has a problem with his thin eyebrows and changes his impression of himself by drawing them.
 Men don&#8217;t have many make-up artists around them, and it&#8217;s hard for them to ask for advice, so I think it&#8217;s even more difficult for them to decide how far they want to go. The public&#8217;s understanding of men&#8217;s makeup has not yet deepened, and I think there are people like Hasebe who feel badly about men going to such lengths, which is sad but true.
 As I&#8217;ve been doing this series, I&#8217;ve come to think again that &#8220;people tend to think that full makeup is makeup, but that&#8217;s not all makeup is. It&#8217;s up to you to decide how far you want to go, and of course you have the option of not doing it. It&#8217;s not something that the people around me should force or define.
 As I drew, I thought that it would be nice if people could be more free to do what they want with their beauty, and I hoped that I could be able to accept someone else&#8217;s choice without forcing it on them. So I&#8217;m glad that I was able to portray Ichiro as he grows up and arrives at the point where it&#8217;s okay for him to wear makeup or not.
<figure id="attachment_231545" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 430px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-231545"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-231545" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/i_0162_re.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="560" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（c）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-231545" class="wp-caption-text">Ichiro is impressed by a foaming net, makes a big mistake with his base makeup, and feels uplifted by the effects of lipstick. &#8230;&#8230; After various experiences, Ichiro tries his hand at touch-ups in stores. What will be the result?　(C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamazuka / Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
During the series, many readers commented that they could really relate to Ichiro and wanted to support him. Some of them said, &#8220;I think I&#8217;ll put more effort into self-care myself,&#8221; and others said, &#8220;I want men who think makeup has nothing to do with them to read this! I want men who think makeup is none of their business to read this!
From a woman&#8217;s point of view, where makeup is a part of her daily life, the problems Ichiro faces are familiar to her, and the surprise and excitement of seeing herself change brings back the thrill of the first time she tried makeup.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 The last part of the story, where Ichiro and his friends are trying to figure out what&#8217;s going to happen to them, is a scene that I had been thinking about since the beginning of our meetings, &#8216;This is the kind of men I want to portray. I&#8217;d be happy if this manga would inspire someone to think, &#8216;I should try washing my face first.
There is a memorable line in the manga: &#8220;This excitement doesn&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re a man or a woman, if you&#8217;re not young, if you&#8217;re not a celebrity, everyone has it.
Even though the idea of diversity and gender freedom is becoming more widespread, Japanese society still tends to be trapped in &#8220;masculinity&#8221; and &#8220;femininity.
I&#8217;ve Decided to Try Make-Up&#8221; portrays the subject of men&#8217;s makeup as a life-size story of a man without being intrusive, and teaches us that makeup is for everyone.
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-start"></div>
<hr>
<figure id="attachment_230982" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 399px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230982"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-230982" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/cover-2.jpg" alt="" width="399" height="566" data-expapp-watermark-gravity="none" data-expapp-media-credit="（C）糸井のぞ・鎌塚亮／講談社"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230982" class="wp-caption-text">(C) Nozomu Itoi, Ryo Kamazuka / Kodansha</figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>Ichiro Maeda, 38 years old, single. He is an ordinary salaryman. One day, he is shocked to see his tired face and sagging body, and decides to start taking care of his skin and makeup. &#8230;&#8230;!　This is an exciting adventure about men&#8217;s beauty that I want to give to everyone!</blockquote>
Boku ha make-up desu dake&#8221; (VOCE Comics) is on sale now!
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B09R76FJLK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=247&amp;creative=1211&amp;creativeASIN=B09R76FJLK&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=fridaymag-22&amp;linkId=abc959b6a378c55898751aad29e941c2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click here</a> to purchase the comics.
You can also read the first episode here! ↓↓
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>

 Mao Daimon

 Based on the experiences of Ryo Kamazuka, a man in his thirties, the manga artist Nozo Itoi has created a comic book version of the popular manga "I've Decided to Try Makeup. Here's the interview and a sample reading!

Popular Manga With The theme of “Men’s Make-up” On The Voce Express a Form of Freedom

Access Ranking