Popeye #951
236 x 296 mm, 258 pages
Tokyo, Japan (Japanese-language)
Published monthly
First published 1976
Editor-in-chief: Yuji Machida
Art director: Taro Kambe
‘Magazine for City Boys’
This is the bumper-sized 50th anniversary issue of the Japanese men’s magazine. With a cover parodying the influential late sixties publication ‘Whole Earth Catalog,’ the issue is perhaps the most complete guide to its City Boys aesthetic to date.
It begins with a series of seven statements about the magazine; noting the origins of its name, referencing a US title, Ski Life, and highlighting its unique writing style and dense page layouts. From there, the issue opens out into a three-section guide to the City Boy and his life, covering fashion, lifestyle and a Tokyo city guide. In the process it redefines what the City Boy is, while acknowledging the difficulty of doing so, harking back to the description in issue one: ‘If you live in an urban environment, even a week away from the city will make you miss the atmosphere.’ It also contains a typically busy guide to culture and media, covering 50 years of Japanese magazines as well as contemporary publications like Delayed Gratification and websites including—blush!—magCulture. The crossover between east and west cuts both ways.
