Japan’s Alternative Comics: Then and Now

"Gekkan Manga Garo [Garo]" was first published in 1964. This magazine—which was started by Seirindō, a company established by Katsuichi Nagai, who was involved in the publication of Sanpei Shirato’s "Ninja Bugeichō [History of the Ninja Arts]" and other kashi-hon (rental) manga—was where "Kamui Den [The Legend of Kamui]", arguably Shirato’s life’s work, was serialized. Before long, the magazine became a hub for other writers attempting to succeed with new forms of manga expression, and it left a major mark on the history of Japanese manga. After Nagai’s death, editors branched out from Seirindō to establish SeirinKogeisha, where "AX" was first published in 1998, and the magazine has since led Japanese alternative comics. We recently had a chance to hear from Noriko Tetsuka, who was involved in the editing of both magazines. (Interview: 8th July 2020) 

I first learned about "Garo" in 1968, at the age of 13. The name of the magazine "Garo" popped up in the late-night radio broadcasts I often listened to at the time, and the friends of my brother—who was two years older than me—mentioned it as well. This piqued my interest, and I wondered what kind of magazine it was. There was a single local bookstore in Utsunomiya that carried "Garo", and the issue I bought there had Sanpei Shirato’s "Kamui Den" on the cover. That manga’s pictures of arms getting cut off by swords and blood flying everywhere scared me, and the story itself was difficult to follow, so I didn’t really get it at first.

However, I got into the magazine in a hurry when Seiichi Hayashi’s "Sekishoku Erejī [Red Colored Elegy]" was started in the January 1970 issue. I went to Tokyo on Sundays, where I bought and read back issues of Garo from the sixties as well as books written by Garo’s writers.

A photo of Katsuichi Nagai (deceased) at the office. The photo was taken by the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki.

After I joined the company, I immediately started working on both bookstore sales and editing. Working on bookstore sales was really tough. I had to go to stores in Tokyo and the surrounding areas on my own, but "Garo" didn’t sell at all, and I was even beat out of a store with a broom once as someone yelled, “Your books don’t sell at all!” (Laughter) Stores run by people who liked manga put out both "Garo" and our other books, but they didn’t sell either, which made me feel awful for the sellers. I ended up constantly apologizing. 

The first book I helped make as an editor was Kuniko Tsurita’s "Rokunomiya Himeko no Higeki" (masterpiece series). Nagai told me I could make the book however I wanted, but I still had no idea what to do. I ended up having Saitō, a senior male employee who sat next to me, teach me every little thing, and I worked feverishly to make the book, never quite knowing what I was doing.

Yoshikazu Ebisu released the book Jigoku ni Ochita Kyōshidomo [Teachers in Hell], Jun Miura and Takashi Nemoto debuted, Izumi Masayuki (a duo comprised of Haruki Izumi and Masayuki Kusumi) debuted with Yakō [Night Train], selling a ton of copies of Kakkoii Sukiyaki [Groovy Sukiyaki], and we released many books from a new generation of talent, including Hinako Sugiura and Yōko Kondō. In addition, Shungiku Uchida’s Minami-kun no Koibito [Minami’s Sweetheart], was a hit and was later made into a TV series.

Of the people I handled at Garo, some that I remember especially well are those of that era, including the writers Miura, Nemoto, and Ebisu as well as the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. Miura set up an office in his one-room condo in Harajuku early on. Ebisu, Nemoto, and the editors spent all their time there, and they often hangs out. When I still didn’t have a manuscript even as the deadline approached, I went to that workshop to help out by filling in areas of color. I even remember that the essayest Asato Izumi moved into the room directly above theirs.

This is an illustration drawn by Kotobuki Shiriagari for the cover of the first issue of AX. The illustration is framed and carefully stored to this day. 

As a matter of fact, a lot of the manga from "AX" have won awards, not that anyone really notices. (Laughter) The first one was in 1999, when Q.B.B.’s "Chūgakusei Nikki [Middle School Student Diary]" won a Bungeishunjū Manga Award. After that, Toranosuke Shimada’s "Toroimerai [Traumerei]"  won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Creative Award, which was quite a surprise. After all, he was still a newcomer without as much name recognition as he has now. But I was still happy that his work was praised in that way for its high level of completion. Later on, Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s "Gekiga Hyōryū [A Drifting Life]" won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize. I was also really happy when two of our creators won Japan Cartoonists Association Awards: Susumu Katsumata, who won the Grand Prize, and Nazuna Saitō, who won the Excellence Award.

AX’s works are also popular among a certain group of overseas readers. In particular, Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s work was translated into European languages early on, and people who were part of the "Heta-uma" movement and so-called subculture that emerged in the eighties started interacting with overseas writers early on as well. People in France’s alternative comics world focused on Takashi Nemoto first and started interacting with him. Around that time, Japanese writers started writing for France’s alternative comic magazines. Once Japanese manga gained notoriety around the world, a lot of overseas customers started calling on SeirinKogeisha as well. This included people from publishing companies, proposals from artists, and others... I’m honestly surprised that so many foreigners visit such a small company. (Laughter)

Ever since my time with "Garo", I have helped give birth to writers and seen them off as they left the nest, so I hope that "AX" will always be a place for them. As an example, to put it in societal terms, the incidents caused by young men are rapidly escalating, and we once said this was due to the darkness in their hearts. However, nowadays, there are people suffering through life even in cases where there’s no such darkness to speak of. I suspect that one of our missions at "AX" is to work with our current society to unearth things that other media outlets avoid. In our Internet age, there’s a tendency for whoever talks the loudest or says something first to win. But there are a lot of people out there who can’t speak up like that. I want our magazine to be a place where we can sort of scoop up the pent-up anger of such people. However, although that is an extremely entertaining, worthwhile way to work, it doesn’t earn you any money. (Laughter)

Lately, a lot of young people in their teens and twenties in particular have been coming to us with works. When I ask them which writers have influenced them, many of them mention Hanako Yamada. Given that she was active from the late eighties to early nineties and died at the young age of 24, I often ask them how they know about her, and they tell me her works were on their parents’ bookshelves. They read them and are deeply shocked by them, end up finding out about "Garo" and then "AX" as a result, and then come to us to contribute their works. 

Yamada was genuinely awkward when it came to the task of living. Even though she normally hid out silently in a corner, she would suddenly show up when people talked about manga, which she loved, and she would start talking as if the floodgates had suddenly burst open. I think there was probably a lot she wanted to say. When she passed away, the manga artists who knew her saw her off not so much with a sense of sadness but rather with a sense of recognition for the way she lived her life as a manga artist. 

 One last thing. There’s an "AX" writer I really think the world should know more about. His name is Toranosuke Shimada. His works demonstrate an astonishing level of completion, and his compositional ability—which enables him to scatter bits and pieces of foreshadowing everywhere and then neatly wrap everything up with a genuinely satisfying conclusion—is nothing short of amazing. Few storytellers put as much into their work as him, and I think he’s the sort of genius you only find once in a century. I mean, "Robo Sapiensu Zenshi [Prehistory of Robo Sapiens]" (Kodansha) borders on divine.

A hand-drawn kamishibai (paper play), "The Tale of Noriko Tetsuka", which was created by AX’s writers during the year of Tetsuka’s 60th birthday. The drawing on the left was done by Toranosuke Shimada, while the one on the right was done by Takashi Nemoto.