Allan (magazine)

was a Japanese magazine published by . Launched in October 1980 as a special issue of the anime magazine ', it became a standalone publication in June 1983, and was discontinued in February 1984.

''Allan'' was one of the earliest commercial publications in Japan to focus on male-male romance for a female audience, and was centered on the concept of (). It launched at a time when ''June'', the first commercial male-male romance magazine for a female audience in Japan (and which was also centered on the concept of ), had temporarily ceased publication. Several artists and writers that contributed to ''June'', including Yasuko Aoike and Akemi Matsuzaki, also contributed to ''Allan''.

History

The anime magazine ' was launched by publishing company in 1977, in response to the popularity of the anime series ''Space Battleship Yamato'' (1974–1975). A year later, '' Comic Jun'' (later re-named ''June'') was launched by Sun Publishing. ''June'' was the first commercially published Japanese magazine dedicated to male-male romance fiction for a female audience, publishing this genre under the editorial concept of (). As a result of low sales, ''June'' temporarily ceased publication in 1979.

The first issue of ''Allan'' was published in October 1980 as a special issue of ''Gekkan Out''. The issue was priced at , and featured an illustration by Yasuko Aoike and a gravure (pin-up photograph) of David Bowie as a bound-in poster. Starting from the June 1983 issue, it was launched as a bimonthly (every two months) publication independent from ''Gekkan Out''. ''Allan'' ceased publication with its February 1984 issue.

Content

''Allan'' primarily published manga, novels, gravures, and editorials relating to ( "beautiful boys", a term for androgynous men) that were centered around the concept of . It also published reader submissions in a section titled . Although manga only constituted a small percentage of the editorial content of ''Allan'', the manga series by Akemi Matsuzaki became the magazine's signature work.

The magazine also published interviews with public figures, including Yū Aku, Akihiro Miwa and , and special features on topics such as kabuki and Shinjuku Ni-chōme. The Ni-chōme feature, for example, contained the results of a survey conducted at a bar owned by Ito Bungaku, editor of the gay men's magazine '' Barazoku''.

Contributors

Artist Akemi Matsuzaki contributed illustrations, posters, and covers to ''Allan'', and serialized her manga series ''Bokura wa Seinen Tanteidan'' from the first until the final issue of the magazine. Many of the writers and artists who had contributed to ''June'', such as Yasuko Aoike, Yayoi Takeda, and Hikomi Kugake, also contributed to ''Allan''. Manga artist Akiko Hatsu, who coined the term with Yasuko Sakata, made her professional debut as a manga artist in ''Allan''.

Impact

''Allan'' was one of the earliest commercial publications in Japan to focus on gay romance for a female audience. Launched at a time when ''June'', which was also centered around the concept of , had ceased publication, ''Allan'' came to effectively dominate the field of professional male-male romance publishing in Japan during the period of ''June'' absence. Writer Miki Ishida notes that while ''Allan'' dealt with the same themes of ''June'', it did so from a different perspective – notably, including features on the lives of real-life gay men – which she credits with helping to revitalize and diversify as a genre.

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1980 establishments in Japan
1984 disestablishments in Japan
Bi-monthly manga magazines published in Japan
Defunct magazines published in Japan
Magazines established in 1980
Magazines disestablished in 1984
Yaoi manga magazines