- Image by fumi via Flickr
Anime was just hitting the American market at the time Pulp – Manga for Grownups was hitting the street. Published by VIZ Media, this essential manga magazine helped push many of the early popular titles into the market. Pulp was a low risk purchase for a person who wanted to see what the story lines were all about when it came to the newer market of Anime and Manga.
Pulp helped the market by serializing stories of many of the popular in their day stories like Crying Freeman, Sanctuary, and some of the darker more adult tales that were just hitting the market independent of Pokemon and other children appropriate Japanese animation. The magazine was saddle stapled or in its later incarnations perfect square bound paperbacks that carried a full installment of a particular story, or the same content that you would find in a regular comic book. Not stinting on the darker adult themes, there is nudity, sex, violence, drug use, and prostitution, along with the occasional assassin Ninja throughout the three years the magazine ran.
Overall this is an interesting view into the history of the first real attempt at selling to a more adult market for Anime and Manga in the USA. This is a historical series you will want to add to your collection, or find the right copy with the serialization of the comic books that you cannot find anywhere else. I am rating this 5 of 5 for both its historical and visual purpose as well as an example of marketing to a new audience more adult themed Anime and Manga. This comic/book can be found on both Amazon and Ebay often for quite cheap because many people in outside the Anime and Manga industry have forgotten that this series exists.
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