was a Japanese magazine focused on , a genre of male-male romance fiction aimed at a female audience. It was the first commercially published magazine, launching in October 1978 under the title Comic Jun and ceasing publication in November 1995. June primarily published manga and prose fiction, but also published articles on films and literature, as well as contributions from readers. The magazine spawned multiple spin-off publications, notably Shōsetsu June ('Novel June') and Comic June.
June targeted a readership of women in their late teens and early twenties, and at its peak had a circulation of approximately 80,000 copies. In addition to publishing established manga artists and writers such as Keiko Takemiya, Azusa Nakajima, Akimi Yoshida, and Fumi Saimon, the magazine launched the careers of artists and novelists such as Masami Tsuda and Marimo Ragawa from submissions curated and edited by Takemiya and Nakajima.
As a nationally distributed commercial magazine, June is credited with disseminating and systemizing in Japan, a genre which had largely been confined to relatively narrow outlets such as conventions (events for the sale of self-published media). The term "June" and the magazine's central editorial concept of () became popular generic terms for works depicting male homosexuality, which influenced the later male-male romance genres of and boys' love (BL).
History First issue to temporary suspension
June was conceived by Toshihiko Sagawa, then a part-time worker at Sun Publishing. An avid manga reader, Sagawa was intrigued by depictions of homoeroticism and ( "beautiful boys", a term for androgynous men) in manga by the Year 24 Group, and submitted a proposal to Sun Publishing for a "mildly pornographic magazine for women". The proposal was accepted, and the first issue of the magazine launched under the title Comic Jun in October 1978. "Jun" was derived from the manga series by Shotaro Ishinomori, as well as from the Japanese word , meaning "purity". The first issue was priced at 380 yen, a high price for magazines at the time.
The founding editor of the magazine was Tetsuro Sakuragi, who had previously served as the editor of , a gay men's magazine also published by Sun Publishing. Sagawa recruited manga artist Keiko Takemiya – a central figure in the Year 24 Group – and novelist Azusa Nakajima as contributors. Takemiya stated that she chose to participate in Comic Jun to provide "covering fire" for her manga series Kaze to Ki no Uta, which was being serialized in Shūkan Shōjo Comic at the time. Nakajima was a senior member of the Waseda Mystery Club, to which Sagawa belonged when he was a student at Waseda University.
The magazine was renamed June beginning with its third issue in February 1979 due to a conflict with the Japanese fashion brand . As the dispute arose while printing for the third issue had already begun, an "E" was hastily added at the end of the magazine's title at the suggestion of the president of Sun Publishing. As sales forecasts were not undertaken for early issues, more than 100,000 copies of the first issue were printed, resulting in many returns and unsold copies. Though sales gradually improved, low sales forced June to cease publication after the release of its August 1979 issue.
Relaunch and Shōsetsu June After ceasing publication of June, Sun Publishing received an influx of letters from readers indicating that they were willing to pay up to 1,000 yen for issues of the magazine. In response, Sun Publishing relaunched the magazine in October 1981, cutting its circulation by half and doubling its price to 760 yen. The first relaunched issue was published as a special issue of Gekiga Jump, a magazine also published by Sun Publishing.
Shōsetsu June ('Novel June'), which primarily published prose fiction and serial novels, began to be published as a sister publication beginning with the October 1982 issue of June. Shōsetsu June was nicknamed "Ko-June" ('Little June') while June was nicknamed "Dai-June" ('Big June'). Ironically, circulation of Shōsetsu June quickly surpassed that of June; beginning in February 1984, Shōsetsu June became a bimonthly publication.
Discontinuation and spin-off magazines In the late 1980s, (self-published manga and books) grew rapidly in popularity, and in the 1990s "boys' love" (BL) was established as a commercial male-male romance genre. Sales of June consequently began to decline beginning in the 1990s, and the magazine ceased publication with its 85th issue in November 1995. Sagawa stated that he initially believed that June, which primarily depicted romance stories, could co-exist with the more explicitly pornographic and BL genres, though this was ultimately not the case. Following the discontinuation of June, prose fiction was integrated into Shōsetsu June, while manga content was split into two magazines: June Shinsengumi ('June Fresh Group') and Comic June. In contrast to the of June, Comic June published primarily sexually explicit BL manga.
In 1996, Visualtambi June launched as a general interest magazine focused on gravures (pin-up photography), reader contributions, and information about , but ceased publication after its second issue in April that same year. In 1997, a one-off magazine titled Comic Bishōnen was published as a special issue of Shōsetsu June. Sun Publishing also sold a variety of paperback manga books, audio cassettes, CDs, and original video animations under the June brand.
Circulation of Shōsetsu June began to steadily decline in the late 1990s, after its popular serialization Fujimi Orchestra concluded and paperback editions began to eclipse the popularity of magazines as a medium for male-male romance fiction. Shōsetsu June ceased publication with its 153rd issue published in April 2004, while Comic June ceased publication in February 2013.
Publishing Editorial concept Sagawa used the word to describe the editorial concept of June from its inception; the first issue of Comic Jun was subtitled with the slogan "Aesthetic Magazine For Gals", and the gravure photo section was titled . In the context of male-male romance fiction, broadly refers to Japanese aestheticism as it relates to an ideal of male beauty defined by fragility, sensitivity, and delicateness. Sagawa was specifically inspired by the and recurring themes of beauty and aestheticism in works by the Year 24 Group. While the June conception of initially referred to adolescent exclusively, it gradually widened to include young men and middle-aged men; by the early 1990s, was used broadly to refer to works that depicted male homosexuality.
Contributors June sought to have an underground, "cultish, guerilla-style" feeling – most of its contributors were new and amateur talent – with writer Frederik L. Schodt describing June as "a kind of 'readers' magazine, created by and for the readers." June operated as a (a magazine which mainly publishes unsolicited manuscripts for a small honorarium), a model that it maintained even after the emergence of more formalized and BL magazines in the 1990s that published commissioned stories by professional writers. The contributors to June were primarily manga artists associated with the Year 24 Group, artists active at Comiket, and artists who had contributed to Sabu. Keiko Takemiya contributed original manga and illustrations, while Azusa Nakajima contributed essays relating to the topic of and novels under various pen names. Regular contributors included Yasuko Aoike, Yasuko Sakata, , and . Other contributors included Mutsumi Inomata, Fumi Saimon, Suehiro Maruo, Akimi Yoshida, Fumiko Takano, Akemi Matsuzaki, and . Translator oversaw the literature section, while illustrator contributed an illustration column.
Content June primarily published manga and prose fiction, but also published articles on films, reading guides, and interviews with idols. Articles on literature and fine art were also common, especially in early issues of the magazine. The regular section "Junetopia" published articles and illustrations submitted by readers, as well as interviews with circles (groups that create ). The magazine contained few advertisements, but did print reproductions of advertisements featuring attractive men or gay subject material.
Most works published in June depicted male-male romance, though the magazine occasionally depicted romance between androgynous characters, or between women. According to Takemiya, an understanding was made with Sagawa that even heterosexual romance stories could be published in the magazine, so long as they conformed to the "June style". The magazine did publish some fetishistic content; according to Nakajima, sadomasochism appeared in some early June stories, while necrophilia and incest appeared in some in later June stories. Media scholar Akiko Mizoguchi notes how the "semi-amateurish" quality of June engendered by its status as a meant that it was able to publish works that were more experimental relative to its male-male romance magazine contemporaries: works that were less heteronormative, that were not obliged to feature sex scenes, and which featured female and supporting characters.
Manga scholar Yukari Fujimoto describes works published in June as "aesthetic and serious". Many early works published in June had tragic endings, with common themes and subjects including heartbreak, accidental death, and forced separation; ten of the eleven works published in the first issue of Comic Jun ended in tragedy. Happy endings were more common in June stories in the 1990s, such as the confirmation of mutual love or the beginning of a life together.
Cover artwork Keiko Takemiya served as cover illustrator for roughly the first decade of June'''s publication. In an interview, Sagawa stated that he doubted that June would have been a success without Takemiya's cover illustrations. Takemiya initially felt that her artistic style was not suited to the editorial material of June because it was bright and did not depict shadows, so she consciously drew shadows to match the June style. Each of Takemiya's covers contains a simple self-contained narrative, such as an image of a crying boy, which Takemiya stated was a style unique to June relative to other manga magazines aimed at women. After Takemiya stepped down as cover illustrator, the cover was created on a rotating basis by artists serialized in the magazine, including Yuko Kishi, Keiko Nishi, Mutsumi Inomata, and Akimi Yoshida.
Recurring sections Kēko-tan no Oekaki Kyōshitsu , a section of June edited by Keiko Takemiya focused on instructing amateur artists in writing and illustrating manga, debuted in the second issue of the relaunched edition of June in January 1982. The first occurrence of the section detailed how to draw men's lips, while the second detailed how to draw men's hands. From the January 1985 issue of the onwards, the section began publishing submissions from readers, which Takemiya would edit and provide feedback on. Submissions were accepted so long as the subject material was "June-like", though a condition was later imposed that the work could be no longer than eight pages in length.
The section was conceived by Sagawa and inspired by the manga magazine COM, which had a similar editorial practice of publishing submissions from novice artists for the purpose of education and talent development. Keiko Nishi, who would go on to become a professional manga artist, was published for the first time as an amateur in "Kēko-tan no Oekaki Kyōshitsu".
Shōsetsu Dōjō