UPDATED -/--! JOURNEY TO THE REST: A Roadside Revelry in Saiyuuki and Its Doujinshi
UPDATED -/--! THE SANO-TORIUM: A Celebration of Sanosuke Sagara Doujinshi!
UPDATED -/--! WANTED!: A Rogues' Gallery of One Piece Doujinshi Circles
Does this site suck? Better read this first to see...
The moment I saw one, I was a goner.
Now I'm happily entrapped in the delicious but demanding hobby of collecting doujinshi: manga (comics), shosetsu (novels) and reference books written, drawn and self-published by Japanese fans or groups of fans, called circles.
I worked 12 years for a U.S. magazine that was forced to spend most of that time cutting costs--gradually shaving fractions of inches off the size of its pages, and resorting to cheaper and cheaper paper stock--so it's extra-fascinating for me to see the high production qualities lavished on some of these short-run doujinshi, from foil-stamping on covers to the use of extremely high-quality paper and even, in a few cases, page corners die-cut into curves rather than corners!
But it's the quality of the content of some doujinshi that hooked me--beginning with doujinshi based on the 1995-97 anime series Gundam Wing.
In retrospect, that's a hell of a place for anyone to start collecting doujinshi--thousands of circles have produced literally tons of Gundam Wing doujinshi, and it gets exponentially more complicated if you aren't familiar with the work of any of those circles. I'm just grateful my doujinshi affliction didn't begin before I got to Japan--while used Gundam Wing doujinshi are appearing for sale in North America with increasing frequency now, thanks to dealers and Internet auction avenues such as eBay, a scary number of sellers are incapable of reading the names of the circles, and sometimes even avoid telling you the size or number of pages in a doujinshi...although they'll happily try to soak you a sizeable price for it!
In collecting Gundam Wing doujinshi, half the battle is learning what's out there and which of it you like, and the other half is being able to find it. Nothing beats shopping in Japan--used Gundam Wing doujinshi generally cost 200 yen to 1500 yen (at about 120 yen to the dollar), and new ones (yep, they're still being produced) generally cost 500 yen to 1800 yen.
But whether searching or shopping, it's vital to have an idea of what you want--as I found out when I first encountered the ocean of Gundam Wing doujinshi in Japan! There is also an astonishing variety of "couplings" of characters. And of course, the quality of story and art varies widely--so the rankings of Gundam Wing doujinshi, as found in the pages of the Japanese doujinshi anthology monthly Comic Box Jr., can be of great help!
Most of this site is devoted to some of my favorite Gundam Wing doujinshi circles, in case it might be a useful reference for anyone and to help give an idea of some of the better work that can be found. The front and back covers of each doujinshi are pictured to help you recognize them later, and the size, number of pages, publication date, and a description of the content are also given. The content descriptions are being added gradually, so be sure to check back often!
Here are the circles featured so far:
There's also Commercial and Non-Commercial Gundam Wing Doujinshi Anthology Books
And don't miss:
Ardent arigatos to Tracy Ellen for creating the opening art for this site! Her sharp art, sly wit and incisive insights make her own site, "GUNDAM WING: Art of Self-Destruction," my favorite on the show. You need to see it!
Feel free to e-mail me.
This page was created August 29, 1999. Last updated October 3, 2006.
This page's text and source code are copyright Kagenami Q. Please do not use any of the content or images on this page without permission. Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing is copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and TV Asahi, and all images are copyright their respective artists and creators. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.
