Dengeki G's Magazine

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Dengeki G's Magazine
Cover of the September 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine featuring Kudryavka Noumi, one of the heroines from Little Busters!. Illustration by Na-Ga.

Cover of the September 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine featuring Kudryavka Noumi, one of the heroines from Little Busters!. Illustration by Na-Ga.
Editor Kiyoshi Takano
Categories Bishōjo games, Manga
Frequency Monthly
Publisher ASCII Media Works
First issue December 26, 1992
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Website Dengeki G's Magazine

Dengeki G's Magazine (電撃G's magazine?) is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formally MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title stands for "Gals" and "Games". The magazine is known for hosting reader participation games whose outcome is directly influenced by the people who read the magazine; such games include Sister Princess, and Strawberry Panic!. Dengeki G's Magazine first went on sale on December 26, 1992 with the February 1993 issue under the title Dengeki PC Engine, which changed to the current title in 2002. A special edition spin-off version called Dengeki G's Festival! is published in irregular intervals and each issue focuses on a specific bishōjo game. Three other special edition versions under the Festival! name are Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe, and Dengeki G's Festival! Anime. Dengeki G's Magazine's sister magazine is Dengeki Girl's Style, which publishes information on otome games, targeted towards females.

Despite the self-describing "magazine" description, the publication has over 350 pages an issue. About half of the magazine pages are colored and contain information about games or anime; the remaining pages, placed at the end of the magazine, are serialized manga series. Unlike typical Japanese publications, pages are turned from right to left for the first half of the magazine, but this is switched to the traditional left to right configuration when reading the manga series. Dengeki G's Magazine celebrated its fifteenth year of publication in 2007 and its two-hundredth release with the October 2007 issue.

Contents

[edit] History

Dengeki PC Engine final issue — May 1996.
Dengeki PC Engine final issue — May 1996.

[edit] Dengeki PC Engine

Due to an internal struggle in Kadokawa Shoten near the end of 1992, a group of people split off to create the company MediaWorks on October 15, 1992. The ex-editor of one of Kadokawa's gaming magazines called Marukatsu PC Engine was one of the former employees to go over to MediaWorks, and one of MediaWorks' first magazines published was Dengeki PC Engine (電撃PCエンジン Dengeki PC Enjin?) with the February 2003 issue on December 26, 1992, based on Marushō PC Engine. The overall title PC Engine came from the Japanese name for the TurboGrafx-16 video game console first released by NEC in 1987, and the magazine was originally intended to be an information source for the console. However, after Interchannel (formally NEC Avenue) produced a popular dating sim called Sotsugyō: Graduation — which drama CDs, light novels, original video animations, and manga were adapted from — MediaWorks changed the layout of Dengeki PC Engine to have more coverage on adaptations of games the magazine reported on.

A reader-participation game called Megami Stadium had ran in Marukatsu PC Engine between the May 1992 and January 1993 issues, so starting with the February 1993 issue of Dengeki PC Engine, MediaWorks created a revival of the game called Megami Paradise which ran in even-numbered issues up until the June 1996 issue. About a year after MediaWorks started Megami Paradise, Marukatsu PC Engine ceased publication on January 30, 1994. That same year in December, the first special edition version of Dengeki PC Engine called Dengeki PlayStation was published. The following year, Dengeki PlayStation broke off to become its own magazine. This was in response to the release of Sony's PlayStation video game console in December 1994.

[edit] Dengeki G's Engine to present

Dengeki G's Engine first issue — June 1996.
Dengeki G's Engine first issue — June 1996.

Due to the low popularity of NEC's video game console PC-FX, which was the successor to the TurboGrafx-16, MediaWorks decided to change the magazine's title from Dengeki PC Engine to Dengeki G's Engine (電撃G'sエンジン Dengeki G's Enjin?), with the June 1996 issue on April 30, 1996, which is also when the magazine stopped being a specific magazine for information on games produced by NEC.[1] Instead, the magazine would now contain information on all bishōjo games as the "G's" in the title stands for both "Gals" and "Games". With the August 1997 issue on June 30, 1997, the magazine's title again changed to Dengeki G's Magazine (電撃G'sマガジン Dengeki G's Magajiin?).[2] The spelling of the title was slightly altered a final time with the May 2002 issue on March 30, 2002 to be Dengeki G's magazine (電撃G's magazine?).[3]

After running a string of reader-participation games between 1993 and 1998, Dengeki G's Magazine started Sister Princess in March 1999;[4] this would prove to make the magazine very popular, and became a major focus of the magazine for several years. Nearly all the magazine's covers between 1999 and 2003 featured characters from Sister Princess.[4][5][6][3][7] After overwhelming support for the project, the series was adapted into a two-series anime, and a string of video games; finally, the serialization of the game ending with the September 2003 issue.[7] At the time, the second TV anime adaptation of another of Dengeki G's Magazine's reader-participation games, Happy Lesson, was just ending, but the series had proved popular. Seeing how popular their reader-participation games could get, MediaWorks continued to created reader-participation games, something the magazine is well-known for today. After Sister Princess ended, the editorial department looked to another reader-participation game which started in the October 2002 issue called Futakoi,[3] and the editors wanted to make this game Dengeki G's Magazine's next main focus; the game lasted until October 2005.[8]

On September 30, 2005, with the November 2005 issue, another magazine published by MediaWorks entitled Dengeki AniMaga was merged with Dengeki G's Magazine. This caused a massive influx of anime information, and manga and light novels to be serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine.[8] Following this, G's Magazine started including more information on adult games starting with the November 2005 issue.[8] Between the March 1999 and October 2005 issues, the cover of G's Magazine depicted a girl from one of the reader-participation games running at the time. This was changed from November 2005 onwards where now the cover would depict a heroine from a bishōjo game, which were generally adult games.[8] Between the November 2005 and April 2006 issues, the cover of G's Magazine contained girls from ToHeart2 XRATED and FullAni, two games released by Leaf at the time.[8][9] This style was similarly adopted for the issues between May 2006 and October 2006 with girls from D.C. II: Da Capo II, and again between for the issues between November 2006 and March 2007 with girls from Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na.[9][10] This style of deciding on the cover art was dropped with the April 2007 issue.[10] With the October 2007 issue, Dengeki G's Magazine celebrated its two-hundredth consecutive release.[10]

[edit] Serialized titles

Manga
Title Author Illustrator Issue run
2/3 Ai no Kyōkaisen Deden Shizuka Ogawa (2D world)
Shin Kyōgoku (3D world)		 January 2006 - March 2007
Breath: Toiki wa Akeneiro Success July 2008 - ongoing
Clannad Key Shaa August 2007 - ongoing
Da Capo II Imaginary Future Circus Tsukasa Uhana March 2007 - ongoing
Finalist PrincessSoft Shirō Nishiki November 2005 - February 2006
Fortune Arterial Character's Prelude August Akane Sasaki September 2007 - March 2008
Futakoi Hina Futaba Pururu Kinkakuji November 2004 - October 2005
HoneyComing Hook Yuki Kiriga April 2007 - March 2008
Little Busters! The 4-koma Key Yūya Sasagiri March 2006 - ongoing
Marriage Royale Navel Koko Natsuki April 2007 - ongoing
My-Otome Saga: Ryū to Otome no Namida Mizunari Sawajō Seven Tachibana April 2007 - September 2007
Nanatsuiro Drops UNiSONSHIFT Yūki Takami November 2006 - ongoing
Ohime-sama Navigation Satz Raina June 2008 - ongoing
Strawberry Panic! Sakurako Kimino Namuchi Takumi November 2005 - February 2007
Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary August Mika Takeda July 2004 - November 2004
Utawarerumono Leaf Arō Shimakusa November 2005 - January 2007
Wind: A Breath of Heart Minori Ataru Kajiba July 2004 - November 2004
Light novels
Title Author Illustrator Issue run
Dream Knocker Mikage Sana Wakuzuki November 2005 - September 2006
Futakoi Alternative G Ryūnosuke Kingetsu ufotable September 2005 - February 2006
Myself ; Yourself Takumi Nakazawa Wadapen May 2007 - January 2008

[edit] Reader participation games

Dengeki G's Magazine often hosts reader participation games whose outcome is directly influenced by the people who read the magazine. The length of these games vary; some can go on for years, while others end in less in less than a year. How long a game lasts is decided on how popular the game is among the readers and how many readers participate. At least one game has been running in the magazine since the first issue except during the time between the December 1998 and February 1999 issues when Ojōsama Express ended and Sister Princess began. Sister Princess was the longest-running game, lasting about four and a half years between March 1999 and September 2003.

Title Author Illustrator Issue run
Megami Paradise Takeshi Kikuchi Akihiro Yoshimi & Miyasumi February 1993 - June 1996 (Published in even-numbered months)
Walzer no Monshō Shin Araki Tamayo Kobayashi & Mami Sajima February 1993 - January 1995 (Published in odd-numbered months)
Hyper Wars Sadaaki Asu Tsutomu Hasegawa December 1993 - October 1994 (Published in even-numbered months)
Route Lancer Yuri Hayashida Hanemaro Jūbaori January 1994 - November 1994 (Published in odd-numbered months)
Seraphim Call Not applicable Aoi Nanase April 1996 - August 1998
Ojōsama Express Jukki Hanada Masahide Yanagisawa December 1997 - November 1998
Sister Princess Sakurako Kimino Naoto Tenhiro March 1999 - September 2003
Happy Lesson Yoshiki Takano Mutsumi Sasaki April 1999 - September 2002
Milky Season Not applicable Takuya Io March 2000 - February 2001
Merry Little Park! Not applicable Yū Hisakata April 2001 - December 2001
Futakoi Hina Futaba Mutsumi Sasaki October 2002 - October 2005
Puppy Girls: Watashi no Ojisama Sakurako Kimino Pururu Kinkakuji March 2003 - October 2003
Strawberry Panic! Sakurako Kimino Chitose Maki November 2003 - September 2005
Ultra Charming! Maruhi Kano Harui Ōsaki December 2003 - August 2004
Marriage Royale Shingo Hifumi Aoi Nishimata & Hiro Suzuhira January 2006 - ongoing
2/3 Ai no Kyōkaisen Deden Shizuka Ogawa (2D world)
Shin Kyōgoku (3D world)		 December 2005 - December 2007
A.I. Love You! Not applicable Masato Takashina February 2006 - ongoing
Ohime-sama Navigation Satz Naru Nanao February 2008 - ongoing
Baby Princess Sakurako Kimino Natsuki Mibu March 2008 - ongoing

[edit] Special edition versions

Dengeki G's Festival! vol. 8.
Dengeki G's Festival! vol. 8.
Dengeki PlayStation
Dengeki PlayStation originally began as a special edition of Dengeki G's Magazine and was first published in December 1994. After this issue was released, it was decided that Dengeki PlayStation would become its own magazine.
Dengeki G's Paradise
Dengek G's Paradise was another special edition issue originally published in 1997. Only one issue was published, and its main feature was the the dating sim Sentimental Graffiti.[2]

Dengeki G's Festival!
Dengeki G's Festival! is the third special edition version of Dengeki G's Magazine. The first volume was published in December 2004, and since then, ten volumes have been published, the latest of which was in August 2007. Dengeki G's Festival is published in irregular intervals that range anywhere between less than a week, to more than six months. The magazine has had a similar style of formatting from the third volume on, and contains about eighty pages an issue on a specific bishōjo game (other than volume two which covered two games). In addition to the main magazine, each issue comes bundled with bonus material depicting characters from the series that is the current feature of a given issue. One of the recurring items is a hug pillowcase featuring an image of one or more bishōjo characters in a sexually suggestive pose.
Dengeki G's Festival! volumes
Volume Bishōjo game focus Bonus material Publish date Reference
01 To Heart 2 A4 size magnet poster, playing cards with case, and a 2005 schedule diary December 16, 2004 [11]
02 Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na (cover)
and Fate/hollow ataraxia		 Double-sided head pillowcase featuring Saber and Rin Tōsaka,
Yoake Mae yori Ruru Iro na jigsaw puzzle,
and two cell phone straps featuring Natsuki Takamizawa and Sakura Matō		 September 15, 2005 [12]
03 To Heart 2 XRATED Hug pillowcase, cell phone cleaner, and three mousepads December 2, 2005 [13]
04 D.C. II: Da Capo II Hug pillowcase, jigsaw puzzle, and an ID card/pass case May 19, 2006 [14]
05 Tsuyokiss: Mighty Heart Alarm clock, double-sided desk pad, and six tin badges May 25, 2006 [15]
06 Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na: Brighter than dawning blue Hug pillowcase, double-sided desk pad, and an ID card/pass case November 30, 2006 [16]
07 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri Collectible card game, liquid crystal display handheld shooter game,
and three drink coasters		 February 16, 2007 [17]
08 Shakugan no Shana DS Hug pillowcase, ID card/pass case, and a cell phone cleaner March 29, 2007 [18]
09 Little Busters! Double-sided hug pillowcase, cell phone cleaner, and a B5 size jigsaw puzzle June 30, 2007 [19]
10 Nanatsuiro Drops Pure!! Hug pillowcase, jigsaw puzzle, and a cell phone strap August 30, 2007 [20]
11 Fortune Arterial Hug pillowcase, special voice CD, and a cell phone cleaner strap January 19, 2008 [21]
12 D.C. II P.S.: Da Capo II Plus Situation Bed sheet, mousepad, and a notebook May 20, 2008 [22]

Dengeki G's Festival! Comic
Dengeki G's Festival! Comic is the second magazine under the Dengeki G's Festival! line. The first volume was published on November 26, 2007 and each volume has about five-hundred pages. The magazine contains manga based on bishōjo games; many of the manga that appear in the magazine were first serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine. In addition to the main magazine, each issue comes bundled with bonus material depicting characters from the manga currently being serialized.
Dengeki G's Festival! Comic volumes
Volume Cover Bonus material Publish date Reference
01 Clannad Hug pillowcase featuring Uesugi Kenshin from Sengoku Rance
Mousepad featuring Nagisa Furukawa and Fuko Ibuki from Clannad
Cell phone cleaner featuring Maaryan and Sasara from To Heart 2: Another Days		 November 26, 2007 [23]
02 Fortune Arterial Long towel featuring Erika Sendo from Fortune Arterial
ID card/pass case featuring Shiro Togi from Fortune Arterial
Cell phone cleaner featuring Feena from Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na		 April 26, 2008 [24]

Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe
Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe is the third magazine under the Dengeki G's Festival! line. The first volume was published on November 30, 2007 and each volume has about eighty pages. In contrast to Dengeki G's Festival! which only covers the visual novel aspect of a given bishōjo game, Deluxe offers information on adaptations in addition to information on the original game. As with the previous two Festival! magazines, each issue of Deluxe comes bundled with bonus material depicting characters from the series that is the current feature of a given issue.
Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe volumes
Volume Bishōjo game focus Bonus material Publish date Reference
01 Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. Mousepad, cell phone cleaner, and an ID card/pass case November 30, 2007 [25]
02 To Heart 2: Another Days Hug pillowcase, mousepad, and a cell phone cleaner February 21, 2008 [26]
03 Little Busters! Ecstasy Mousepad, jigsaw puzzle, and a deck of playing cards June 30, 2008 [27]

Dengeki G's Festival! Anime
Dengeki G's Festival Anime is the fourth magazine under the Dengeki G's Festival! line. The first volume was published on February 9, 2008. Each issue has a large focus on a single anime series, though there is information on other series adapted from manga or light novels originally published by ASCII Media Works. As with the previous three Festival! magazines, each issue of Anime comes bundled with bonus material depicting characters from the series that is the current feature of a given issue.
Dengeki G's Festival! Anime volumes
Volume Anime focus Bonus material Publish date Reference
01 Shakugan no Shana II Two figurines (of Shana and Konoe Fumina), and a deck of playing cards with art from the light novel and anime versions February 9, 2008 [28]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dengeki G's Engine issues from 1996 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  2. ^ a b Dengeki G's Engine and Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 1997 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  3. ^ a b c Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2002 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  4. ^ a b Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 1999 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  5. ^ Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2000 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  6. ^ Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2001 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  7. ^ a b Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2003 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  8. ^ a b c d e Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2005 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  9. ^ a b Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2006 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  10. ^ a b c Dengeki G's Magazine issues from 2007 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  11. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 1 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  12. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 2 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  13. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 3 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  14. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 4 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  15. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 5 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  16. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 6 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  17. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 7 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  18. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 8 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  19. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 9 (Japanese). Mangaoh. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  20. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 10 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
  21. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 11 (Japanese). Mangaoh. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  22. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Volume 12 (Japanese). Mangaoh. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
  23. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Comic Volume 1 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  24. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Comic Volume 2 (Japanese). Animate. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
  25. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe Volume 1 (Japanese). MediaWorks. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  26. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe Volume 2 (Japanese). Mangaoh. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  27. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe Volume 3 (Japanese). Hobby Stock. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  28. ^ Dengeki G's Festival! Anime Volume 1 (Japanese). Mangaoh. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.

[edit] External links

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