Lemon People
Encyclopedia
was a sexploitation
hentai
manga
magazine published by Kubo Shoten from 1981 to 1998 in Japan. The first issue had some gravure idol photographs, but the format of the magazine quickly switched to all manga by the eighth issue.
Lemon People predates the lolicon
manga boom in Japan in the 2000s, and was the longest-running lolita manga magazine in Japan. The magazine genre including science fiction
, cyberpunk
, space opera
, fantasy, and horror that was common world wide, While the stories were serious, they often were described as humor and parody. Lemon People received competition from other magazines such as Manga Burikko
, Manga Hot Milk, Melon Comic, and Monthly Halflita, though none of them achieved the same success.
Before Lemon People, adult comics tended to be more dramatic and serious. Lemon People changed the genre by introducing a more cute style
of manga, often with less releastic storylines. This is primarily due to aging baby boomer
generation who were raising children of their own at the time. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there was a growing movement in Japan to censor magazines such as Lemon People because some viewed them as harmful to young people.
By the mid-1990s, the sales of Lemon People began to drop, and the magazine changed its format to the B5 paper size and reduced its cover price. This strategy was not effective, however, and the November 1998 issue was the last one, ending a run of sixteen years and nine months.
published works in Lemon People over its nearly seventeen year run. Following is a list of some of them:
. Here is a short list of some of them:
(issue 29, science fiction, 15 May 1984) (issue 35, horror, 15 October 1984) (issue 40, reprint collection of full color art and stories from past issues, 15 February 1985)
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
hentai
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
magazine published by Kubo Shoten from 1981 to 1998 in Japan. The first issue had some gravure idol photographs, but the format of the magazine quickly switched to all manga by the eighth issue.
Lemon People predates the lolicon
Lolicon
, also romanised as lolikon or rorikon, is a Japanese portmanteau of the phrase "Lolita complex". In Japan, the term describes an attraction to underage girls or an individual with such an attraction...
manga boom in Japan in the 2000s, and was the longest-running lolita manga magazine in Japan. The magazine genre including science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
, space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
, fantasy, and horror that was common world wide, While the stories were serious, they often were described as humor and parody. Lemon People received competition from other magazines such as Manga Burikko
Manga Burikko
was a lolicon hentai manga magazine published by Serufu Shuppan from 1982 to 1985 in Japan. The magazine was launched as a competitor to Lemon People, but it only lasted three years. The manga in the magazine were generally bishōjo and lolita manga which were mostly science fiction, parody, shōjo...
, Manga Hot Milk, Melon Comic, and Monthly Halflita, though none of them achieved the same success.
Before Lemon People, adult comics tended to be more dramatic and serious. Lemon People changed the genre by introducing a more cute style
Cuteness in Japanese culture
Since the 1970s, cuteness, in Japanese the noun , has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms...
of manga, often with less releastic storylines. This is primarily due to aging baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
generation who were raising children of their own at the time. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there was a growing movement in Japan to censor magazines such as Lemon People because some viewed them as harmful to young people.
By the mid-1990s, the sales of Lemon People began to drop, and the magazine changed its format to the B5 paper size and reduced its cover price. This strategy was not effective, however, and the November 1998 issue was the last one, ending a run of sixteen years and nine months.
Manga artists published
Many manga artistsMangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
published works in Lemon People over its nearly seventeen year run. Following is a list of some of them:
- Shun AjimaYoshihiro Yonezawawas a Japanese manga critic and author. He is also known for being Comiket's co-founder and president. He died of lung cancer at 53...
- Rei Aran
- Yoshitō Asari
- Hideo AzumaHideo Azumais a Japanese manga artist born on February 6, 1950 in Urahoro, Hokkaidō, Japan. Azuma made his professional debut in 1969 in the Akita Shoten manga magazine Manga Ō...
- Morio ChimiYoshiki Takayais a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the manga Guyver, which has been adapted into multiple anime features as well as live action films. Guyver was serialized in Shōnen Captain for the lifetime of the magazine from 1985 to 1997...
- Clarissa
- Dragoon
- FJ-3
- FukuryūFukuryuSuicide divers were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units prepared to resist the invasion of the Home islands by Allied forces. They were armed with a mine containing of explosive, fitted to a bamboo pole. They would dive and stick the pole into the hull of an enemy ship, destroying...
- Ryū Hariken
- Toshihiro HiranoToshiki Hiranois a Japanese anime director, animator, and character designer. His wife is animator and manga artist Narumi Kakinouchi. Some of his works have appeared in the adult manga magazine Lemon People.-Character Designer:...
- Ken Hirukogami
- Hiro Hoshiai
- Narumi KakinouchiNarumi Kakinouchiis a female Japanese manga artist, animator, director, character designer, and an animation director. Some of her work has appeared in the adult manga magazine Lemon People....
- KAN2O
- Kobayashi Shōnen
- MeimuMeimuMeimu , real name , is a Japanese manga illustrator. While attending classes at Osaka University of Arts, he made his debut as a manga artist. Meimu's talents have been featured in various genres of storytelling, from science fiction to horror...
- Hikaru Nagareboshi
- Fumio Nakajima
- Ochazukenori
- Makoto Orikura
- Ruria046
- Senno Knife
- Masato Tanaka
- Shindamane
Special issues
Beginning with the 29th issue of Lemon People, some special themed issues started being published infrequently, including two full color mooks for the anime series Fight! Iczer OneFight! Iczer One
, is a dark sci-fi anime with a predominantly female cast. Based upon a manga comic of the same name published in Lemon People magazine in 1983, it was created by Toshihiro Hirano, and has a small but devoted fan-following among otaku...
. Here is a short list of some of them:
(issue 29, science fiction, 15 May 1984) (issue 35, horror, 15 October 1984) (issue 40, reprint collection of full color art and stories from past issues, 15 February 1985)
- Lemon People issues 61, 65, and 70 (1986–1987) are full color collections of original stories & art that deal with subjects like horrorHorror fictionHorror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
& fantasyFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
.