Preface: The following article comes from the Game Magazine Guidebook (ゲーム雑誌 ガイドブック) which introduces and provides a brief history on the major Japanese video game magazines published between 1982 and roughly the 2010s. The book itself is a collection of articles which were originally part of the “Game Magazine Chronicle” (ゲーム雑誌クロニクル) column published in Game Lab (ゲームラボ).
This specific chapter focuses on the bishōjo game magazine Colorful PUREGIRL. My own interest in Colorful PUREGIRL is ultimately a result of the prior research I’ve done on Faust magazine and subsequently, Hiroki Azuma’s twin doujinshi, The Critical Point of Bishōjo Games. My article on the table of contents for the second volume can be read here. In short, the second volume features an extensive interview with the former editor-in-chief of Colorful PUREGIRL, Miyu Kanose. From what I’ve been able to gather, in some ways, it seems that Colorful PUREGIRL anticipated the emergence of later otaku magazines focused on subcultural criticism, such as New Reality (新現実) and Faust.
Scans of the original chapter can be found on e-hentai, here. Note, the site is NSFW. The bottom of this article also features a page from the chapter which itself has an NSFW illustration.
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Colorful PUREGIRL was a magazine specializing in bishōjo illustrations. Although its sales were low, the content and style of the magazine influenced later moe culture.
Eye-Catching Illustrations
Colorful PUREGIRL first launched in 1998 as Pure Girl before changing its name the following year. Although the magazine was still considered a latecomer to the scene of bishōjo games, it was precisely for this reason that its coverage was unique. As Pure Girl themselves put it, “Pure Girl has the most beautiful illustrations and is the cheapest bishōjo magazine.” What exactly did this mean?
Aside from being “cheap,” we should also pay attention to the phrase, “beautiful illustrations.” Amongst bishōjo game magazines, Pure Girl emphasized illustrations, printing large-sized drawings of bishōjo characters on the magazine’s pages. Furthermore, from its outset, the magazine actively interviewed the artists working on bishōjo games and also published setting details, rough sketches, and other key materials.
For example, the magazine PC Angel generally introduced a game’s entire creative staff, including the scenario writer and producer. In contrast, Pure Girl was much more precise, only emphasizing those who were artists. Its content was closer to its contemporary Dengeki Hime. But, Pure Girl was more radical. This policy was simply much more than an attempt to differentiate itself from other publications.
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