I acquired this from the estate of a former manga artist that passed away some time ago. I have many like it, but several are hard to decipher or place. This is such a case. This zine or newsletter appears to be one that focuses on the author's depressive and alcoholic states.

The author, who we could deem as 'Pungju' (プンジュ) as a circle (it would seem as if this is one person), published these thoughts somewhat anonymously. The journal, by 1982, is stated to start a new schedule of being published once or twice every two months.

Who the author actually was is a mystery. However, the format is akin to several SF zines I've encountered as it gives criticism on art and film. The Shining and its relationship with the Japanese horror film House. Jack Nicholson's character is discussed in great detail as are the connotations of alcoholic fathers. However, the back of the newsletter gives a rather depressing view of the author and their inner struggles.

"I have a terrible sense of need. If people don't pay attention to me, I get depressed. I get angry. If I look objectively at it (when I want to relax, there's nothing wrong), but when I talk to people I feel like I'm the only one being left out. If I can't stand the feeling of loneliness, I really miss physical contact. This doesn't mean I miss human skin, but as long as it makes me feel connected to somewhere, it's fine to touch someone's skin, have a crush on them, or work. However, whether it's at a travel store or at work, I don't want to work on mahjong itself, I'm there because there are people there, and I just try to open my heart to people, so it's fine to play mahjong or to be a receiver, and it's better to drag out work as much as possible. As this goes on, my negative view of myself gets higher and higher, so I don't know how much time I can get all this work done, the work becomes extremely boring, and I don't start, so no matter how much time passes, the work remains. If I drink more today, when I sober up, my body is numb, and this time I feel like I want to quit even if I try. Now, going back to the original situation, if you try to stick close to someone and are rejected, you get angry and throw in, but after getting angry you end up feeling down and like it would be better if you didn't exist. Soon after you get into that state, you feel like you want to do something big and unrealistic, and you become immersed in it. No matter how small an ideal you have in mind, if you've made some progress, you can be fine even if you're just barely meeting that ideal, but in this case, you start to feel bad about yourself because you can't do anything. Eventually, everything around you starts to look bad. In such a state, the alcoholic's behavioral patterns are: - Drinking more alcohol and immersing themselves in the feeling that they are a loser in a drunken state - Finding a fight box and fighting, but not being able to do anything big - Lacking confidence in themselves, they are unable to do things. Will they become selfish?"

Newsletters of this variety, especially in the theme of SF and criticism, aren't new nor were they deemed entirely progressive by the early to mid 1980s in circles. This is a unique, odd work, but one worth looking at in regards to college age and adult movements in SF theory and literary criticism in the Showa era.

You can view other Japanese SF journals from the 60s and 70s here:

https://e-hentai.org/g/2985537/5a47fe1c24/ (1971)

https://e-hentai.org/g/3110826/a4d9afe94b/ (1967)

Included are edited and unedited pages. The author mentions a text called 'A Survey on SF and SM' (SFとSMに関する覚), but this could be yet again another newsletter. They claim to not be the author of that book, however, and that many are confusing them with said author.

Last edited on 10 April 2025, 17:44.

Base +9, bravely_vain -9