Osomatsu-kun Book

The **Osomatsu-kun Book** was the second iteration of Fujio Pro's Sextuplet Club newsletter program, which spawned from the popularity of Osomatsu-kun and kept readers updated on the latest happenings with Fujio Akatsuka's manga.

It ran from May 1966 to May 1967, picking up from where Osomatsu-kun News left off. It was 30 yen a month for the subscription, though some issues were double-sized due to some months that had been skipped in publishing (June, September).

## Overview

The first issue of this publication has been reproduced by Fujio Pro in the *Coredeiinoda!* set, allowing buyers to see a copy of what fans back in the 1960s got to see (though with some information redacted, like the Ishikawa Building's address and phone number). Other issues have yet to ever be reprinted, though they can sometimes be seen on used book sites like Mandarake or on Yahoo! Auctions.

Each flipbook-style newsletter had a boldly-colored cover, with illustrations of Akatsuka characters on the front. Key content included the serialized picture story "Fujio's Naughty Diary", which was Akatsuka's memoirs of boyhood with sketches by Kenichiro Takai (and the earliest prototype to the eventual work Fujio's Waru Waru World).

Akatsuka's assistants and other manga-ka he knew (Shotaro Ishimori, Tokuo Yokota) would also have the opportunity to showcase their own stories in the newsletter, while there would also be reprints of ongoing popular Fujio Pro works like Jajako-chan.

The final issue contained a teaser for a new Akatsuka serialization scheduled to appear in the upcoming Manga NO.1 newsletter, with the title "**The Shinigami**". For whatever circumstances, this serialization failed to be realized, though the character was recycled for *Osomatsu-kun*'s Shinigami Salesman.

## Staff

* Publisher: Fujio Akatsuka
* Editor: Kunio Nagatani
* Printing Office: Kawamoto Printing Co., Ltd.
* Publishing Office: Ishikawa Building, Shinjuku-ku

## Featured Works

* **Fujio's Naughty Diary** (Fujio Akatsuka, Kenichiro Takai)- *serialized from May to* *November issue*, *January issue* .
* **Noppo and Chibi** (Mitsutoshi Furuya)- *serialized from May to November issue*.
* **Yanna** (Tokuo Yokota)- *May issue.*
* **Musashi Miyamoto vs. Kojiro Sasaki** (Tokuo Yokota) - *June/July double issue*.
* **Hayamatsu-kun** (Shotaro Ishimori)- *one-shot* *parody of Osomatsu-kun featured in* *August issue*.
* **Meanness** (Kunio Nagatani) - *October issue*.
* **Battlefield** (Kenichi Kitami) - *October issue.*
* **Untitled** (Yoshiko Tsuchida)*- October issue.*
* **Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"** (Shotaro Ishimori)- *November issue.*
* **Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book"** (Kunio Nagatani)- *January issue.*
* **Secret Book** (Mitutoshi Furuya) - *February issue.*
* **HG Wells' "Space War"** (Kunio Nagatani)- *February issue.*
* **LM Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables"** (Takao Yokoyama)- *February issue.*
* **Dad and Ichisuke** (Takao Yokoyama)- *March issue.*
* **SPY vs. SPY** (Kunio Nagatani)- *March issue.*
* **Mini Skirt** (Keiji Yoshitani)- *March issue.*
* **Give Me!!** (Joji Yamauchi)- *March issue.*
* **I Was Waiting!** (Kunio Nagatani)- *March issue.*
* **Balloon** (Mitsutoshi Furuya)- *May issue.*

### Reprints of Existing Works

* Osomatsu-kun- *chapter 1 republished in June/July double issue.*
* Jajako-chan - *six chapters in December issue, to promote the release of the spring 1967 kashihon reprint. Two more were published in the January issue.*
* Thriller Professor- *December issue.*

## Fujio Akatsuka's Manga Protagonist Complete Survey

This feature existed in the March 1967 issue, with Fujio Pro giving readers the chance to submit their thoughts on which Akatsuka works and characters hit the highest marks with them. Nine series were covered, with the pages profiling the casts and even giving special image song lyrics (in the case of The Genius Bakabon).

1. Thriller Professor
2. Osomatsu-kun
3. Crazy Junior High (new series scheduled for Junior High 1st Year Course; replaced Junior High 1st Year Kosuke in April 1967)
4. Chibita-kun
5. Kikanpo Gen-chan
6. Jajako-chan
7. Nonsensical NO.1
8. The Genius Bakabon
9. Good Morning with Mi-tan