TOKYO (TR) – Koakuma Ageha, a glossy magazine dedicated to hostess culture, will resume publication following suspension last year, Tokyo-based publisher Dunnery Deluxe announced earlier this month.
On April 18, the monthly magazine will hit newsstands under the catchphrase “With great effort, anyone can be beautiful!”
In April of last year, the magazine’s former publisher, Inforest Publishing, announced that it would be undertaking bankruptcy proceedings under an accumulated debt of three billion yen. Publication of Koakuma Ageha ceased following the release of the May issue.
The first issue of Koakuma Ageha was released in October of 2005 under the name Koakuma & Nuts. Then edited by Hisako Nakajo, the monthly became known as “the Bible” of the gyaru scene, which typically includes women possessing an excessively glamorous appearance.
Many of the models in Koakuma Ageha are actual hostesses employed at clubs. Inside the pages of the magazine the women, who appear in highly stylized fashions, provide make-up and hairstyle tips and inside information on life in the night trade — all of which will be continued in its “rebirth,” the announcement by Dunnery Deluxe said.
In 2009, the magazine boasted a circulation of over 300,000 copies. That same year, revenue for Inforest Publishing was 7.4 billion yen.
But by 2012 sales at the company had fallen to 4.4 billion yen due to drops in sales and advertising revenue.
Dunnery Deluxe also issued the retrospective “Koakuma Ageha Memorial Book” in December of last year.