Goodbye, Bad Magazines: A new film about the struggles of Japanese adult publishers
In one of our (sadly) increasingly rare trips to the movie theater, especially the arthouse cinemas known as “mini theaters” in Japan, we saw a trailer for this movie that deals with a subject very close to our hearts.
Goodbye, Bad Magazines is about the impact of the removable of adult magazines from convenience stores, as one of the ways in which Tokyo tried to clean up its image ahead of the 2020 Olympics. As we know, it was all for naught since the Olympics were delayed by a year and then held without spectators, and at a time in which almost no one except citizens could even enter the country.
Goodbye, Bad Magazines premiered in October last year in Shinjuku and is getting a bigger release at arthouse theaters around the country from January 20.
It is set against a backdrop of the dwindling fortunes of adult magazines as they start to disappear from convenience stores (a process that began in 2017 and continued through 2018 and 2019). Moreover, the whole publishing industry is facing the challenge of the shift from print to digital media. Readers no longer like to buy physical magazines. Content is still in demand, but free content is always available. How can adult publishers supply what readers want and survive in this brave new world?
The main star is Kyoka (Kyoka Shibata), who plays a female editor at a publisher. She is assigned to the adult magazines team due to the closure of another title and gradually becomes invested in her work as she pursues the kind of adult content that a female reader would like.
Readers with sharp eyes will surely spot the cameo in the trailer by adult video idol June Lovejoy. The cast also includes AV performer and nude model Yura Kano, who plays a former porn star turned writer.
Other porn performers in the film include Ayumi Kimito and Mitsuki Maya.
Despite the provocative theme of the film, it’s actually only rated PG12, so don’t expect any nude scenes, though the director’s previous work does include pink films (softcore porn). Goodbye, Bad Magazines is actually distributed by Nikkatsu, known for pink movies.
