Meet Mr Babe. He isn’t your quintessential young Japanese boyband idol, or toned famous actor with all his merchandising contracts, but he is still a full-on babe. He’s slightly chubby, over 30, and he’s amazing for it. Based on this concept, the former editor of Men's Knuckle magazine teamed up with ex-SKE48 star Seira Sato to launch the new fashion and lifestyle magazine Mr Babe, targeted at pocchari men (literally ‘chubby men’). It hits shelves on October 26.
The Japanese diet may have a very clean and healthy image abroad, but reportedly one in three Japanese men have a BMI of over 25. But rather than following other media in offering dieting tips or making these men worry about their size, the Mr Babe editors consider pocchari men lucky. According to their investigations, a slight majority of women in is in favour of, or would like to marry a chubster. Thus, in order to help these XL men become the ultimate catch, the magazine will focus on fashion and lifestyle, including advice on konkatsu (the search for marriage) and featuring interviews with the likes of professional sumo wrestlers and big(ger) film directors. Role models abound.
They’re also interested in getting their targets involved: the editorial team is currently trying to crowdfund a grand photo exhibition featuring readers. At the time of writing, they were at three percent, so they might need a bit of pocchari help to reach their projected ¥2 million...
- By Kirsty Bouwers