There was discussion on an RPG Auction Facebook group post regarding Japanese releases, particularly in terms of original content. Given the growing interest in non-US collecting over the past several years (especially Japanese material) I thought I’d throw out some of the information that I’ve picked up in the past 20+ years of international collecting. For the most part I’ll only be talking about officially licensed material… there’s plenty of third party stuff out there, but that’s outside the scope of my project. I also stay away from the novels and adventure game books, of which there are plenty out there.

For general overview, lots of pictures and printing variations can be found in the TSR Archive Japanese section. There’s also a special page I threw together to help distinguish different printings of the Basic red box here.

SHINWA TRANSLATED BECMI

Shinwa released D&D BECMI products from 1985-1991. These were mostly translations of American material done in the American format. This included the first four boxed sets along with the modules B2-9 (plus the two BSOLO modules), X1-9 (plus the two XSOLO modules), CM1-3 and M1. Several AC-series accessories were also released, including AC1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9. Almost all of these had multiple printings, most of which are fairly easy to distinguish. I can go into detail later if there’s interest.

Additionally, three Gazetteers were released, GAZ1, GAZ2 and GAZ5. The first two were standard translations but GAZ5 was produced as a limited edition boxed set. The only additional contents were some generic map tiles.

SHINWA ORIGINAL BECMI

Shinwa also produced numerous items specifically for the Japanese market. This kicked off with two introductory books for the Basic and Expert sets. These 48-page books (released in 1987 and 1988) were slightly smaller than standard modules, had glossy paperstock covers and contained original material and artwork with a distinctive manga style.

By the end of 1988 Shinwa decided to formalize their Japanese-only line into the ACJ series. Like the UK modules these had a flag next to the module code. The red beginner guide mentioned above was re-released as ACJ2 (with a new cover) but the expert guide was not. The series ran from ACJ1-13. ACJ14 was listed in some catalogs but never released. Most the the series was purely utilitarian: spell cards, NPC cards, character sheets, graph paper, miniature guides and random encounter tables. All of them re-used cover from previous TSR products though the interiors were all new material. Ten of them were standard module formats while three of them (ACJ2, 5 and 6) were the smaller, flimsier style used for the beginner/expert guides.

SHINWA TRANSLATED 2ND EDITION

Given the overall success of the BECMI line, Shinwa took a shot at AD&D. It did not go well. From 1990-1991 seven translated items were released: the three core rulebooks (well, two books and the Monstrous Compendium binder), REF1, REF2, DMGR1 and PHBR1. Monstrous Compendium Volume 2 and DMGR2 were listed in catalogs but never released.

SHINWA ORIGINAL 2ND EDITION

ACJ went pretty well, so how about RFJ? Again, not so much. RFJ1-6 were all spell cards, three cleric and three wizard sets. These were a very different style and format from the US spell cards. RFJ7 & 8 were listed in catalogs but never released.

SHINWA MAGAZINES

The first official D&D magazine was ドラゴンマガジン  - literally Dragon Magazine, though it didn’t particularly bear any resemblance to its American namesake other that the recycled TSR art on the covers. It was produced by Shinwa in conjunction with Dragon Fan Club (D.F.C.) which you’ve probably seen ads for in all of the boxed sets. Starting with issue #5 the name was changed to F.G.Journal (Fantasy Gamer Journal) and they began using original artwork for the covers. Oddly enough, issues #3 and #4 were re-released with the new title and logo. I want to say that 90%+ of the articles and illustrations were original content, including the occasional adventure scenarios. Page counts varied from 32-64 pages. It ran for a total of seven quarterly issues from 1986-88.

It was quickly replaced by Shinwa’s new and improved Official Dungeons & Dragons Magazine. ODDM was really three magazines in one and was clearly split into sections: Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Magazine and F.G.Journal. The Dragon and Dungeon portions included translated articles from the American version while the F.G.Journal section continued to produce original Japanese content. Covers were about a 50/50 split between rehashed TSR and original art. Interior art was typically reprinted from the Dragon and Dungeon articles while the F.G.Journal section was still mostly original. Issues #1-8 were perfect-bound with 80-96 pages. After that page counts dropped to 44-60 pages. It ran for a total of 24 bi-monthly issues from 1988-91, #1-23 plus a special #7 1/2 issue.

Additionally, seven volumes of a special Official D&D Magazine Playing Guide were released between 1990 and 1991. These 112-page issues were full of translated articles and adventures from Dungeon Magazine and Dragon Magazine along with a smattering of original content.

MEDIAWORKS TRANSLATED BECMI

After Shinwa dropped production of D&D in 1991, MediaWorks tried to revive it in 1994. Unlike Shinwa, they took a radically different approach, producing material in an entirely Japanese style with all new artwork, both exterior and interior. All of their books were done in bunkobon (or just bunko) format, a type of small Japanese paperback (approximately 4” x 6”) which read right to left and includes a dust jacket. All of the MediaWorks bunko also include an obi, a small strip of paper wrapped around the cover that typically includes advertising and information about the book. I tend to think of obi kind of like shrinkwrap: you don’t mention if it’s not there because it’s obvious and you may not know if it even came with one to begin with. Having the obi just makes it extra complete.

MediaWorks released six translated books between 1994 and 1996 in this format: the three volume Rules Cyclopedia (split into Player, DM and Monster books) and three adventures, B10-12. The modules in particular received quite a bit of revision and included small fold-out map booklets.

MEDIAWORKS ORIGINAL BECMI

MediaWorks also released some original material. Most notably, the Master Screen, a DM screen designed for use with the Rules Cyclopedia set. It included two books along with it: a 16-page accessory book with charts, lists, character sheets, etc. and a 40-page adventure book featuring two short-ish scenarios, Lost Statue of Zirchev and Black Disease in Beakhu Village (pardon the translation). There was also a cardstock back cover page which is often missing from non-shrinkwrapped copies. This is the only MediaWorks D&D item that did not include an obi.

In 1993 they also released an Introduction to Dungeons & Dragons (Revised) bunkobon, with similar content to Shinwa’s Beginner’s Guide. The “revised” part referred to the fact that this was actually an update of the unofficial Introduction to D&D book released in 1991 as part of Fujimi’s popular Fantasy File series.

Let’s talk a minute about a popular style of Japanese game book called a replay. So we’re all familiar with the “example of play” sections of the rulebooks such as the adventures of Black Dougal, Silverleaf and Morgan Ironwolf… DM says this, Morgan says that, Black Dougal gasps ‘Poison!’ and dies. A replay is basically like that but it’s a whole adventure or even an entire campaign. Everything is statted out including PCs, NPCs, monsters, treasures and there are maps as well. I’ve hesitated to include replays on the TSR Archive because I can’t decide if they’re really true gaming products, but I’m probably going to cave and list them eventually. Honestly, all the information you need to run your own adventure is there.

So, preface out of the way, between 1995 and 1997 MediaWorks also released a five volume replay titled Apocalypse of Mystara. Like other MediaWorks items, these were bunkobon format, including obi. To the best of my knowledge these aren’t analogous to any English language Mystara product though, admitedly, I haven’t read them.

HOBBY JAPAN D&D

After MediaWorks dropped the property it only sat around a few of years before Japanese pop culture powerhouse Hobby Japan picked up the license and began producing 3rd edition material in 2003. They’ve continued to release D&D up through the current 5th edition material. There have only been a handful of original products during this time, mostly replays. I figure that this is mostly outside the interest of most of the collectors here so I won’t go on.

Keep in mind that this is all just information I’ve gathered from years of research and collecting. I can’t promise that everything here is 100% correct but I’d bet it’s pretty close to it. If anybody has any additional information or spots anything incorrect then please post here! Will do my best to respond to any questions or make clarifications as needed.

I've been collecting Japanese TRPG for three years now, and have always found the Japanese section of TSR Archive useful, so thanks for creating it!

I like the Shinwa magazines because most of the original Japanese content for D&D I've found is there. The ACJ series doesn't get me that excited, but spell cards do seem to be a big deal in Japan. Shinwa changed the name of their magazine to Fantasy Gamers Journal at the same time that Fujimi Shobo introduced their Dragon Magazine and I don't imagine that was a coincidence. There doesn't seem to have been ill-will between the two companies, since flyers for Fujimi products can be found Shinwa D&D boxes, such as Fujimi's translations of the Endless Quest / AD&D gamebooks. So Fujimi had a relationship with TSR too. With so many publishers to choose from, it is a mystery why Shinwa got the rights to D&D in Japan, when their resources were so limited.

For those interested in the cultural impact of D&D in Japan, I would call out the Record of Lodoss War replays, which were serialized in Comptiq magazine starting in 1986. This was the first replay (a form of literature in Japan of  which there are now thousands of examples), and Record of Lodoss War would become its own phenomenon, with novel, manga, and anime treatments. But originally it was just a D&D session. At least in the pages of Comptiq magazine. When Kadokawa republished it as a bunkobon in 1989, it was rewritten to use the Record of Lodoss War Companion rules. It's possible the people behind Record of Lodoss War always wanted to publish their own game, but I wonder if TSR licensing terms were actually the main factor. If so, probably a big mistake for TSR because D&D market share clearly took a dive in Japan in 1989.

The "D&Dがよくわかる本" replay published by Fujimi in 1991 and again by Media Works in 1993 was DM'd and written by Yukihiro Kuroda (aka Kuro-chan), who wrote a column in Comptiq magazine starting in January 1986, which was basically advice on how to play D&D. I've posted about this replay here in the past. This is the replay where the character names are Legolas, Ben Kenobi, Rasputin, Pendragon, and Darth Vader.

I support thinking of replays as RPG items. Modern Japanese TRPGs are sometimes published as replays with the rules in the back (e.g. Shinobigami).

Since I've gotten somewhat serious about collecting Japanese TRPGs, I've been compiling a list of the stuff. Here is what I've documented so far:

https://www.athenopolis.net/2020/02/ear ... aying.html (games pre-2000)
https://www.athenopolis.net/2020/06/lat ... aying.html (games 2000 and later, work in progress)

i'm always interested to hear about people collecting the Japanese language stuff and their discoveries.

Great info, thanks Adrian!!!

Mike B.

blackdougal wrote in Some information about Japanese D&D products:shadeun - More ACJs have probably sold in the RPG Auctions groups than anywhere else in the US market. Several folks (myself included) post them semi-regularly. I'd say mostly the $75-100 range is about right though I might go a bit higher on ACJ1 (slightly less common and hard to find complete) and ACJ12 & 13 (much less common). Prices do keep creeping up... Japanese sellers are asking more for them and increased shipping costs are a real killer.

grubbiv - Good info! I think it's hard to overstate the impact of Lodoss War on the Japanese RPG market. You can still see some of that influence today.

Thank you!

for_the_love_of_the_stuff wrote in Some information about Japanese D&D products:I've definitely noticed an uptick in the number of auctions for Japanese D&D stuff, as well as the prices.

Perhaps some whales have collected everything and are now turning to foreign releases to fill out their already impressive collections?

Some of the Japanese releases have extra artwork, extra scenarios, etc. So completists are always interested.

Mike B.

blackdougal wrote in Some information about Japanese D&D products:
For sure a big part of why I got into it was that I had most of the English language material that was within the scope of my collecting. The other big reason is because... well, they're just pretty cool.  :lol:  

Yeah, I love the Japanese stuff!

It's interesting to see other cultures' "takes" on D&D.
Granted, most of it is quite derivative of the original source material but there's always slight quirky differences that set it apart, if only just.