While most lifestyle and fashion magazines are full of photos of slender male and female models photoshopped to perfection that create an unrealistic image of the human body, a fresh Japanese men's magazine is taking a different approach. Mr. Babe is targeted towards chubby men, a body type that is rarely represented in the mainstream fashion industry.
在各類生活時尚類雜志上，最常見的就是各種身材纖瘦的俊男靚女，這些經過ps的模特照片向讀者展示幾近失真的完美身體曲線，不過最近日本一本新男性雜志《Mr.Babe》另辟蹊徑，開始將鏡頭推向胖子們，即那些在主流時尚界很少出現的身型。
Launched early this month, Mr. Babe describes itself as Japan's first "fashion and lifestyle magazine of chubby men, by chubby men and for chubby men". It's main goal is to boost the confidence of its readers and convince them that they can lead happy successful lives regardless of the few extra pounds, by offering fashion tips, health and personal grooming advice and articles on romance and marriage. "Our magazine is in no way encouraging men to gain weight and become chubby," editor-in-chief Norihito Kurashina said in a recent interview. "Our message is that chubby men can be attractive by making use of what they have now while being mindful of their health so as not to become obese."
這本名叫《Mr.Babe》的男士雜志于本月初創刊，自稱是日本第一本"專門為胖子打造的"生活時尚類雜志。雜志創辦的主要目標是為了提高讀者們的自信，通過給出著裝、健康和個人修飾方面的建議，以及刊登戀愛、婚姻相關的文章，幫助胖子讀者們相信，即使是在"身負重肉"的情況下，也可以幸福快樂地成為人生贏家。不過雜志主編Norihito Kurashina在最近的一次采訪中表示："我們的雜志可不是為了鼓勵男士都去增重，變得胖乎乎的，我們希望傳達的理念是：在注重避免成為肥胖癥的前提下，微胖型男士可以發揮現有身材的優勢，成為有魅力的人"。
Kurashina was in charge of Men's Knuckle, a magazine aimed at young slender Japanese men working as hosts, for over 10 years before shifting completely and launching Mr. Babe. The 52-year-old describes himself as a "debu (fatso) for 25 years" so that might explain the change, but he also claims that the new magazine could become a big business, as overweight men are no longer a minority in Japanese society.
在決定發行《Mr.Babe》之前，Kurashina曾為另一本名叫《Men's Knuckle》的雜志擔任過十多年的主編，那是一本專門為年輕纖瘦的日本男主播打造的時尚雜志。Kurashina已經52歲了，自稱已經"微胖了25年"，這也是他事業轉型的原因之一。不過他還聲稱這本全新出版的雜志一定會大獲成功，因為日本社會里的胖子數量已經相當多了，他們有非常廣泛的讀者群。
According to the health ministry's National Health and Nutrition Survey, roughly one in three Japanese men nowadays is overweight. The percentage of overweight men in Japan has been growing gradually over the last decade, while the number of over overweight women has decreased. Kurashina attributes the growing number pf plump men to long working hours. They go drinking after work to relax and have no time, energy and money to go to the gym and keep in shape. "Naturally, their bellies grow," he said.
根據日本健康部的健康營養調查，大約三分之一的日本男性現正處于超重狀態。而且在過去的十年里，這一比例正在逐年上升，而肥胖女性的數量卻在下降。Kurashina認為男性的超重是由于他們超長的工作時間，而在下班后，他們又會去喝酒放松，因此很難有時間、精力還有金錢去光顧健身房來保持體型，長此以往，"男人們的啤酒肚自然而然地就出來了"。
The Poccharimen (literally "chubby men") portrayed in Mr. Babe magazine are not much different than the Ikemen (a Japanese term used to describe handsome and sexy men) that show up in most mainstream magazines. They are charming, well-dressed and handsome. They just pack a few extra pounds, as well.
《Mr.Babe》上的微胖男士和主流雜志上的型男并沒有很大的差距，除了多出來幾磅肉外，他們同樣英俊帥氣有魅力，而且也很懂得時裝搭配。
As for how successful Mr. Babe will be as a magazine, Norihito Kurashina says he is already "feeling a good response" from the target audience. Some 50,000 copies have been printed of the first issue, which has film star Jack Black on the cover, and the editor in chief said he would be pretty happy if half of them sold.
在談及《Mr.Babe》能收獲多大的成功時，Kursahina自信地笑道："我已經感受到讀者們的熱情了。"目前已有大約五萬本《Mr.Babe》的首版雜志印刷完畢，封面就是電影明星Jack Black，主編先生表示："首發可以賣出一半，我就滿足了。"
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