Popeye was started in 1976 as a male version of an an, a women's magazine.[1][4][5] It is successor of two publications, Ski Life and Made in U.S.A.[6]
The first issue of Popeye appeared in July 1976[7] which featured the dominant fashion trends in Los Angeles.[6][8] Yoshihisa Kinameri is the launch editor of the magazine.[6] The publisher is Magazine House Ltd., a Tokyo based publishing company.[9][10] The company, which is also the founder of the magazine, was previously named Heibun Shuppan.[11] The magazine was formerly published on a biweekly basis.[12] It is now published on a monthly basis.[9] It focuses on fashion,[1] and its content mostly is about clothes, bags, shoes and accessories.[13] It targets young educated urban men.[9]
In 2012 Takahiro Kinoshita became the editor-in-chief of the magazine.[7] The same year the magazine was redesigned.[2]
Popeye has several sister publications, including an an, Brutus and Croissant.[9] In 2013 Popeye and Brutus received best magazine award.[14] In July 2016 Popeye celebrated its 40th anniversary.[6][7] Later that decade, Popeye celebrated its 46th anniversary with the launch of a limited run of streetwear merchandising.[15]
^Laura Miller (2004). "You are doing Burikko!". In Shigeko Okamoto; Janet S. Shibamoto Smith (eds.). Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN978-0-19-029026-9.