🚀 A Zine That Feels More Zine Than Most “Zines”

Forget polished magazines—this zine is all heart and creativity

Author

Yusuke Nagata
March 04, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

At the last zine fest I attended, I ended up buying a bunch of zines myself. One that really stood out was created by a group of 19-year-old girls. The concept, the presentation, the layout—it was all so perfectly zine. I knew I had to share it with you.

If you're thinking about making a zine, you'll definitely find this inspiring.

As always, I’ll be sharing recent updates, diving into the main topic, and at the end of the newsletter, I’ve included a helpful link for zine-making inspiration.

Table of Contents

🆕 Latest updates

Last Saturday, I went to Futaba Town in Fukushima to take photos. Fukushima suffered devastating losses in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, with thousands of lives lost.

The disaster also triggered a nuclear accident, leading to the release of high-level contaminated water and radioactive materials into the atmosphere—an event classified at the same severity level as the Chernobyl disaster.

For about ten years, Futaba was designated as a no-return zone due to dangerously high radiation levels, turning it into a ghost town. Today, people are allowed to enter, but since many former residents have already built new lives elsewhere, the town remains largely abandoned.

There, under the vast night sky, I photographed the Milky Way. The structure in the image marks the height of the tsunami—the T-shaped sign at the top stands at 16.5 meters, indicating how high the waves reached.

It was a place of complete darkness, where only the sound of the waves could be heard. But the noise from the breakwater made the waves sound like an angry roar. It almost felt like the voices of those lost in the tsunami were screaming, “Help me.”

I'll be sharing more of this documentary project in the next edition of the newsletter. Stay tuned.

grains of starlight

🥑 Forget Magazines—This 19-Year-Old Duo Made a Real Zine

The zine I’m sharing today, “Do you remember? -19 things”, was created by two 19-year-old girls, Anna and Keito. The concept? 19-year-olds taking on 19 new challenges. 

From “Talking to a stranger” to “Walking without a map” or “Going to a late-night movie”, their experiences are documented through photos, handwritten notes, and illustrations.

The moment I held this zine, I thought: This is so damn zine.

There are tons of publications labeled as zines that don’t actually feel like zines. Sure, they might be self-published, but aren’t they more like books? And then there are those that aren’t quite zines or books—they’re basically just pamphlets.

So, what is a zine?
This zine, “Do you remember? -19 things”, holds some of the answers.

🧃 The Indie Spirit Is What Makes a Zine a Zine

The whole idea of 19-year-olds tackling 19 new things is just perfect. It’s that “we wanna do this, so let’s do it” energy—completely unbothered by what appeals to the masses.

Defining what makes something zine-like is tricky, but I think a key factor is the indie spirit—a rejection of the mainstream, a raw and personal expression.

Anna and Keito created this zine because they felt disconnected from the teen magazines available in stores. Instead of something curated for the masses, they wanted to capture their own reality. That’s probably why this zine overflows with an authentic indie vibe.

When asked about their approach to making the zine, they shared this insight in an interview with steenz:

"If you focus too much on making a profit or pleasing an audience, you end up restricting yourself, shaping your work around what sells. But we want to prioritize what genuinely excites us.
Even if we worry, ‘Will other people find this interesting?’—as long as we think it’s interesting, we’ll make it happen. That’s the beauty of zines: the freedom to create what we love."

🔮 Want to Make a Zine but Don’t Know Where to Start?

The cover of this zine is decorated with rhinestone stickers. When I bought it, they added the decorations right there on the spot. Each copy has a unique design, and my friend’s was even more decked out—I was jealous! 😂

Adding handmade details like this makes a zine feel even more like a zine.

For a photo zine, you could stick a small, unique photo print on each cover. Or how about cutting out a window in the cover and inserting a single frame of film—maybe a 36-copy limited edition zine, each with a different negative inside?
It would be even cooler with slide film, but that would get pricey...

Just writing this is making my mind race with ideas!

Every time I get my hands on a new zine, I find myself inspired in unexpected ways. If you're interested in making a zine, start by collecting them—exposing yourself to different styles and ideas will spark your own creativity.

Recently, someone asked me, "I want to make a zine, but where do I start?" The thing is, there’s no single answer. Everyone’s goal for their zine is different, so the steps they take will also be different. Honestly, if there were a fixed process, it wouldn’t even be a zine anymore.

If I had to answer, I’d say: Follow your inspiration. 
Find zines that excite you. Browse Pinterest for ideas, visit bookstores that carry zines, and actually hold them in your hands. As you engage with different zines, you’ll start to see what kind of zine you want to make.

If you haven't made a zine yet, I highly recommend searching for zines that truly inspire you.

By the way, FAR EAST DARKROOM carries a selection of photo zines, including my own 404 not found Issue 02—which is down to its last 10 copies. If you’re interested, don’t wait too long! 🚀

Here are some useful links I found this week to help with zine-making.

📖 Zine Idea Generator

Stuck on a zine idea? Try this generator! It comes up with prompts you might never think of yourself—just playing around with it can be fun.
👉 Zine Idea Generator

📚 Flipbook Maker

Want to publish your zine online? I found this flipbook maker pretty cool—it adds a smooth page-turning animation that makes your digital zine feel more real.
👉 Flipbook Maker

Example:
Here’s an actual zine uploaded using this tool. Try flipping through it!

Check them out and get inspired! 🚀

Thanks for reading until the end. See you next week!

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