Weekly Shōnen Magazine

Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Cover of the first issue of Weekly Shōnen Magazine, published in 1959
Categories Shōnen manga[1][2]
Frequency Weekly
Circulation 883,804[1]
(July–September, 2016)
Publisher Kodansha
First issue March 17, 1959 (1959-03-17)
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Website Shōnen Magazine

Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Japanese: 週刊少年マガジン, Hepburn: Shūkan Shōnen Magajin) is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college student demographic. According to circulation figures accumulated by the Japanese Magazine Publishers Association, circulation of the magazine has dropped in every quarter since records were first collected in April–June, 2008. This is however, not an isolated occurrence as digital media continues to be on the rise.

It is one of the best-selling manga magazines. By March 2008, the magazine had 2,942 issues, having sold 4.55 billion copies, with an average weekly circulation of 1,546,567. At an average issue price of ¥129 ($1.29), the magazine had generated approximately ¥590 billion ($5.9 billion) in sales revenue by March 2008.[3]

Currently running manga series

There are currently 23 manga titles being serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine.

Series Title Author Premiered
5-toubun no Hanayome (五等分の花嫁) Negi Haruba August 2017
Ace of Diamond Act II (ダイヤのA Act II) Yūji Terajima August 2015
Ahiru no Sora (あひるの空) Takeshi Hinata December 2003
Bakemonogatari (化物語) Oh! great March 2018
Danshi kōkōsei o yashinaitai Onēsan no Hanashi (男子高校生を養いたいお姉さんの話) Hideki March 2018
Days (デイズ) Yasuda Tsuyoshi April 2013
Domestic Girlfriend (ドメスティックな彼女, Domestic na Kanojo) Kei Sasuga June 2014
Edens Zero (エデンズゼロ) Hiro Mashima June 2018
Fire Force (炎炎ノ消防隊, En'en no Shouboutai) Atsushi Ōkubo September 2015
Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩) George Morikawa October 1989
Hitman (ヒットマン) Kōji Seo June 2018
Kanojo, Okarishimasu (彼女、お借りします) Reiji Miyajima July 2017
Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet (寄宿学校のジュリエット) Moved from Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine Yousuke Kaneda October 2017
Mako-san wa Shinde mo Jiritsu Shinai (マコさんは死んでも自立しない) Daisuke Chida September 2017
Orient (オリエント) Shinobu Ohtaka May 2018
Runway de Waratte (ランウェイで笑って) Kotoba Inoya May 2017
Seitokai Yakuindomo (生徒会役員共) Tozen Ujiie July 2008
Senryuu Shoujo (川柳少女) Masakuni Igarashi October 2016
The Seven Deadly Sins (七つの大罪, Nanatsu no Taizai) Nakaba Suzuki October 2012
This Man -Sono kao o mita moni ni Shi o- (This Man〜その顔を見た者には死を〜) Kōji Megumi April 2018
Tokyo卍Revengers (東京卍リベンジャーズ) Ken Wakui March 2017
To Your Eternity (不滅のあなたへ, Fumetsu no Anata e) Yoshitoki Ōima November 2016
Yoru ni naru to Boku wa (夜になると僕は) Yuu Masako July 2018

Series in Shōnen Magazine

  • Notable works in Bold

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Circulation

Circulation
Date(s)January–MarchApril–JuneJuly–SeptemberOctober–DecemberMagazine salesRef
March 1959 to March 2008 1,546,567 4,550,000,000 [3]
April 2008 to December 2008 1,755,000 1,720,000 1,691,667 67,166,671 [4]
20091,664,1671,633,3341,614,6161,593,637 84,574,802 [5]
20101,571,2311,565,0001,556,2501,551,819 81,175,900 [6]
20111,529,6931,491,5001,489,5841,472,084 77,777,193 [7]
20121,447,5001,436,0171,412,5841,404,834 74,112,155 [8]
20131,376,7921,357,0001,324,2091,308,117 69,759,534 [9]
20141,277,5001,245,4171,211,7501,192,267 64,050,142 [10]
20151,156,0591,127,0421,107,8401,085,110 58,188,663 [10][11]
20161,038,4501,015,659995,017986,017 52,456,859 [1][12]
2017964,158932,713883,804840,667 47,077,446 [12]
January 2018 to March 2018 815,458 10,600,954 [12]
March 1959 to March 2018 1,512,692[3][12] 5,236,940,319

Reception

The Weekly Shōnen Magazine achieved success in the 1970s and subsequently had increased sales. As a result, it became the top selling manga magazine in Japan of its period, appearing popular amongst many otaku. But the position was later occupied by Weekly Shōnen Jump, when this competitor was born in 1968, knocking Shonen Magazine off the top spot. Shōnen Jump had now begun to circulate and dominate the manga magazine market. This began from the 1970s and continued throughout the 1990s, largely owed to Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. In the middle of the 1990s, Shōnen Jump suffered the loss of Dragon Ball, as the franchise had come to an end in 1996, and thus lost much of its readership. Shōnen Magazine had now made a comeback in October 1997, regaining its original position as the top selling manga magazine of its day until this was brokered in 2002. Currently, the two magazines have competed closely in terms of market circulation. Sales of the two magazines now remain very close. Circulation has dropped below two million.[13] In a rare event due to the closeness of the two magazine's founding dates, Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shōnen Sunday released a special combined issue on March 19, 2008. In addition, other commemorative events, merchandise, and manga crossovers were planned for the following year as part of the celebrations.[14] Others include Shōnen Magazine, published by Kobunsha of the same Kodansha group. Shōnen Magazine famously serialized Tetsujin 28-go, the first anime Mecha from July 1956 to May 1966.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Boy's Manga" (in Japanese). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. September 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  2. Thompson, Jason (2007). Manga: The Complete Guide. Del Rey Books. pp. 338–339. ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8.
  3. 1 2 3 "Shonen Magazine, Shonen Sunday Mark 50th Anniversary (Updated)". Anime News Network. March 18, 2008.
  4. 2008 circulation figures:
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2008". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2008". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2008". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  5. 2009 circulation figures:
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" January-March, 2009". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2009". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2009". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2009". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  6. 2010 circulation figures:
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" January-March, 2010". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2010". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2010". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2010". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  7. 2011 circulation figures:
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" January-March, 2011". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2011". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2011". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2011". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  8. 2012 circulation figures:
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" January-March, 2012". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2012". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2012". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2012". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  9. 2013 circulation figures:
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" January-March, 2013". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2013". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2013". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2013". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Top Manga Magazines' Circulation Dropped 10%+ in 1 Year". Anime News Network. April 28, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  11. 2015 circulation figures
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" April-June, 2015". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" July-September, 2015". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
    • "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" October-December, 2015". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Circulation figures "Boy's Manga" January-March, 2016". Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  13. "Weekly Shonen Magazine Circulation Drops Under 2M".
  14. Shonen Magazine, Shonen Sunday Mark 50th Anniversary (Updated) - Anime News Network
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