Weekly 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 on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant 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, the magazine's circulation 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.
Cover of first issue, featuring sumo wrestler Asashio Tarō III | |
| Editor-in-Chief | Shintaro Kawakubo |
|---|---|
| Categories | Shōnen manga |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Circulation | 883,804 (July–September, 2016) |
| Publisher | Kodansha |
| First issue | March 17, 1959 |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Website | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
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. In addition, about 1 billion compiled tankōbon volumes had been sold by March 2008.
Jason Thompson stated that it is "more down-to-earth, as well as just a tad more guy-oriented" compared to Weekly Shōnen Jump and likened this magazine to "more like something you'd find in the guys' locker room."