Jump, Magazine, and Sunday readerships
Shounen Jump, Shounen Magazine, and Shounen Sunday have traditionally been called the big three of weekly shounen magazines, but all three magazines obviously aim for different target markets as can be seen in the manga that they run in the magazines every week.
It’s nice to see the age distribution for magazine readerships, because magazines will usually have a set target market, and focus the contents of their manga to cater to these people. So if you belong in the target market chances are you might like the stuff running in that particular magazine. (or not)
Age is not the only factor in defining a target market, but this post is only about the age distribution anyway.
Weekly Shounen Jump
Average circulation: 2,790,000
Age 6~8: 1.0%
Age 9~11: 21.8%
Age 12~14: 40.1%
Age 16~17: 23.5%
Age 18~50 and above: 13.6%
It’s supposed to be well known but there are surprisingly a lot of people that don’t realise that the majority of Jump readers are 14 and below, and the magazine’s contents are targeted towards these readers. And as Kodansha (Shounen Magazine’s publisher) has mentioned in a magazine feature, Shounen Jump almost has a monopoly over the market for children under the age of 18.
Also there is probably a typo in there somewhere, either that or 15 year olds don’t exist.
Jump places huge emphasis in questionnaire results, so manga that are not well received by people under 18 tend to have trouble staying on the magazine.
Weekly Shounen Magazine
Average circulation: 1,770,000
Age 12~14: 4.0%
Age 15~19: 14.3%
Age 20~24: 18.0%
Age 25~29: 21.7%
Age 30~34: 16.4%
Age 35 and above: 25.6%
Shounen Magazine is very popular with adults and middle aged people apparently, I always wondered if younger audiences would like stuff like Shibatora, Zetsubou sensei, or Zero, I guess not!
One of the keys to their success is probably that their target market avoids having to really compete head-on with Jump.
Weekly Shounen Sunday
Average circulation: 870,000
Age 9 and below: 1.4%
Age 10~12: 9.5%
Age 13~15: 22.2%
Age 16~18: 28.6%
Age 19~22: 17.5%
Age 23 and above: 20.8%
Shounen Sunday probably has the broadest appeal as compared to Jump or Magazine, with manga that can attract audiences from their early teens up to people that are in their 20s.
It’s probably pretty strange to be doing manga for a target market that is so broad, but their (currently) more successful ones such as Zettai Karen and Hayate have pulled it off really well I think.
Data via: JMPA, Shogakukan, Kodansha
