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
February 15th, 2009 at 9:15 am
So the readearship of Magazine consists of >80% of adults. This puts the “shounen” demographic in proper perspective, I guess.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:43 am
The age ranges of the widest number of readers is quite revealing. I had the impression that Magazine was targeting the late teens/young 20s.
February 16th, 2009 at 7:35 am
weird! shonnen jump has no 15years old readers!! XDDDDDDDDD
+1 pachael
i can’t see how a 8~14y old could enjoy death note or even understand fully one piece XD
February 16th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Oh yes, Death Note is so DEEP that I’m not sure if I understood it well.
February 16th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Zettai Karen Children is indeed an example of a manga trying to cover all the bases. The “jack of all trades, master of none” approach might not generate ground breaking stories, but I find it very entertaining.
Also, I wonder if Sunday got to that broad appeal makeup by accident. If not, it’s a very neat balancing act they are pulling off there.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:00 am
i said enjoy dn, not understand, lulz
February 18th, 2009 at 2:13 am
Is this data itself based on questionnaire results? Maybe more than 13.6% of SJ’s readership is over 18, but less likely to send in a questionnaire (or admit they read it?). It would be surprising if Japan’s most popular manga magazine really had so few adults reading it, because under-18s are the smallest sector of Japan’s demographic.
February 26th, 2009 at 7:11 am
It is worthful to state that the demographics who buy magazines and then buy collected volumes sometimes overlap very little.
So, +18 buyers of WSJ might really make only 13.6% of buyers, but depending on the series, they might make a high percentage of buyers. Death Note was such a big hit in Japan, that the manga was bought by people of varied ages, who don’t read Shounen Jump, for example. One Piece too. Naruto is less popular than One Piece (though it’s the reverse outside of Japan, possibly because Ninjas are more exotic to foreigners), and its readership is much more centered on Shounen Jump buyers.
Word of mouth about a particular series may reach non readers of that magazine who are not part of the target audience, whether in age and/or gender.
Magazines which have most of the people who buy the collected volumes, also buying the magazine, tend to be targeted to children of primary school age.
And lending your magazines to friends or family is common. So, there are probably some adult readers who are not accounted for in those figures, who read their younger sibling or child’s copy.