Cover illustration to the seinen manga series Say Hello to Black Jack by Shūhō Satō

Seinen manga (Japanese: 青年漫画, lit. 'youth comics') is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word seinen means "youth", but the term "seinen manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like Weekly Manga Times and Weekly Manga Goraku, which write on topics of interest to male university students and workingmen. Seinen manga is distinguished from shōnen manga, which is for adolescent boys, and seijin-muke manga [ja], which are intended for adult audiences and often contain explicit content. Some seinen manga like xxxHolic share similarities with shōnen manga. Seinen manga can focus on action, politics, science fiction, fantasy, relationships, sports, or comedy. The female equivalent to seinen manga is josei manga.

A common way to tell if a manga is seinen is by looking at whether furigana is used over the original kanji text: if there is furigana on all kanji, the title is generally aimed at a younger audience. The title of the magazine in which it was published is also an important indicator. Usually, Japanese manga magazines with the word "young" in the title (Weekly Young Jump, for instance) are seinen. There are also mixed shōnen/seinen magazines such as Gangan Powered and Comp Ace. Other popular seinen manga magazines include Weekly Young Magazine, Weekly Young Sunday, Big Comic Spirits, Business Jump, Ultra Jump, and Afternoon.

See also

Magazines

The following is a list of the top Japanese seinen manga magazines by monthly circulation during the timespan of October 1 to December 31, 2024.

Title Circulation
Weekly Young Jump 246,538
Weekly Young Magazine 146,000
Big Comic Original 194,000
Big Comic 125,000
Comic Ran 130,517
Grand Jump 94,500
Weekly Morning 73,350
Comic Ran Twins 84,807
Big Comic Spirits 42,045
Young Animal 39,583
Big Comic Superior 30,883
Ultra Jump 19,000
Monthly Afternoon 22,800
Monthly Sunday Gene-X 7,733
Monthly Big Comic Spirits 2,500

Characteristics

Seinen manga often explore similar themes to shōnen manga, but tend to feature darker or otherwise more mature story lines which may include graphic depictions of sex or violence. Genres of seinen manga, too, are similar to those frequently found in shōnen manga - including action, adventure, war, romance, slice of life, comedy, and crime - but some genres are more popular in seinen than shōnen manga. For example, harem manga is perennially popular in seinen publications.

History

In year 1959, the two of the main shōnen manga titles appeared: Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Then, in 1967, the first seinen magazine emerged: Weekly Manga Action, which scored big hits with Lupin III, Lone Wolf and Cub, and later Crayon Shin-chan. Several more seinen manga magazines began in 1968, including Big Comic and Play Comic. The year 1972 saw the addition of Big Comic's sister magazine, Big Comic Original, which featured Tsuribaka Nisshi, a manga about two older men who enjoy fishing; the manga was made into a series of popular movies. In 1979, the publisher Shueisha, known for Weekly Shonen Jump for teen boys, entered the seinen market with Weekly Young Jump. Many Young Jump series have been adapted into anime or live-action TV programs, such as Elfen Lied, Gantz, Hen, Kirara, Liar Game and Oku-sama wa Joshi Kōsei.

References

  1. ↑ "Everything about the Seinen Genre". Jappleng.
  2. ↑ McCarthy, Helen (2014). A Brief History of Manga. Octopus Books. pp. 28–34. ISBN 9781781570982.
  3. 1 2 Thompson, Jason (2007). Manga: The Complete Guide. United States: Del Rey Books. ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8.
  4. ↑ Fujiki Hideaki (2013). "Implicating Readers: Tezuka's Early Seinen Manga". Mechademia. 8: 195–212. doi:10.5749/mech.8.2013.0195. JSTOR 10.5749/mech.8.2013.0195.
  5. ↑ ヤンジャン40周年で井上雄彦「リアル」連載再開、記念の文化祭など企画続々. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). May 9, 2019. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Drummond-Mathews, Angela (2010). "What boys will be: A study of shonen manga" (PDF). In Johnson-Woods, Toni (ed.). Manga: An anthology of global and cultural perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 62–76. ISBN 9781441107879.
  7. ↑ 週刊ヤングジャンプ (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  8. ↑ ヤングマガジン (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  9. ↑ ビッグコミックオリジナル (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  10. ↑ ビッグコミック (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  11. ↑ コミック乱 (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  12. ↑ グランドジャンプ (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  13. ↑ モーニング (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  14. ↑ コミック乱ツインズ (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  15. ↑ ビッグコミックスピリッツ (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  16. ↑ ヤングアニマル (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  17. ↑ ビッグコミックスペリオール (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  18. ↑ ウルトラジャンプ (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  19. ↑ アフタヌーン (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  20. ↑ サンデージェネックス (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  21. ↑ 月刊!スピリッツ (第67回：2024年10月～2024年12月). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.

External links