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Seinen manga (青年漫画) is an editorial category ofJapanese comics marketed toward young adult men.[1] In Japanese, the wordseinen means "youth", but the term "seinen manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines likeWeekly Manga Times andWeekly Manga Goraku, which write on topics of interest to male university students and workingmen.Seinen manga is distinguished fromshōnen manga, which is for adolescent boys, andseijin-muke manga [ja], which are intended for adult audiences and often contain explicit content. Someseinen manga likexxxHolic share similarities withshōnen manga.Seinen manga can focus on action, politics, science fiction, fantasy, relationships, sports, or comedy. The female equivalent toseinen manga isjosei manga.
A common way to tell if a manga isseinen is by looking at whetherfurigana is used over the originalkanji text: if there isfurigana 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) areseinen. There are also mixedshōnen/seinen magazines such asGangan Powered andComp Ace. Other popularseinen manga magazines includeWeekly Young Magazine,Weekly Young Sunday,Big Comic Spirits,Business Jump,Ultra Jump, andAfternoon.
In 1959, two of the mainshōnen manga titles appeared:Weekly Shōnen Magazine andWeekly Shōnen Sunday. Then, in 1967, the first magazine aimed at seinen appeared:Weekly Manga Action, which scored big hits withLupin III,Lone Wolf and Cub, and laterCrayon Shin-chan. The year 1972 saw the addition ofBig Comic Original, which featuredTsuribaka Nisshi, a manga about two older men who enjoy fishing; the manga was made into a series of popular movies. In 1979, the publisherShueisha, known forWeekly Shonen Jump for teen boys, entered theseinen market withWeekly Young Jump. ManyYoung Jump series have been adapted into anime or live-action TV programs, such asElfen Lied,Gantz,Hen,Kirara,Liar Game,Oku-sama wa Joshi Kōsei, andDragon Ball.
A list of the top Japaneseseinen manga magazines by circulation in the time-span from October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2010.[2]
| Title | Circulation |
|---|---|
| Weekly Young Magazine | 807,871 |
| Weekly Young Jump | 768,980 |
| Big Comic Original | 729,750 |
| Weekly Manga Goraku | 500,000 |
| Big Comic | 454,000 |
| Comic Kairakuten | 350,000 |
| Weekly Morning | 340,209 |
| Weekly Manga Sunday(defunct) | 300,000 |
| Business Jump(defunct) | 285,334 |
| Super Jump(defunct) | 277,500 |
| Big Comic Spirits | 260,024 |
| Comic Shitsurakuten | 250,000 |
| Young Champion | 250,000 |
| Comic Ran | 207,350 |
| Big Comic Superior | 204,125 |
| Manga Action | 200,000 |
| Young King | 200,000 |
