 | |
 1984 Vol. 40 featuringUrusei Yatsura on the cover | |
| Editor | Kazunori Oshima |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Takenori Ichihara |
| Categories | Shōnen manga[1][2] |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Circulation | 125,000 (June 2025)[3] |
| First issue | March 17, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-03-17) |
| Company | Shogakukan |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Website | Official website |
Weekly Shōnen Sunday (Japanese:週刊少年サンデー,Hepburn:Shūkan Shōnen Sandē) is a weeklyshōnen manga magazine published in Japan byShogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title,Weekly Shōnen Sunday issues are released on Wednesdays.Weekly Shōnen Sunday has sold over 1.8 billion copies since 1986, making it the fourthbest selling manga magazine, only behindWeekly Shōnen Jump,Weekly Shōnen Magazine andWeekly Young Jump.
Weekly Shōnen Sunday was first published on March 17, 1959, as a response to its rivalWeekly Shōnen Magazine.[4][5] The debut issue featuredShigeo Nagashima, the star player of theYomiuri Giants on the cover, and a congratulatory article byIsoko Hatano, a notedchild psychologist.[citation needed]
Despite its name,Weekly Shōnen Sunday is published on Wednesday.[6][7] The "Sunday" in the name was the creation of its first editor, Kiichi Toyoda, who wanted the title to be evocative of a relaxing weekend.[citation needed]
Weekly Shōnen Sunday's distinctive "pointing finger" that appears in the lower corner of every page on the left side of the magazine made its subtle debut in the 4/5 issue from 1969.[citation needed] This understated feature, ever present but easily overlooked, was referenced as a plot element in20th Century Boys.Sunday's more noticeable mascot, a helmeted fish, debuted in the 1980s.[citation needed]
Prior to the 1990s and 2000s no serial inWeekly Shōnen Sunday had run over 40 volumes, but that began to change with series such asCase Closed,Major,Inuyasha,Karakuri Circus,Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple,Hayate the Combat Butler,Zettai Karen Children, andBe Blues!, which maintained a high level of popularity.
In a rare event due to the closeness of the two magazines' founding dates,Weekly Shōnen Sunday andWeekly Shōnen Magazine released a special combined issue on March 19, 2008.[8] In addition, other commemorative events, merchandise, and manga crossovers were planned for the following year as part of the celebrations.[5] The bookShonen Sunday 1983 was published on July 15, 2009 to celebrate the anniversary and the magazine's heyday. It reprints manga from 1983, such asUrusei Yatsura andTouch, and has interviews with their creators as well as artists who were inspired by the series from that period, such asGosho Aoyama.[9]
To celebrateWeekly Shōnen Sunday's 55th anniversary, 55 new manga series were launched in the print and online magazinesWeekly Shōnen Sunday,Shōnen Sunday S,Ura Sunday, andClub Sunday throughout the year beginning in March 2014.[10]
There are currently 31 manga titles being serialized inWeekly Shōnen Sunday. Out of them,Aozakura: Bōei Daigakukō Monogatari andFrieren: Beyond Journey's End are on hiatus;Magic Kaito is infrequently published;Case Closed andKai-hen Wizards are serialized on an irregular basis;Major 2nd is serialized biweekly andAd Astra per Aspera andCase Closed: Zero's Tea Time's continuations are yet to be announced.
| Series title | Author(s) | Premiered |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Astra per Aspera (アド アストラ ペル アスペラ,Ado Asutora peru Asupera) | Kenjiro Hata | September 2015 |
| Aga Kimi Chiruramu (吾が君散るらむ) | Shiishihi, Yuuki Tsukikoshi | October 2025 |
| Akira Failing in Love (百瀬アキラの初恋破綻中。,Momose Akira no Hatsukoi Hatan-chū) | Shinta Harekawa | August 2024 |
| Aozakura: Bōei Daigakukō Monogatari (あおざくら 防衛大学校物語) | Hikaru Nikaido | April 2016 |
| Case Closed (名探偵コナン,Meitantei Konan) | Gosho Aoyama | January 1994 |
| Case Closed: Zero's Tea Time (名探偵コナン ゼロの日常,Meitantei Konan: Zero no Nichijō) | Takahiro Arai | May 2018 |
| Dealing with Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze (帝乃三姉妹は案外、チョロい。,Mikadono Sanshimai wa Angai, Choroi) | Aya Hirakawa | December 2021 |
| Dragemis (ドラゲミス,Doragemisu) | Mizuki Kuriyama | October 2025 |
| Fly Me to the Moon (トニカクカワイイ,Tonikaku Kawaii) | Kenjiro Hata | February 2018 |
| Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (葬送のフリーレン,Sōsō no Furīren) | Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe | April 2020 |
| Futari Bus (ふたりバス,Futari Basu) | Sakane Toyobayashi | November 2025 |
| Kai-hen Wizards (界変の魔法使い,Kaihen no Mahōtsukai) | Yellow Tanabe | September 2024 |
| Kagurai: Kagura to Raito (カグライ～神楽と雷人～) | Lettuce Tarō, Mashu Tarō | May 2025 |
| Kaiten no Albus (廻天のアルバス,Kaiten no Arubasu) | Akihisa Maki, Miki Yatsubo | May 2024 |
| Kakukamata (かくかまた) | Yuhei Kusakabe | May 2025 |
| Magic Kaito (まじっく快斗,Majikku Kaito) | Gosho Aoyama | June 1987 |
| Major 2nd | Takuya Mitsuda | March 2015 |
| Mao | Rumiko Takahashi | May 2019 |
| Mizu Polo (みずぽろ,Mizu Poro) | Miho Isshiki, Naoki Mizuguchi | November 2023 |
| Parashoppers (パラショッパーズ,Parashoppāzu) | Tsubasa Fukuchi | January 2025 |
| Red Blue (レッドブルー,Reddo Burū) | Atsushi Namikiri | January 2022 |
| Ryū to Ichigo (龍と苺) | Mitsuharu Yanamoto | May 2020 |
| Shibuya Near Family (シブヤニアファミリー,Shibuya Nia Famirī) | Kōji Kumeta | October 2021 |
| Silver Mountain (シルバーマウンテン,Shirubā Maunten) | Kazuhiro Fujita | May 2025 |
| Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (魔王城でおやすみ,Maōjō de Oyasumi) | Kagiji Kumanomata | May 2016 |
| Sora e… (地上へ…) | Syun Matsuena | January 2025 |
| Tokachi Hitoribocchi Nōen (十勝ひとりぼっち農園) | Yuji Yokoyama | November 2017 |
| Tsumiki Ogami's Not-So-Ordinary Life (尾守つみきと奇日常。,Ogami Tsumiki to Ki Nichijō) | Miyu Morishita | October 2023 |
| Utsuranain desu (写らナイんです) | Ruka Konoshima | March 2024 |
| Vampire-Idol Tagiru (ヴァンパイドル滾,Vanpa Idoru Tagiru) | Kazuhiko Shimamoto | May 2025 |
| Year / Period | Weekly circulation | Magazine sales | Sales revenue (est.) | Issue price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 1,600,000[11] | 83,200,000[11] | ¥14,976,000,000 | ¥180[12] |
| 1987 | 1,300,000[11] | 67,600,000[11] | ¥12,168,000,000 | |
| 1988 | 1,300,000[11] | 67,600,000[11] | ¥12,168,000,000 | |
| 1989 | 1,400,000[11] | 72,800,000[11] | ¥13,104,000,000 | |
| 1990 | 1,350,000[11] | 70,200,000[11] | ¥12,636,000,000 | |
| 1991 | 1,350,000[11] | 70,200,000[11] | ¥12,636,000,000 | |
| 1992 | 1,350,000[11] | 70,200,000[11] | ¥13,338,000,000 | ¥190[12] |
| 1993 | 1,270,000[11] | 66,040,000[11] | ¥12,547,600,000 | |
| 1994 | 1,270,000[11] | 66,040,000[11] | ¥13,868,400,000 | ¥210[12] |
| 1995 | 1,400,000[11] | 72,800,000[11] | ¥15,288,000,000 | |
| 1996 | 1,530,000[11] | 79,560,000[11] | ¥21,481,200,000 | ¥270[13] |
| 1997 | 1,650,000[11] | 85,800,000[11] | ¥23,166,000,000 | |
| 1998 | 1,700,000[11] | 88,400,000[11] | ¥23,868,000,000 | |
| 1999 | 1,630,000[11] | 84,760,000[11] | ¥22,885,200,000 | |
| 2000 | 2,020,000 | 105,040,000[11] | ¥28,360,800,000 | |
| 2001 | 1,500,000[11] | 78,000,000[11] | ¥21,060,000,000 | |
| 2002 | 1,530,000 | 79,560,000 | ¥21,481,200,000 | |
| 2003 | 1,310,000 | 68,120,000 | ¥18,392,400,000 | |
| 2004 | 1,160,913[14] | 60,367,476[14] | ¥16,299,218,520 | |
| 2005 | 1,068,265[14] | 55,549,780[14] | ¥14,998,440,600 | |
| January 2006 to August 2006 | 1,003,708[14] | 34,795,211[14] | ¥9,394,706,970 | |
| September 2006 to December 2006 | 1,010,000 | 17,506,667 | ¥4,726,800,090 | |
| 2007 | 940,000 | 48,880,000 | ¥13,197,600,000 | |
| 2008 | 873,438[15] | 45,418,776[15] | ¥12,263,069,520 | |
| January 2009 to September 2009 | 773,062[16] | 30,149,418[16] | ¥8,140,342,860 | |
| October 2009 to September 2010 | 678,917[17] | 35,303,684[17] | ¥9,531,994,680 | |
| October 2010 to September 2011 | 611,146[18] | 31,779,592[18] | ¥8,580,489,840 | |
| October 2011 to September 2012 | 539,521[19] | 28,055,092[19] | ¥7,574,874,840 | |
| October 2012 to September 2013 | 512,250[20] | 26,637,000[20] | ¥7,165,353,000 | ¥269[13][21] |
| October 2013 to September 2014 | 456,375[22] | 23,731,500[22] | ¥6,407,505,000 | ¥270[21] |
| October 2014 to September 2015 | 390,143[23] | 20,287,436[23] | ¥5,477,607,720 | |
| October 2015 to September 2016 | 350,521[24] | 18,227,092[24] | ¥4,921,314,840 | |
| October 2016 to September 2017 | 317,458[25] | 16,507,816[25] | ¥4,457,110,320 | |
| October 2017 to March 2018 | 302,167[26] | 7,856,342[26] | ¥2,121,212,340 | |
| 1986 to March 2018 | 36,000,000 | 1,876,972,882 | ¥448,682,441,140 ($5.53 billion) |
Elex Media Komputindo published an Indonesian version ofWeekly Shōnen Sunday titledShōnen Star from 2005 to 2013.
Viz Media began aShonen Sunday imprint for titles in North America; starting withRumiko Takahashi'sRin-ne, which was released on October 20, 2009.[30]
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| Josei |
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| Seinen |
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| Defunct |
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