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These manga magazines are the main way that mangaka get published, with popular series having their chapters collected into a volume called a tankobon. There have been a lot of manga publications released and circulated since the 20th century, and while many have ceased circulation, some are still running to this day. These are some of the longest-running.

10 Young Comic

Young Comic is a monthly seinen (young adult men’s) magazine published by Shonen Gahosha. It was created as a sister publication to their other magazine, Young King. During its heyday, it generally competed with manga magazines like Manga Action and Big Comic. It was first published in 1967, and has been going since then.

The manga series in Young Comic generally revolve around mature content, particularly those with gratuitous fanservice and nudity. Despite its longevity, hardly any of its works are well-known, most likely because of their content.

9 Manga Action

Manga Action is a monthly seinen magazine published by Futabasha. It was first published in 1967 as Weekly Manga Action. It is generally considered to be the first real seinen magazine, coming out a short time before Young Comic.

As Weekly Manga Action, it was published weekly. In 2003, the decision was made to change to a monthly publication instead, prompting the change in name. Manga Action was home to several famous manga titles, including Lupin III, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Crayon Shin-chan.

8 Monthly Shonen Magazine

Monthly Shonen Magazine is, as the name suggests, a shonen (teenage boys’) magazine published by Kodansha. It was first published in 1964 as a monthly version of Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. It was initially titled Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, then Monthly Bessatsu Shonen Magazine before obtaining its current name.

While Monthly Shonen Magazine is not as big as its sister publication Weekly Shonen Magazine, it’s still host to a number of notable stories. Such manga include classics like Beck, while more recent titles include Your Lie in April, Noragami, and Welcome to the Ballroom.

7 Bessatsu Margaret

Bessatsu Margaret (often shorted to Betsuma) is a monthly shojo magazine published by Shueisha, the same company that publishes Weekly Shonen Jump. It was first published in 1964. The “Bessatsu” in its name translates to “extra issue,” suggesting that this is a spin-of publication of Shueisha’s Margaret.

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Just like its sister issue Margaret, Bessatsu Margaret has published many significant shojo series over its many years of publication, a genre targeted towards teenage girls. Some notable titles include Ao Haru Ride, My Love Story!!, and Orange.

6 Margaret

Margaret is a shojo magazine published by Shueisha, and the predecessor of its sister magazine Bessatsu Margaret. It was first issued in 1963 as a weekly publication, but it became a biweekly publication starting in 1988.

Compared to Bessatsu Margaret, Margaret’s audience skews slightly younger, aimed generally at preteen girls. It has been home to several iconic shojo titles like The Rose of Versailles, as well as other notable series like Boys Over Flowers and Daytime Shooting Star.

5 Weekly Shonen Sunday

Weekly Shonen Sunday is a shonen magazine published by Shogakukan. It was first published in March 1959, around the same time as Weekly Shonen Magazine. It is the fourth best-selling manga magazine of all time.

As one of the biggest manga magazines in Japan, Weekly Shonen Sunday is home to several famous works and authors. Rumiko Takahashi, Gosho Aoyama, and Mitsuru Adachi are just a few extremely well-known mangaka who have had several of their works published in the magazine. Some famous titles featured in the magazine include the long-running Detective Conan, Urusei Yatsura, Touch, and Hayate the Combat Butler.

4 Weekly Shonen Magazine

Weekly Shonen Magazine is a shonen magazine published by Kodansha. It was first published in March 1959, and it is one of the most successful manga magazines of its time. It is currently the second best-selling manga of all time, right behind Weekly Shonen Jump.

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Weekly Shonen Magazine is an extremely prolific manga anthology that has featured several famous authors like Hiro Mashima, Ken Akamatsu, Koji Seo, and CLAMP. It has produced classic series like Hajime no Ippo and Fairy Tail, as well as some more recent titles include the extremely popular Tokyo Revengers and Rent-A-Girlfriend.

3 Weekly Manga Times

Weekly Manga Times (often called Shuman) is a seinen magazine published by Houbunsha. It was first published in November 1956, and it was Japan’s first weekly manga magazine. Its slogan is “Live Happily Once a Week!”

During its heyday, Weekly Manga Times was one of the most popular weekly manga magazines, to the point where it was advertised outside the Meiji Jingu Stadium for several years. Along with its usual serialized works, the magazine also features a series called The Smiling Million People University, a one-panel comic that showcases suggestions from readers.

2 Ribon

Ribon is a monthly shojo magazine published by Shueisha, the same publisher behind Margaret and Bessatsu Margaret. It was first published in August 1955, and its issues are often huge, with more than 400 pages an issue. It is the best-selling shojo magazine of all time, and the sixth best-selling overall.

Of the many shojo publications owned by Shueisha, Ribon is the most successful, and has had several spin-offs, many of them now discontinued. It has released several popular shojo series, such as Sally the Witch and Marmalade Boy.

1 Nakayoshi

Nakayoshi is a monthly shojo magazine published by Kodansha, and it is the oldest manga publication still in circulation. It was first issued in December 1954, and it is one of the best-selling shojo magazines of all time, right behind Ribon.

Initially, Nakayoshi often dealt in the romance stories often seen in shojo titles, but in the 90s, it started to focus more on fantasy titles, particularly those those focused on magical girls. The magazine has released the iconic title Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, as well as other well-known series like Cardcaptor Sakura.

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