# Nakayoshi

Nakayoshi (なかよし, lit. "Good Friend") is a monthly shōjo manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include Princess Knight, Candy Candy, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura and Pretty Cure. Roughly the size of a phone book (hence the term "phone book manga"), the magazine generally comes with furoku, or small gifts, such as pop-out figures, games, small bags, posters, stickers, and so on. The furoku is an attempt to encourage girls to buy their own copies of the magazine rather than just share with a friend.
It is one of the best-selling shōjo manga magazines, having sold over 400 million copies since 1978. In the mid-1990s, Nakayoshi retailed for 400 yen and had an average of 448 pages. The estimated average circulation of Nakayoshi at this time was 1,800,000. Its circulation peaked at 2,100,000 in 1993. In 2007, its circulation was 400,000. During the 1990s, then editor-in-chief, Yoshio Irie attempted to move the magazine away from "first love" stories and introduced several fantasy manga such as Sailor Moon. During that period, Nakayoshi pursued a "media-mix" campaign, which involved close coordination of the magazine, anime productions based on the manga, and character merchandising. Nakayoshi is also published on the 3rd of each month.

## Serializations
### Current

* Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You (2020–present)
* Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Aqua (2021–present)
* Gifted (2021–present)
* The Witch Maid Knows the Queen's Secret (2023–present)
* Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker (2024–present)
* You and Idol PreCure (2025-present)

### Past
## Circulation

| Year / Period | Monthly circulation | Magazine sales |
| 1978 | 1,600,000 | 19,200,000 |
| 1979 | 1,800,000 | 21,600,000 |
| 1980 | 1,700,000 | 20,400,000 |
| 1981 | 1,400,000 | 16,800,000 |
| 1982 | 1,200,000 | 14,400,000 |
| 1983 | 1,200,000 | 14,400,000 |
| 1984 | 1,250,000 | 15,000,000 |
| 1985 | 1,250,000 | 15,000,000 |
| 1986 | 1,250,000 | 15,000,000 |
| 1987 | 1,250,000 | 15,000,000 |
| 1988 | 1,350,000 | 16,200,000 |
| 1989 | 1,350,000 | 16,200,000 |
| 1990 | 1,200,000 | 14,400,000 |
| 1991 | 1,200,000 | 14,400,000 |
| 1992 | 1,400,000 | 16,800,000 |
| January 1993 to March 1993 | 1,750,000 | 5,250,000 |
| April 1993 to March 1994 | 2,100,000 | 25,200,000 |
| April 1994 to December 1994 | 1,750,000 | 15,750,000 |
| 1995 | 1,500,000 | 18,000,000 |
| 1996 | 1,100,000 | 13,200,000 |
| 1997 | 780,000 | 9,360,000 |
| 1998 | 530,000 | 6,360,000 |
| 1999 | 500,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 2000 | 500,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 2001 | 520,000 | 6,240,000 |
| 2002 | 550,000 | 6,600,000 |
| 2003 | 490,000 | 5,880,000 |
| 2004 | 500,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 2005 | 460,000 | 5,520,000 |
| 2006 | 418,500 | 5,022,000 |
| 2007 | 400,000 | 4,800,000 |
| January 2008 to September 2008 | 343,750 | 3,093,750 |
| October 2008 to September 2009 | 306,667 | 3,680,004 |
| October 2009 to September 2010 | 252,084 | 3,025,008 |
| October 2010 to December 2010 | 250,000 | 750,000 |
| January 2011 to September 2011 | 198,910 | 1,790,190 |
| October 2011 to September 2012 | 170,834 | 2,050,008 |
| October 2012 to September 2013 | 152,667 | 1,832,004 |
| October 2013 to September 2014 | 137,500 | 1,650,000 |
| October 2014 to September 2015 | 124,542 | 1,494,504 |
| October 2015 to September 2016 | 104,083 | 2,180,004 |
| October 2016 to September 2017 | 96,608 | 2,075,004 |
| October 2017 to March 2018 | 89,125 | 534,750 |
| 1978 to March 2018 | | 414,137,226 |

## International versions

An Indonesian language version, Nakayoshi: Gress!, is published monthly by Elex Media Komputindo in Indonesia. The series has been canceled effectively in January 2017.

## Related magazines

* Bessatsu Friend
* Shōjo Friend (defunct)

## Video games

There have been multiple video games based on various manga series running in Nakayoshi, in addition to games based on individual titles themselves.
* Nakayoshi to Issho, Famicom
* Welcome Nakayoshi Park, March 3, 1994, Game Boy
* Panic in Nakayoshi World, November 18, 1994, Super Famicom
* Nakayoshi All-Stars: Mezase! Gakuen Idol!, December 18, 2008, Nintendo DS