Seinen manga

Anime and manga

### Manga

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### Genres

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### People

Mitsuru AdachiFujio AkatsukaGeorge AkiyamaHideaki AnnoHideo AzumaClampOsamu DezakiTetsuo HaraMamoru HosodaYukinobu HoshinoRyoichi IkegamiKunihiko IkuharaKen IshikawaShotaro IshinomoriIkki KajiwaraTomoharu KatsumataYoshiaki KawajiriShōji KawamoriKitazawa RakutenKazuo KoikeSatoshi KonMasami KurumadaKōichi MashimoKatsuji MatsumotoLeiji MatsumotoHayao MiyazakiShigeru MizukiHideko MizunoShinji MizushimaDaijiro MorohoshiTadao NagahamaGo NagaiShinji NagashimaDaisuke NishioEiichiro OdaKyoko OkazakiMamoru OshiiRintaroTakao SaitoHiroshi SasagawaJunichi SatoSanpei ShiratoMasamune ShirowGisaburō SugiiIsao TakahataOsamu TezukaAkira ToriyamaYear 24 GroupTatsuo YoshidaTsutomu Nihei

### Fandom

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### General

Glossary Ecchi Hentai Lolicon Moe Anime-influenced animation 2.5D musical

***Seinen* manga** (青年漫画) are Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word *seinen* literally 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 cater specifically to men's interests, and are marketed towards a demographic of older teenage boys and adult men between the ages of 18 and 45. *Seinen* manga are distinguished from *shōnen* manga which are for younger teen boys, although 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.

*Seinen* manga have a wide variety of art styles and variation in subject matter. Examples of *seinen* series include: *Berserk*, *Excel Saga*, *Ghost in the Shell*, *Hellsing*, *Initial D*, *Master Keaton*, *Mushishi*, *Oh My Goddess!*, *Outlaw Star*, and *Tokyo Ghoul*, as well as the formerly *shōnen* manga series *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* and *Trigun*.

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 are *furigana* on all kanji, the title is generally aimed at a younger audience. The title of the magazine it was published in 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*.

## History[edit]

One of the earliest manga magazines published in Japan was a *seinen* publication: *Weekly Manga Times*, first released in 1956. It was aimed squarely at middle-aged men, featuring erotic fiction and manga and tales of yakuza. It was only in 1959 that two of the main *shōnen* manga titles appeared: *Weekly Shōnen Magazine* and *Weekly Shōnen Sunday*. Then in 1967, the first of the magazines aimed at younger men appeared: *Weekly Manga Action*, which scored big hits with *Lupin III* and *Lone Wolf and Cub*, and later *Crayon Shin-chan*. *Big Comic* followed in 1968, perhaps best known for its series *Golgo 13*. The year 1972 saw the addition of *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, e.g. *Elfen Lied*, *Gantz*, *Hen*, *Kirara*, *Liar Game*, *Oku-sama wa Joshi Kōsei*, and *Zetman*.

## Magazines[edit]

For a complete list of seinen manga magazines, see List of manga magazines.

A list of the top Japanese *seinen* manga magazines by circulation in the time-span from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010.