In talking about manga, fans and industry people alike often speak in simplistic terms of "shonen" and "shojo," but the composition of the market is of course more complicated than that—which is only to be expected in a country where 40% of those sixteen or older read manga regularly.
Even within the category of female-oriented manga there are several layers of distinctions. "Shojo" manga, in the strictest sense, are those aimed primarily at school girls between the ages of about 10 and 18. The next category is "young" (the English word is used), which targets primarily college-aged women. The "young" category, in both male- and female-oriented manga, is a fairly new one that has developed over the past decade or so. Next comes the dreaded "ladies comic" category (again, the English words are used), which appeals to young "O.L.s" ("office ladies") and housewives, ranging in age from early twenties to early thirties. I say "dreaded" because they tend to be sleazy and superficial, much like American soap operas. (Apologies to soap opera fans. I used to watch one myself.)
These three broad categories are further divided into almost as many audiences as there are female-oriented manga magazines. A look at the circulation figures of both shonen and shojo manga, then, seems to indicate that the best-selling magazines are those that appeal to the broadest—and generally youngest—range of readers. For example, the three best-selling shojo magazines are Ribbon, at 2.4 million; Nakayoshi, at 1.4 million; and Special Edition Margaret, at 1.3 million.* Both Ribbon and Nakayoshi have readerships that are about two-thirds primary-school students and one-third middle-school students, while Special Edition Margaret's readers are 80% middle- and high-school students and 15% college-aged and older. Other popular magazines, such as Hana to Yume (450,000) and Special Edition Shojo Comic (600,000), seem to appeal to a narrower age range. Compare these figures to Weekly Shonen Jump, Japan's best-selling magazine of any kind, with its circulation of 6.1 million. (!) 83% of Jump's readers are 10 to 15 years old, and 11% are 16 and up. Jump also has a lot of female readers, whereas few boys or men read any shojo magazines. (Nakayoshi, with it's blockbusting Sailor Moon series, being a current exception.)
But magazine sales aren't the final word on the manga market. There are also paperback sales, which are a different bag of doughnuts altogether, and uncounted readers who read magazines—in a bookstore, at a coffee shop, borrowed from a friend's—without buying them. And then of course there are all those strange foreigners who buy translated manga—or even untranslated manga that they can't even read.... (Ehem.)
* Figures are for 1993.
©Matt Thorn 2004