1984 Vol. 40 featuring Urusei Yatsura on the cover.
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Editor | Yu Torimitsu |
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Former editors | Masaki Nawata |
Categories | Shōnen manga |
Frequency | Weekly |
Circulation | 330,000 (July–September, 2016) |
First issue | March 17, 1959 |
Company | Shogakukan |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Website | websunday.net |
Weekly Shōnen Sunday (Japanese: 週刊少年サンデー Hepburn: Shūkan Shōnen Sandē?) is a weekly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, Weekly Shōnen Sunday issues are released on Wednesdays.
Shōnen Sunday was first published on March 17, 1959 as a response to its rival Weekly Shōnen Magazine. The debut issue featured Shigeo Nagashima, the star player of the Yomiuri Giants on the cover, and a congratulatory article by Isoko Hatano, a noted child psychologist.
Despite its name, Shōnen Sunday was originally published on Tuesdays of each week, switching to Wednesdays in 2011. 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.
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. This understated feature, ever present but easily overlooked, was referenced as a plot element in 20th Century Boys. Sunday's more noticeable mascot, a helmeted fish debuted in the 1980s.
Prior to the 1990s and 2000s no serial in Shōnen Sunday had run over 40 volumes, but that began to change with series such as Detective Conan, Major, InuYasha, Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Kenichi and Karakuri Circus, which maintained a high level of popularity.