Weekly Shōnen Sunday


Weekly Shōnen Sunday 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. Weekly Shōnen Sunday has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it the fourth best selling manga magazine, only behind Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Young Jump.

History

Weekly 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, Weekly 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.
Weekly 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. Sundays more noticeable mascot, a helmeted fish debuted in the 1980s.
Prior to the 1990s and 2000s no serial in Weekly Shōnen Sunday had run over 40 volumes, but that began to change with series such as Detective Conan, Major, Inuyasha, Karakuri Circus, ', Hayate the Combat Butler and Zettai Karen Children, which maintained a high level of popularity.
In a rare event due to the closeness of the two magazine's founding dates, Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Weekly Shōnen Magazine released a special combined issue on March 19, 2008. In addition, other commemorative events, merchandise, and manga crossovers were planned for the following year as part of the celebrations. The book Shonen Sunday 1983 was published on July 15, 2009 to celebrate the anniversary and the magazines heyday. It reprints manga from 1983, such as Urusei Yatsura and Touch, and has interviews with their creators as well as artists who were inspired by the series from that period, such as Gosho Aoyama.
To celebrate Weekly Shōnen Sunday's 55th anniversary, 55 new manga series were launched in the print and online magazines Weekly Shonen Sunday, Shonen Sunday S, Ura Sunday, and Club Sunday'' throughout the year beginning in March 2014.

Features

Series

There are currently 30 manga titles being serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday, one series is currently on hiatus and two are published on an irregular basis.
Series titleAuthorPremiered
Amano Megumi wa Sukidarake!Nekoguchi
Aozakura: Bouei Daigakukou MonogatariHikaru Nikaidou
'Yū Watase
Ariadne in the Blue SkyNorihiro Yagi
Be Blues! - Ao ni NareMotoyuki Tanaka
Daiku no HatouMichiteru Kusaba
Detective ConanGosho Aoyama
Detective Conan: Police Academy Arc Wild Police StoryTakahiro Arai, Gosho Aoyama
'Takahiro Arai, Gosho Aoyama
Hoankan Evans no Uso: Dead or LoveMizuki Kuriyama
Ikeda-kunAtsumi Takeru
Itoyan goto nakiKomatsu Shouta
Kimi wa 008Syun Matsuena
Komi Can't CommunicateTomohito Oda
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-sanAiko Koyama
Major 2ndTakuya Mitsuda
MAO Rumiko Takahashi
Sleepy Princess in the Demon CastleKagiji Kumanomata
Nokemono-tachi no YoruMakoto Hoshino
Ponkotsu-chan KenshouchuuTsubasa Fukuchi
Ryū to IchigoYanamoto Mitsuharu
Sōbōtei KowasubeshiKazuhiro Fujita
Sōsō no FrierenKanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
switchAtsushi Namikiri
Tokachi Hitoribocchi NouenYuuji Yokoyama
Fly Me to the Moon Kenjiro Hata
UsotsukiMinami
Call of the NightKotoyama
Youkai GigaSatsuki Satou
Psychic SquadTakashi Shiina

Circulation

Editors-in-chief

published an Indonesian version of Weekly Shōnen Sunday titled Shōnen Star from 2005 to 2013.
Viz Media began a Shonen Sunday imprint for titles in North America; starting with Rumiko Takahashi's Rin-ne, which was released on October 20, 2009.