Nakayoshi

Nakayoshi
October 1999 issue of Nakayoshi featuring art by Natsumi Ando
CategoriesShōjo manga[1][2]
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation103,333[2]
(July-September, 2016)
First issueDecember 1954; 69 years ago (1954-12)
CompanyKodansha
CountryJapan
Based inTokyo
LanguageJapanese
Websitenakayosi.kodansha.co.jp

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.[3] Its circulation peaked at 2,100,000 in 1993.[4] In 2007, its circulation was 400,000.[5] 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.[6] Nakayoshi is also published on the 3rd of each month.

  1. ^ Jason Thompson (2007). Manga: The Complete Guide. Del Rey Books. pp. xxiii–xxiv. ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8.
  2. ^ a b "Girl's Manga" (in Japanese). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. September 2016. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  3. ^ Schodt, Frederik (1996). Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-880656-23-5.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference data1993 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Japan Magazine Publishers Association Magazine Data 2007 Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Schodt, Frederik (1996). Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-1-880656-23-5.