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NEWS: Oricon: #1 Manga Mag for Japanese Girls Is…Shonen Jump


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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15292
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:07 pm Reply with quote
Nana's alright, but it's kind of going nowhere in the recent issues of SB.
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:14 pm Reply with quote
Wow, that is something Shocked This magazine ain't going away anytime soon.
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Toshirodragon



Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 166
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:18 pm Reply with quote
So upshot of this article is that Japanese girls like good, solid, plot driven, quirky character stories same as the boys...

Well whoda thunk it? Rolling Eyes
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Egan Loo



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1318
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:45 pm Reply with quote
Toshirodragon wrote:
So upshot of this article is that Japanese girls like good, solid, plot driven, quirky character stories same as the boys...

Well whoda thunk it? Rolling Eyes


There is a flip side to this. Japanese girls are comfortable reading supposedly "shônen" magazines, and many openly prefer them. However, in Matt Thorn and other anthropologists' research, the same is not true for the vast majority of Japanese boys. Most Japanese shônen are far more culturally disinclined to admit reading shôjo manga than vice versa.

Supposedly "shôjo" magazines have as many good, solid, plot driven, quirky character stories as supposedly "shônen" magazines. Yet, there is much less cultural resistance for girls to read "boys'" manga as there are for boys reading "girls'" manga.

So, to rephrase your statement, Japanese girls openly like good, solid, plot driven, quirky character stories—regardless if it's supposedly for shônen or shôjo—more than the boys do.
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shirokiryuu



Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 714
Location: Northern California (SF Bay Area)
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:48 pm Reply with quote
I'm a girl, and when I was in middle school, almost everything I read was shounen. And it was the same with many of my friends. It is true that me and my friends both read shounen and shoujo, but it seems that shounen formula can drag in both genders.

It's also not very surprising as many shounen stories are chock full of bishounen and have romantic themes as well. Unexpectantly the girl fanbase can be larger than the boy's because of this.

about the boys reading shoujo, It's the same with action movies and romance movies. Many guys refuse to watch mushy gushy chick flicks, but it's fine for girls to watch action movies intended for guys. It's just a social thing.
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Jamee



Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 79
Location: North Carolina
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:51 pm Reply with quote
Once again, no love for Ribon. Or Nakayoshi. Maybe they are considered to be too young.
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Egan Loo



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1318
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:28 pm Reply with quote
shirokiryuu wrote:
about the boys reading shoujo, It's the same with action movies and romance movies. Many guys refuse to watch mushy gushy chick flicks, but it's fine for girls to watch action movies intended for guys. It's just a social thing.


Indeed, it's definitely sociocultural. Whether that should change—after all, it wasn't always the case that girls could enjoy certain sports and pastimes without the societal frowns—is perhaps a deeper question than one news article and one forum thread can address. Smile
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Egan Loo



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1318
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:32 pm Reply with quote
Jamee wrote:
Once again, no love for Ribon. Or Nakayoshi. Maybe they are considered to be too young.


For what it's worth, the final three magazines in the top ten list are Kiss at #8 and both Chorus and Dessert tied at #9.
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Spotlesseden



Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: earth
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:33 pm Reply with quote
don't forget that more girls read manga than boys
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:00 am Reply with quote
I have to admit I find it interesting that SJ is more popular than the others, but I do know a lot of girls who enjoy the shounen stuff (though I'm not one of them really...there is some shounen that I do enjoy, like Death Note which was mentioned...but I'd take NANA over it anyday Anime hyper).
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evalover1987



Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:47 pm Reply with quote
Is it a new or an old one?
'cause I saw the results of the survey on the exactly the same topic
by Oricon last year, and the rank was exactly the same.

(1. shonen jump, 2. monthly cookie, etc..)
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matt-thorn



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 8
Location: Kyoto, Japan
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:50 pm Reply with quote
Matt Thorn here. I'm not surprised to find Jump at No. 1, but I was surprised by some others. By the way, the English summary of the article refers to "Margaret", but the actual magazine referred to in the original is "Bessatsu Margaret". ("Special Edition Margaret") There's a big difference. The original article doesn't give any information about the demographic of the surveyed women, but judging from the results it sounds like something between about 14 and 25. The absence of Ribbon (not to mention Bessatsu Friend) speaks volumes about the changes in the industry over the past decade. The fact that the most popular shoujo magazine is Cookie is pretty mind-boggling. I mean, sure, Nana's a huge hit, but...wow. I'm sure the publisher is as surprised at the way things have turned out as anybody. On the other hand, the survey asked women/girls what they're favorite magazines were. That doesn't necessarily translate into sales. Girls and young women are notorious for reading manga magazines in the store and not buying them.
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Sailor Maddie Mouse



Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:44 pm Reply with quote
There's always been a double standard throughout the world when it comes to liking things aimed at the opposite gender. It's become more widespread for girls to like things aimed at boys, especially since the whole women's rights movement. If a girl is put down for liking "boy's things" it gets considered sexist and in a mind set of about 100 years ago. If a boy likes "girl's things" he's considered gay. (by sterotyping.)

It was once considered bad for a woman to wear "men's" clothing. (Case in point: pants.) Today, it's considered a norm. Imagine what would happen if a man were to wear a dress out in public the way a woman wears pants today. I think he'd get a LOT more stares, huh?

Anyway, I'll always be a Ribon girl at heart. D; Regardless of those Japanese girls' preferences.

And I always thought Jump was older. Guess you learn something everyday.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15292
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:09 pm Reply with quote
matt: From what I hear, with the exception of Sailor Moon, Ribon was never that big.
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Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2907
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:17 pm Reply with quote
Toshirodragon wrote:
So upshot of this article is that Japanese girls like good, solid, plot driven, quirky character stories same as the boys...

yeah, i think it's a definite good thing and it's really refreshing to know that Japanese female manga fans aren't all giggly, skin-deep morons when it comes to their favorite series or in general. i hope they'll do this kind of poll for the U.S. (see if the statustics match up or not).

Quote:
In research studies dating back to 1994, Matt Thorn and other anthropologists have noted this trend in Japanese girls reading manga magazines ostensibly aimed at boys.
hellz yeah! lol some of my favorie series were 'made for boys.' and even series like Fullmetal Alchemist were made by a woman! Mr. Green
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