Manga Magazine Serialization Map

What this map shows

15 major Japanese manga magazines across five categories — 4 weekly shōnen (Jump, Magazine, Sunday, Champion), 1 monthly shōnen (Jump SQ.), 4 shōjo (Nakayoshi, Ribon, Ciao, Hana to Yume), 3 seinen (Big Comic, Weekly Manga Action, Weekly Comic Bunch), and 3 historical/underground (Manga Shōnen, Garo, COM) — laid out as a two-dimensional map: years on the x-axis, parallel series on the y-axis. The "geological strata" of each magazine become visible: which titles ran together during Jump's golden age, how Nakayoshi and Ribon traded the shōjo crown across decades, what was running in Big Comic at the same time as Garo experiments.

Weekly shōnen magazines maintain 20-25 simultaneous serializations, so half a century of hundreds of works compresses into 30-50 lanes. Shōjo monthlies and seinen weeklies stay tighter at 15-30 lanes — one work doesn't monopolize a row; new series replace finished ones in the same lane.

The historical/underground magazines (Garo, COM, Manga Shōnen) consist mostly of short stories and one-shots, so the default ≥20 chapter threshold shows very few works. Drop the threshold to ≥5 or All to see them as they really were.

How to read the map

• Each bar is one serialized title. Left edge = first chapter publication; right edge = last chapter publication.
• Consecutive bars in the same lane mean one series ended and another took its slot — they did NOT run simultaneously.
• Bars ending in wine red (#6f2a55) were still running when the source database froze (around 2017-07-31). ONE PIECE, HUNTER × HUNTER, etc. continue today.
• Hover a bar to see the title, creator, dates, and chapter count.

Magazine highlights

Weekly Shōnen

• Weekly Shōnen Jump (Shueisha, 1968-): Kochikame's 40-year run (1976-2016) is the longest reference line. The 1995 Dragon Ball ending and subsequent generation change; the 1997-2001 cohort of ONE PIECE / NARUTO / BLEACH / HUNTER × HUNTER starting nearly together; the 2010s wave of Kuroko's Basketball, Haikyu!!, Assassination Classroom, Promised Neverland.
• Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Kodansha, 1959-): 10 years older than Jump. The 1960-70s sports-spirit lineage (Star of the Giants, Tomorrow's Joe, Ai to Makoto), 1990s Kindaichi / GTO / Hajime no Ippo, 2010s Attack on Titan / Seven Deadly Sins.
• Weekly Shōnen Sunday (Shogakukan, 1959-): Tezuka and Yokoyama in the founding years, Urusei Yatsura and Touch in the 80s, Detective Conan / Major / H2 long-running through to today. Oldest active weekly.
• Weekly Shōnen Champion (Akita Shoten, 1970-): 1970s Black Jack / Dokaben / 750 Rider; 1980-90s Sakigake!! Otokojuku / Bari Bari Densetsu / Kagemusha Tokugawa Ieyasu, plus the marathon Grappler Baki. 52 lanes — the densest of all magazines, with rapid short-series turnover.

Monthly Shōnen

• Jump SQ. (Shueisha, 2007-): Successor to Monthly Shōnen Jump, which closed in 2007. Hosts dark fantasy long-runs like Blue Exorcist, Tegami Bachi, Seraph of the End. You can also see crossover and spin-off work from Weekly Jump creators.

Shōjo

• Nakayoshi (Kodansha, 1955-): One of the oldest manga magazines still running. The 1990s Sailor Moon / Cardcaptor Sakura golden era, Magical DoReMi-style game-tie-in works through the 2000s onward, all in one chart.
• Ribon (Shueisha, 1955-): 1980s Hoshi no Hitomi no Silhouette, Tokimeki Tonight, Chibi Maruko-chan, Yūkan Club; 1990s Hime-chan no Ribbon, Akazukin Cha Cha, Kodomo no Omocha; 2000s Full Moon o Sagashite.
• Ciao (Shogakukan, 1977-): Took off in the late 1990s and overtook Ribon and Nakayoshi in circulation by the late 2000s. Kilari Revolution, Shugo Chara!, 12-sai. anchor the recent decades.
• Hana to Yume (Hakusensha, 1974-): Glass Mask's epic run (1976-), Boku no Chikyū o Mamotte and Akachan to Boku in the 90s, then Fruits Basket, Skip Beat!, Patalliro! among the long-runners.

Seinen

• Big Comic (Shogakukan, 1968-): The original seinen magazine. Built around Golgo 13 (1968-, 1,042 chapters in this magazine alone), with Akabei, Sōmu-buka Yamaguchi Roppeita, HOTEL, Notari Matsutarō. Older creators dominate, so generational shifts in art style are clearly visible.
• Weekly Manga Action (Futabasha, 1967-): Birthplace of Lupin the Third (Monkey Punch, 1967-). Experimental and gekiga-leaning. Available data here covers up to 1978 only (database limit).
• Weekly Comic Bunch (Shinchosha, 2001-2010): Founded by ex-Shueisha editors. Sōten no Ken (Fist of the Blue Sky), Angel Heart, GodSider Second, and several Fist of the North Star side stories — many 80s Jump titles' sequels concentrated in this one 9-year run.

Historical / Underground

• Manga Shōnen (Gakudosha, 1947-1955): The starting point of postwar manga. Tezuka's Jungle Emperor, the Tokiwa-sō circle around Fujiko Fujio and Hiroo Terada — the very birthplace of the medium's modern form. The oldest magazine on the chart.
• Monthly Manga Garo (Seirindo, 1964-2002): 3,620 works total — the most of any magazine on this chart. Home to the experimental, alternative, gekiga, ero-guro, and underground currents: Yoshiharu Tsuge, Shigeru Mizuki, Yoshikazu Ebisu, Seiichi Hayashi (Red-Colored Elegy), Nekojiru, plus Sanpei Shirato's Kamui Den. Most works are short stories — only 27 cross 20 chapters, so dropping the threshold reveals the magazine's true shape.
• COM (Mushi Pro Shōji, 1967-1973): Tezuka's own publication, founded as a counterweight to Garo. Featured Phoenix (Hi no Tori) — Tezuka's lifelong project — Cyborg 009 spin-offs, and a generation of young creators. Folded after just six years but holds a key place in postwar manga history.

Coverage

Weekly Shōnen (4 magazines)

• Weekly Shōnen Jump: 1968-06-29 – 2017-07-31 (49 yrs) / 2,296 works / 331 with ≥20 chapters / 32 lanes
• Weekly Shōnen Magazine: 1959-03-17 – 2017-07-26 (58 yrs) / 1,870 works / 463 with ≥20 / 39 lanes
• Weekly Shōnen Sunday: 1959-04-05 – 2017-07-26 (58 yrs) / 1,821 works / 500 with ≥20 / 37 lanes
• Weekly Shōnen Champion: 1970-07-15 – 2017-07-13 (47 yrs) / 1,736 works / 477 with ≥20 / 52 lanes

Monthly Shōnen (1)

• Jump SQ.: 2007-12 – 2017-07 (9 yrs) / 324 works / 35 with ≥20 / 22 lanes

Shōjo (4)

• Nakayoshi: 1955-01 – 2017-12 (62 yrs) / 2,120 works / 104 with ≥20 / 15 lanes
• Ribon: 1955-09 – 2011-01 (55 yrs) / 1,778 works / 106 with ≥20 / 16 lanes
• Ciao: 1977-10 – 2017-11 (40 yrs) / 1,523 works / 100 with ≥20 / 21 lanes
• Hana to Yume: 1974-06 – 2009-07 (35 yrs) / 2,267 works / 117 with ≥20 / 23 lanes

Seinen (3)

• Big Comic: 1968-04 – 2012-08 (44 yrs) / 995 works / 125 with ≥20 / 23 lanes
• Weekly Manga Action: 1967-08 – 1978-08 (11 yrs) / 879 works / 73 with ≥20 / 16 lanes
• Weekly Comic Bunch: 2001-05 – 2010-09 (9 yrs) / 450 works / 92 with ≥20 / 29 lanes

Historical / Underground (3)

• Manga Shōnen: 1947-12 – 1955-10 (7 yrs) / 142 works / 9 with ≥20 / 5 lanes (13 lanes at ≥5)
• Monthly Manga Garo: 1964-09 – 2002-10 (38 yrs) / 3,620 works / 27 with ≥20 / 6 lanes (20 lanes at ≥5)
• COM: 1967-01 – 1973-08 (6 yrs) / 477 works / 3 with ≥20 / 3 lanes (9 lanes at ≥5)

Common limitation: while magazine issue records run through mid-2018 in the Media Arts Database, individual chapter entries (S-refs) stopped being added by 2017 in most magazines. Series still running after that date have a hard end at the freeze date in this chart. Shōjo monthlies and the historical/underground magazines have fewer "≥20" works because monthly serialization × 20 chapters means almost two years, a steeper bar than for weeklies — and Garo / COM / Manga Shōnen are mostly short-story driven. Drop the threshold to see the full picture.

Tips for using the map

• Map your generation: pick the year you were in elementary school and trace a vertical line — the bars crossing it are what your peers were reading at the same time.
• Compare across magazines: switch tabs to see the same year's lineup elsewhere (e.g. 1995 Jump's Dragon Ball ending vs. Magazine's GTO debut vs. Sunday's H2 mid-run).
• Long-run overlaps: stacked bars during the same decade tell you how many giant series were co-existing.
• Magazine metabolism: a dense lane structure (Champion) means many short series cycling through; a sparse lane structure with long bars (Shōjo monthlies) means a more stable, conservative editorial mix.

Note on English titles

Each work shows its English title where one has been officially licensed (sourced from AniList's manga database). For untranslated titles, the romanized form is shown. For older or short-run works that are entirely untranslated, the original Japanese remains. Search works across all three forms — typing "Demon Slayer", "Kimetsu no Yaiba", or "鬼滅の刃" all match.