is a Japanese monthly ''seinen'' manga anthology published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

under the ''Afternoon'' line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of January 25, 1986. ''Afternoon'' has spawned many successful manga series such as ''

Oh My Goddess! , or ''Ah! My Goddess!'' in some releases, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from September 1988 to April 2014, ...

'', ''

Genshiken is a Japanese manga series by Shimoku Kio about a college club for ''otaku'' (extremely obsessed fans of various media) and the lifestyle its members pursue. The title is a shortening of the club's official name, , or "The Society for ...

'', ''

Blade of the Immortal is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura. The series is set in Japan during the mid- Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows the cursed samurai Manji, who has to kill 1,000 evil men in order to regain his mortal ...

'' and ''

Big Windup! , often shortened to just , is a Japanese baseball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Asa Higuchi. It has been serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' since September 2003, with its chapters collec ...

''. It is part of Kodansha's "1day" series, which also includes the magazines ''

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strict ...

'' and ''

Evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...

''. A spin-off magazine, named ''

good! Afternoon is a Japanese seinen manga magazine anthology published by Kodansha. Initially published bimonthly, it switched to a monthly publication schedule starting with the 25th issue in late 2012. Each issue typically has around twenty-five stories by va ...

'', started publishing on November 7, 2008.

History

The magazine was founded as a sister magazine to ''Morning'' by the same publisher. According to

Frederik L. Schodt Frederik L. Schodt (born January 22, 1950) is an American translator, interpreter and writer. Biography Schodt's father was in the US foreign service, and he grew up in Norway, Australia, and Japan. The family first went to Japan in 1965 wh ...

, stories that did not convince the editors of ''Morning'' would often land in ''Afternoon''. Many of the artists working for the magazine used to publish amateur

dojinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created b ...

and were influenced by

lolicon In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase "Lolita complex", also refers to desire and a ...

amateur manga. Sharon Kinsella claims that around half of all series featured in Afternoon between 1994 and 1997 were inspired by lolicon aesthetics. She lists ''Discommunication'', ''Gunsmith Cats'', ''Assembler 0X'', ''Seraphic Feather'', ''Aqua'' ańd ''Oh! My Goddess'' as examples. From 1999 until 2022, ''Afternoon Season Zōkan'' was published as a quarterly spin-off magazine to ''Afternoon''. After the magazine was suspended, some of its series, like ''

Mushishi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Urushibara. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Afternoon Season Zōkan'' from 1999 to 2002, and in ''Monthly Afternoon'' from December 2002 to August 200 ...

'' and ''

Mokke is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takatoshi Kumakura. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine ''Afternoon Season Zoukan'' in August 2000. The magazine was suspended after its 14th issue, and the ...

'', were transferred to Afternoon.

Newcomer award

Since 1987, the magazine hands out the newcomer award ''Afternooon Shiki Shō''. In 2000, Kodansha published a selection of winners of the award in a book.

Circulation and demographic

Like with most major manga magazines, the magazine's circulation has been declining since the 1990s: * 2004: 144.500 * 2005: 133.800 * 2006: 127.400 * 2007: 119.666 * 2016: 69.310 In the late 1990s, the magazine's editors guessed that about a third of the readers of the magazine could be called ''otaku''.

Features

Ongoing

There are currently 28 manga titles being serialized in ''Monthly Afternoon''. Out of them, ''

Wandering Island is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenji Tsuruta. It is about a woman who runs an air delivery service and her quest to find a moving island. It was first published as part of Kodansha's manga anthology ' in July 2010 and ...

'' is on hiatus.

Past

1980s

* by

Kōsuke Fujishima is a Japanese manga artist. He is known for his love of automobiles and motorcycles, and several of his series and their characters reflect this, such as in ''éX-Driver'' and ''Oh My Goddess!''. Early life and career Born in Chiba, Japan, ...

(1988–2014) * by

Norifusa Mita is a Japanese manga artist born in 1958 from Iwate Prefecture. He is best known for '' Dragon Zakura'' for which he received the 29th Kodansha Manga Award. ''Dragon Zakura'' has been adapted to live-action television series in Japan and South Ko ...

(1989) *''

Spirit of Wonder ''Spirit of Wonder'' is a Japanese anthology manga series written and illustrated by Kenji Tsuruta. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazines ''Morning'' and ''Monthly Afternoon'' from 1986 to 1995. A single-episode origin ...

'' by

Kenji Tsuruta is a Japanese manga artist. Among his most famous works is the science fiction series ''Spirit of Wonder'', which has been adapted into an anime series and brought him much acclaim. Profile During his formative years in university as a student of ...

(1989–1994) (originally serialized in ''

Weekly Morning is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It debuted in 1982 as . The digital edition of the magazine is titled . In 2006 a spin-off magazine called was launched (formerly bimonthly), featuring stories like ''Saint ''� ...

'')

1990s

* by

Hitoshi Iwaaki is a Japanese manga artist, whose works include the science-fiction/horror series ''Parasyte''. The Mixx editions of ''Parasyte'' romanize his name as "Hitosi Iwaaki", while the Del Rey Manga editions use "Hitoshi Iwaaki". Career During hig ...

(1990–1995) (moved from ''Morning Open Zōkan'') * by

Kia Asamiya , best known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist whose work spans multiple genres and appeals to diverse audiences. He is well known for using influences from American comics, television, and films in his work, and describes himself as ...

(1990–1992) * by

Kenichi Sonoda is a Japanese manga artist and animation character designer. Professional career Born in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Sonoda moved to Tokyo in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on '' ...

(1991–1997) * by

Riichi Ueshiba is a Japanese manga artist. He has written and drawn ''Yume Tsukai'' (''Dream User'') and '' Nazo no Kanojo X'' (''Mysterious Girlfriend X''), both of which were adapted into anime series. Another of his works, ''Discommunication'', had its main ...

(1991–1999) * by

Tsutomu Takahashi , born on September 20, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist, who is well known for his manga '' Jiraishin''. As of March 2006, he is currently married and has one child. His alias is Ichigo Nekota. History He began his involvement i ...

(1992–1999) * by Kia Asamiya (1992–1995) * by

Kazuichi Hanawa is a Japanese manga artist. Life Hanawa was born in Yorii, Saitama Prefecture. Since 1970 he worked as an illustrator. After reading the works of Yoshiharu Tsuge, he decided to switch to comic books. Hanawa's first work as a cartoonist was in ...

(1992–1994) * by

Hiroaki Samura is a Japanese manga artist, known for ''Blade of the Immortal'', as well as several other short works. He has also done various illustrations for magazines and ero guro work. Education Samura says that he always wanted to be a manga artist. How ...

(1993–2012) * by Yo Morimoto, Toshiya Takeda (story) and

Hiroyuki Utatane is a Japanese manga artist and anime director. His wife is manga artist Ryō Ramiya. Born 15 June 1966 in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, Utatane began his career with adult works such as ''Countdown''. His more recent works have been sei ...

(art) (1993–2008) * by Shinji Makari (story) and Akana Shu (art) (1994–2004) * by Hitoshi Ashinano (1994–2006) * by

Mohiro Kitoh is a Japanese manga artist. He created the manga '' Shadow Star'' and '' Bokurano: Ours'', both of which were adapted into anime series. Biography Kitoh's first manga '' Vendémiaire no Tsubasa'' debuted in ''Afternoon'' magazine in 1995. ...

(1995–1997) *''

Blame! ''Blame!'' (stylized as ''BLAME!'') is a Japanese science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei. It was published by Kodansha in the Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from 1997 to 2003, ...

'' by

Tsutomu Nihei is a Japanese manga artist. Nihei has been drawing comics professionally since the mid-1990s. In 1995 he was awarded the Jiro Taniguchi Special Prize in that year's Afternoon Four Seasons Award for his submission, ''Blame''. After working as an ...

(1997–2003) * by

Satoshi Shiki is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator, whose works include ''Kamikaze'' and ''Riot''. He's also an artist of hentai manga, and this influence can be seen even in his non-hentai works like ''Kamikaze'' and ''Daphne in the Brilliant Blue''. ...

(1997–2003) * by

(1997–2004) *'' Eden: It's an Endless World!'' by

Hiroki Endo is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Musashino Art University. He is most known for his science-fiction series '' Eden: It's an Endless World!'', which has been translated into English by Dark Horse. Manga works Serialized works *'' E ...

(1997–2008) * by

(1998–2003) * by Kon Kimura (1998–2006) * by Yoshito Asari (1999–2000)

2000s

* by Shohei Manabe (2000) * by

Iou Kuroda is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist. Biography Born in Sapporo as one of two twins, Kuroda moved many times in his youth. He graduated from Hitotsubashi University. The pen name "Kuroda Iou" (in Japanese order) is a combination of his ...

(2000–2002) * by

(2001–2003) * by

(2001–2002) * by Yoshito Asari (2001–2009) * by Shimoku Kio (2002–2006) * by

Daisuke Igarashi is a Japanese manga artist born in Saitama (2 April 1969), Japan. He began his professional career in 1993. Igarashi is known among manga fans for his bold, detailed art style and innovative storytelling. While his works are often described as ...

(2002–2005) * by

Yuki Urushibara is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for the series ''Mushishi'', for which she received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival and the 2006 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga. She is also known by t ...

(2002–2008) (moved from ''Afternoon Season Zōkan'') * by Takatoshi Kumakura (2003–2009) (moved from ''Afternoon Season Zōkan'') *''

Shadow Skill is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Megumu Okada. The series has been adapted into four original video animations released from 1995 to 1996 and an anime adaptation produced by Studio Deen aired on TV Tokyo in 1998. ...

'' by

Megumu Okada is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the series ''Shadow Skill'' and ''Saint Seiya Episode.G''. Works * In 1999, he creates the manga , which was serialized in the magazine Afternoon and published by Kodansha. 6 volumes ...

(2003–2006) * by Minoru Toyoda (2003–2005) * by

Tooru Fujisawa is a Japanese manga artist. His name is romanized as Tohru Fujisawa on the Tokyopop English-language '' Great Teacher Onizuka'' books and as Toru Fujisawa on the Kodansha bilingual releases. His first serialized work was ''Adesugata Junjo Boy' ...

(2003–2004) * by

(2003) * by

Akira Hiramoto is a Japanese manga artist. He made his debut with ''Sono Tomodachi ni Gimon Ari'' story in 1995 in Weekly Young Magazine. He is best known as the creator of ''Prison School'', which won the General Manga Category award at the 2013 Kodansha A ...

(2003–2008) (transferred to ''Young Magazine the 3rd'') * by

Makoto Shinkai , known as , is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, author, and manga artist. Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) ' ...

(original work) and Sumomo Yumeka (2004–2005) * by Masaru Katori (story) and

Jiro Ando is a Japanese manga artist notable as being the artist of the manga '' Shion no Ō''. He also created the manga version of ''Bushido Sixteen''.Yuzo Takada is the pseudonym of , a popular Japanese manga artist. He worked as an assistant for manga artist Fujihiko Hosono before starting his career as an original author. His first work appeared in November 1983 in ''Young Magazine'', and his first seri ...

(2004–2008) *''

Gunsmith Cats BURST is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series ''Gunsmith Ca ...

'' by

(2004–2008) * by Harutoshi Fukui (original novel) and Takayuki Kōsai (2005–2007) * by

Mahiro Maeda Mahiro Maeda (前田真宏 ''Maeda Mahiro''; born March 14, 1963) is a Japanese anime director, character designer, and animator. Helen McCarthy in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' called him "one of the most imaginative visualists in anime". He ...

(2005–2008) * by Mami Kashiwabara (2005–2011) * by Makoto Shinkai (original work) and Sumomo Yumeka (2005–2006) * by Riichi Ueshiba (2006–2014) * by Daisaku Tsuru (2006–2010) * by Yutaka Tanaka (2006–2009) * by Kazuki Nakashima (original story) and Una Hamana (2007–2009) * by Hitoshi Ashinano (2007–2013) * by Haru Akiyama (2008–2011) * by Shimoku Kio (2008–2010) * by Yoshiki Tanaka (story) and Narumi Kakinouchi (art) (2009) * by

(2009–2015) * by Yuki Urushibara (2009–2010)

2010s

* by Yoshiki Tanaka (story) and Narumi Kakinouchi (art) (2010) * by

(story) and Seike Yukiko (art) (2010–2011) * by

(2010–2012) * by Tetsuya Imai (2011) * by Kenshin Hidekawa (2011–2015) * by Yoshiki Tanaka (story) and Narumi Kakinouchi (art) (2012) * by Yoshiki Tanaka (story) and Narumi Kakinouchi (art) (2012–2013) * by Ao Akato (2013) * by Kaori Ozaki (2013) * by

(story) and Midori Motohashi (art) (2013) * by

(2015–2019) *''

Black-Box (manga) ''Black-Box'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Takahashi. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from June 2015 to March 2019, with its c ...

'' by

(2015–2019) * by

(story) and

Tsubasa Yamaguchi is a Japanese manga artist. After she graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, she created two one-shots before launching her first full series, a manga adaptation of ''She and Her Cat''. Following its completion, she launched '' Blue Perio ...

(art) (2016) * by Ao Akato (2016) * by Yu Yoshidamaru (2016–2019) * by Kaori Ozaki (2017–2019) * by Shimoku Kio (2018–2022) * by

(2018–2020) * by

(original work) and Wataru Kubota (2019–2020) * by Uhei Aoki (story) and Kumichi Yoshizuki (art) (2019–2021) * by

Yukito Ayatsuji , who writes under his pen name , is a Japanese writer of mystery and horror. He is one of the founders of Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan and one of the representative writers of the new traditionalist movement in Japanese mystery writing ...

(story) and Hiro Kiyohara (art) (2019–2022)

2020s

* by Mikumi Yuuchi (2020–2021) * by Kaze Miura (2020–2021) * by Michi Ichiho (story) and Nori Arashiyama (art) (2021) * by Fiok Lee (2021–2022) * by

Yasuhiro Yoshiura (born 1980) is a Japanese writer and director of animated short films. Many of his works such as '' Pale Cocoon'' and '' Time of Eve'' have garnered awards and featured at film festivals. His production studio is called Studio Rikka. Biography ...

(original story) and Megumu Maeda (art) (2021–2022)

References

External links

* * {{Kodansha manga magazines 1986 establishments in Japan Kodansha magazines Magazines established in 1986 Magazines published in Tokyo Monthly manga magazines published in Japan Seinen manga magazines