Weekly Shonen Jump

Weekly
Shonen Jump, with a circulation of over 3 million, is one of the
longest-running, weekly manga compilations in Japan. The magazine is circulated
in a monthly version in the United States.
The magazine in Japan has produced some of the most popular manga titles around,
including Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball, YuYu Hakusho, DNA2, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Death
Note, Rurouni Kenshin, Naruto, Slam Dunk, Shaman King, Kinnikuman (better known as
Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E. in the U.S. or North America, Northern Europe, Oceania,
and some regions), Hikaru no Go, Hunter x Hunter, The Prince of Tennis and many
others.
Weekly Shonen Jump is targeted towards the young, male demographic ("Shonen"
means young boy or man). It features manga with lots of action and adventure,
often featuring young, male protagonists with special powers and/or abilities.
Weekly Shonen Jump was launched by Shueisha in 1968, to compete with the
already-successful Shonen Magazine and Shonen Sunday. At its highest point,
Weekly Shonen Jump had a regular circulation of over 6 million. Weekly Shonen
Jump manga titles have also been translated and redistributed in South Korea,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and also in Germany as the compilation magazine
BANZAI!.
In 2002, Shueisha announced a partnership with Viz, a purveyor of anime and
manga in the United States to distribute a monthly version of Shonen Jump in
that country. In its first issue (January 2003), it sold almost 300,000 copies,
making it the top-selling comic book of any kind in the U.S. for that time
period. The titles featured in the American version include Dragon Ball Z (The
second part of Dragon Ball, named Dragon Ball Z to eliminate confusion for the
American audience), Yu-Gi-Oh, YuYu Hakusho, One Piece, Naruto, Shaman King and
Sandland. Starting in January 2004, Shonen Jump replaced Sandland with Hikaru no
Go in their line-up.
Shonen Jump also runs a line of graphic novels, including those that have run in
the American Shonen Jump, but also other titles that ran in the Japanese Shonen
Jump but not the American version, like Rurouni Kenshin, Knights of the Zodiac
(Saint Seiya), Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E., Whistle!, The Prince of Tennis, and Death
Note.