Nakayoshi
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation
  • 22,000[1]
  • (October – December 2025)
CategoryShōjo manga[2][3]
CompanyKodansha
BasedTokyo
FirstdateDecember 1954 (age 71)
CountryJapan
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 70 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.[4] Its circulation peaked at 2,100,000 in 1993.[5] In 2007, its circulation was 400,000.[6] 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.[7] Nakayoshi is also published on the 3rd of each month.

Serializations

Current

Past

1954–1979

1980–1989

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2019

2020–

Circulation

Year / PeriodMonthly circulationMagazine sales
19781,600,000[11]19,200,000[11]
19791,800,000[12]21,600,000[12]
19801,700,000[13]20,400,000[13]
19811,400,000[14]16,800,000[14]
19821,200,000[15]14,400,000[15]
19831,200,000[15]14,400,000[15]
19841,250,000[16]15,000,000[16]
19851,250,000[17]15,000,000[17]
19861,250,000[18]15,000,000[18]
19871,250,000[19]15,000,000[19]
19881,350,000[20]16,200,000[20]
19891,350,000[21]16,200,000[21]
19901,200,000[22]14,400,000[22]
19911,200,000[23]14,400,000[23]
19921,400,000[24]16,800,000[24]
January 1993 to March 19931,750,000[25]5,250,000[25]
April 1993 to March 19942,100,000[5]25,200,000[5]
April 1994 to December 19941,750,000[25]15,750,000[25]
19951,500,000[25]18,000,000[25]
19961,100,000[25]13,200,000[25]
1997780,000[25]9,360,000[25]
1998530,000[25]6,360,000[25]
1999500,000[25]6,000,000[25]
2000500,000[25]6,000,000[25]
2001520,000[25]6,240,000[25]
2002550,000[25]6,600,000[25]
2003490,000[25]5,880,000[25]
2004500,000[25]6,000,000[25]
2005460,000[25]5,520,000[25]
2006418,500[26]5,022,000[26]
2007400,000[6]4,800,000[6]
January 2008 to September 2008343,750[27]3,093,750[27]
October 2008 to September 2009306,667[27]3,680,004[27]
October 2009 to September 2010252,084[27]3,025,008[27]
October 2010 to December 2010250,000[28]750,000[28]
January 2011 to September 2011198,910[27]1,790,190[27]
October 2011 to September 2012170,834[27]2,050,008[27]
October 2012 to September 2013152,667[27]1,832,004[27]
October 2013 to September 2014137,500[27]1,650,000[27]
October 2014 to September 2015124,542[29]1,494,504[29]
October 2015 to September 2016104,083[30]2,180,004[30]
October 2016 to September 201796,608[31]2,075,004[30]
October 2017 to March 201889,125[32]534,750[32]
1978 to March 2018414,137,226

International versions

An Indonesian language version, Nakayoshi: Gress!, was published monthly by Elex Media Komputindo in Indonesia. The series has been canceled effectively in January 2017.

Video games

There have been multiple video games based on various manga series running in Nakayoshi, in addition to games based on individual titles themselves:

References

  1. ^ "ja:なかよし (第71回: 2025年10月～2025年12月)" (in Japanese). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. Archived May 16, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  2. ^ Jason Thompson (2007). Manga: The Complete Guide. Del Rey Books. pp. xxiii-xxiv. ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8.
  3. ^ "Girl's Manga" (in Japanese). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. September 2016. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. ^ Schodt, Frederik (1996). Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-880656-23-5.
  5. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1994年版』
  6. ^ Japan Magazine Publishers Association Magazine Data 2007 Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ Schodt, Frederik (1996). Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-1-880656-23-5.
  8. ^ Mateo, Alex (9 June 2023). "Tadashi Agi's Gifted Manga Gets Live-Action Show". Anime News Network. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  9. ^ "ja:不死鳥系アイドル・加護ちゃんの半生をマンガで振りかえるのだぴょん!!【B級ニュース】" (in Japanese). Kono Manga ga Sugoi!. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  10. ^ "ja:麻雀×女子高生のゆるっとかわいい日常、アニメ「ぽんのみち」コミカライズ新連載" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  11. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1979年版』
  12. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1980年版』
  13. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1981年版』
  14. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1982年版』
  15. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1983年版』
  16. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1984年版』
  17. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1985年版』
  18. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1986年版』
  19. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1987年版』
  20. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1988年版』
  21. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1989年版』
  22. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1990年版』
  23. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1991年版』
  24. ^ 『雑誌新聞総かたろぐ 1993年版』
  25. ^ "コミック誌の部数水準". Yahoo! Japan. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  26. ^ "Manga Anthology Circulations 2004-2006". ComiPress. 12 December 2007.
  27. ^ 日本雑誌協会 JMPAマガジンデータによる1号当たり平均部数
  28. ^ 出版指標年報2011より
  29. ^ "JMPAマガジンデータ: 女性 コミック". Japan Magazine Publishing Association. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  30. ^ "JMPAマガジンデータ: 女性 コミック". Japan Magazine Publishing Association. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  31. ^ "JMPAマガジンデータ: 女性 コミック". Japan Magazine Publishing Association. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  32. ^ "印刷部数公表". Japan Magazine Publishing Association. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  33. ^ "DSで歴代なかよし人気キャラとなかよしに！" [Become friendly with popular characters from the history of Nakayoshi on the DS!] (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2026-03-23.