The Japanese National PTA Conference has named Shogakukan's Sho-Comi (Shoujo Comic) the number one manga magazine that should not be read by children. The result was obtained through a questionnaire in November 2006 from parents of 5th and 8th grade students.

Sho-Comi came in first as the worst magazine for children, while Ciao (Shogakukan) ranked 2nd, and Nakayoshi (Kodansha) took the 3rd spot. As for the reason why the magazine should not be read by children, 60% said that these magazines contain excessive sexual content.

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The people behind the free anime newspaper Janime have started a new publication called POPJNEO, while the podcast Anime Today reports that Otaku USA issue 1 is in the process of hitting the presses.

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VIZ Media celebrates the second anniversary of SHOJO BEAT Magazine with a special summer issues and gala party. Special Issue to Feature Rare Excerpt from Osamu Tezuka Shojo Classic PRINCESS KNIGHT

San Francisco, CA, May 14, 2007 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will mark the two year anniversary of SHOJO BEAT™ magazine with a special July 2007 issue containing an exclusive 23-page excerpt from manga titan Osamu Tezuka's groundbreaking series, PRINCESS KNIGHT!

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Japanese manga anthologies are one of the foundations of Japan's manga culture. Most popular series are first serialized in manga anthologies before being released in the tankoubon format. Despite the success manga is enjoying around the world, recent reports indicate that Japan's domestic manga market have gone into a decline. As a result, manga publishers are finding it difficult to make a profit from manga anthologies. Last month, Weekly Shonen Magazine's circulation dropped under 2,000,000. The suspension of Shueisha's Monthly Shonen Jump could also in part be attributed to declining sales.

Despite the difficulties many magazines are facing nowadays, Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump experienced a slight boost in sales in recent months. Last December, for the first time in 11 years, Shonen Jump's circulation increased from 2.75 million to 2.78 million. However, when compared with sales from 10 years ago, this number is hardly encouraging. To understand Shonen Jump's current situation, one needs to look at the magazine's historic circulation.

Below is a look at Shonen Jump's historic circulation, as well as an updated list of the Shonen Jump manga circulation numbers (updated from the 2006 version).

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According to its official website, Ichijinsha will be releasing the first issue of a new game and anime bishojo manga magazine titled Chara☆Mel on June 25th.

Alchemist has opened the official website of Shounen Alchemist, a free online magazine that serialized light novels. The first light novel made available on the site is Chiko Chiko BANG! ~Kimagure Dai-ni Shikkoubu~ (ちこちこBANG！～気まぐれ第二執行部～) by Shin Takase. Currently the prologue and the first 2 chapters are available to the public:

- Prologue
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two

Gentosha has re-launched its online manga magazine Genzo in the CD-ROM format. Genzo will be distributed by Gentosha through CD-ROM every month, free trial of the magazine will also be available on Genzo's website.

The June issue of Monthly Shonen Jump came with another letter from its Editorial Department regarding the suspension of Monthly Jump. The letter also contains more information on the future of the magazine's serializations:

Gag Manga Biyori, Rosario + Vampire and Tegami Bachi are all going to be moved to Weekly Shonen Jump. After the launch of the new magazine, these works will be serialized in the new magazine.

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According to Chuosha, Shonen Gahosha's manga magazine Young King Ours+ will cease publication after June's issue (which was released on 4/18).

Mediation will be launching a new manga magazine on May 12th. The new magazine, titled Hug, is a BL manga magazine aimed at the adult Otome (maiden).