Shueisha
Shueisha is a major Japanese publisher whose manga, magazines, novels, and digital platforms have produced globally recognized entertainment properties.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and one of the country's most influential publishers of manga, magazines, books, and related intellectual property. It was established in 1925 as an entertainment-oriented publishing division of Shogakukan, which had been founded three years earlier. Shueisha became an independent company in 1926, but it has continued to operate within the closely connected Hitotsubashi publishing group alongside Shogakukan and related businesses. The company's early activity covered children's books, novels, humor collections, educational material, and general-interest publications. After the Second World War, Shueisha expanded decisively into manga and youth publishing. Its children's publication Omoshiro Book helped establish a long-running editorial relationship with younger readers, while later magazines such as Shōjo Book, Ribon, Margaret, and their associated editions developed important audiences among girls and young women. Shueisha also built a substantial portfolio of literary, fashion, lifestyle, men's-interest, and general magazines, including Cobalt, Weekly Playboy, Non-no, Subaru, and other titles introduced across the postwar decades. The company's most internationally visible publishing system is the Jump franchise. Weekly Shōnen Jump, launched in the late 1960s after the earlier Shōnen Jump format, became a leading Japanese weekly manga anthology and a major source of serialized entertainment properties. The broader Jump family includes publications for shōnen and seinen audiences, including V Jump, Jump SQ, Weekly Young Jump, Grand Jump, Ultra Jump, and other specialist or successor titles. These magazines have served as launch platforms for manga that later received collected-book editions, animation, films, games, merchandise, and international licensing. Shueisha's business is therefore broader than periodical publishing. It produces tankōbon and other manga volumes, literary books, light novels, translated editions, digital manga, online services, and media-mix projects. Its light-novel imprints address several demographic segments and often support adaptations into manga, anime, games, and film. The company also operates digital publishing initiatives, including the Japanese online manga service Shōnen Jump+ and the international Manga Plus service, which distributes selected manga digitally to readers outside Japan. Shueisha's intellectual property portfolio includes major manga and entertainment franchises, although the company publishes works by many creators rather than functioning as a single-franchise company. Its Jump properties have been especially important to its international profile. In 2016, it created a dedicated Dragon Ball department to coordinate and expand activity around that franchise. In 2022, Shueisha announced the establishment of Shueisha Games, a wholly owned affiliated company intended to support game development and related projects. In 2024, it launched Jump Toon, a vertical-format digital manga service, extending the company further into mobile-first reading formats. Outside Japan, Shueisha works through licensing, translation, digital distribution, and affiliated or jointly owned businesses. Viz Media, owned jointly by Shueisha and Shogakukan, has been an important North American publisher and distributor of Japanese manga and related works. Shueisha's current positioning combines editorial expertise, serialized publishing, creator relationships, strong manga brands, and the ability to develop content across print, digital, audiovisual, game, and merchandise formats.
History
Shueisha originated in 1925 as the entertainment publishing division of Shogakukan. Its earliest output included children's books, novels, humor collections, picture books, and educational material. The relationship with Shogakukan provided an initial publishing base, but Shueisha became a separate independent company in 1926. During the prewar period it continued to develop general and children's publishing, including serialized and illustrated works. After the Second World War, Shueisha intensified its focus on popular entertainment and youth audiences. Omoshiro Book became an important postwar children's publication, and the company developed related formats and successor magazines. Shueisha subsequently added publications aimed at adolescent girls and boys, including Shōjo Book and Shōnen Book. The success of these magazines led to durable brands such as Ribon and, later, Margaret and Bessatsu Margaret. These titles helped establish Shueisha as a major force in Japanese girls' manga as well as children's publishing. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the company broadened its catalog. It published literary series, reference works, picture books, television-related books, light entertainment, and magazines addressing different demographic groups. Cobalt, Weekly Playboy, Seishun to Dokusho, Shōsetsu Junior, and other titles reflected the expansion of Japanese magazine culture during the period. Shueisha also developed manga book imprints, including collected editions associated with its magazine properties. The creation of Shōnen Jump in 1968, followed by its conversion into Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1969, marked a decisive turning point. The weekly anthology model created a regular pipeline for serialized manga and encouraged reader participation, competition, and rapid collection into book volumes. Over time, the Jump family expanded into additional demographic segments and formats, including V Jump, Jump SQ, Weekly Young Jump, Grand Jump, Ultra Jump, and digital publications. The model also supported the development of franchises that could move into animation, film, games, merchandise, and international publishing. Shueisha continued to diversify during the 1970s and afterward through fashion, lifestyle, literary, youth, and general-interest magazines. Non-no became one of its best-known lifestyle titles, while the company's fiction and light-novel imprints created additional routes for Japanese authors and for adaptations connected to manga and other media. The company also maintained a large catalog of kanzenban and remix publications, which repackage or continue selected manga series in specialized formats. The internet changed Shueisha's distribution and editorial strategy. Shōnen Jump+ created a digital platform for manga serialization and related content in Japan. In 2019, Manga Plus extended selected Shueisha manga to international readers through a global digital service. The company's international presence also benefited from licensing and its relationship with Viz Media, jointly owned with Shogakukan, which publishes Japanese manga and related works in North America. In the 2010s and 2020s, Shueisha increasingly treated its publishing catalog as a cross-media content ecosystem. The Dragon Ball Room, created in 2016, represented a dedicated approach to managing and expanding a major franchise. Shueisha Games, established as an affiliated company in 2022, reflected a further move into game-related activity. Jump Toon, launched in 2024, extended the Jump identity into vertical digital manga. Shueisha remains active as a publisher and rights holder, with manga, magazines, books, digital services, and adaptations forming the core of its business.
- 2024
Jump Toon launches
[1]Shueisha launches a vertical manga service designed for digital and mobile reading.
- 2022
Shueisha Games is established
[1]Shueisha announces a wholly owned affiliated company focused on game-related projects and developer support.
- 2019
Manga Plus launches internationally
[1]The company introduces a global digital manga service for readers outside Japan.
- 2016
Dragon Ball Room is created
[1]Shueisha forms a dedicated department for the management and expansion of Dragon Ball-related activity.
- 1969
Shōnen Jump becomes Weekly Shōnen Jump
[1]The magazine adopts a weekly format and the name Weekly Shōnen Jump, establishing a major serialized manga platform.
- 1968
Shōnen Jump is launched
[1]Shueisha introduces Shōnen Jump as a manga anthology that becomes the foundation of the Jump publishing family.
- 1963
Margaret begins publication
[1]Shueisha launches Margaret and its later associated editions, strengthening its position in girls' manga.
- 1955
Ribon begins publication
[1]Shueisha launches Ribon, which becomes a long-running girls' manga magazine.
- 1949
Omoshiro Book becomes a magazine
[1]The Omoshiro Book publishing line is reorganized as a magazine, reinforcing Shueisha's postwar youth-publishing activity.
- 1926
Shueisha becomes independent
[1]Shueisha separates from Shogakukan and operates as an independent publishing company.
Products and positioning
A large-scale Japanese content publisher centered on manga serialization and intellectual-property development, with a diversified magazine, book, digital, licensing, and media-adaptation portfolio.
Manga magazine · 1969
Weekly Shōnen Jump
Shueisha's flagship weekly shōnen manga anthology. It serializes manga for a young male readership and has historically served as a major launch platform for long-running Japanese entertainment franchises. Serialized works are commonly collected into book volumes and may later be adapted into animation, films, games, and merchandise.
Manga publishing portfolio · 1968
Jump magazine line
The Jump family spans multiple demographic and editorial formats, including Weekly Shōnen Jump, Jump SQ, V Jump, Weekly Young Jump, Grand Jump, Ultra Jump, and related print and digital publications. Together, these titles provide Shueisha with a broad serialization and franchise-development system.
Girls' manga magazine · 1955
Ribon
A long-running manga magazine aimed principally at girls and younger female readers. Ribon has supported serialized manga, collected editions, character properties, and related publishing lines within Shueisha's girls' manga business.
Girls' manga magazine · 1963
Margaret
A girls' manga magazine launched in the 1960s and supported by associated publications such as Bessatsu Margaret and other editions. Its catalog has included romance, school, drama, and other formats directed at adolescent and young female readers.
Digital manga platform
Shōnen Jump+
A Japanese online manga platform connected with the Jump editorial ecosystem. It provides a digital venue for serialized and original manga and complements Shueisha's print anthologies by supporting online-first publication and digital readership.
International digital manga platform · 2019
Manga Plus
Shueisha's global digital manga service, launched in English in 2019. It makes selected chapters and series available to readers outside Japan, with catalog and release conditions varying by territory. The service extends the company's direct international reach beyond conventional licensing.
Vertical digital manga platform · 2024
Jump Toon
A vertical-format manga service launched by Shueisha in 2024. It reflects the company's move toward smartphone-oriented presentation and digital-native manga consumption under the Jump brand.
Books and light novels
Light-novel imprints
Shueisha operates several light-novel and literary imprints serving different readerships and genres. The portfolio includes Cobalt Bunko, Chiffon Bunko, Dash X Bunko, Jump J-Books, Orange Bunko, and other lines. These imprints publish original fiction, novelizations, and spin-offs that can support manga, anime, film, and game adaptations.
Brand decisions
2024
Launch Jump ToonProduct launchBackground
Mobile reading and vertical-scroll formats were becoming increasingly important in digital manga consumption.
Action taken
Shueisha launched Jump Toon as a vertical manga service under the Jump identity.
Aftermath
The launch extended Shueisha's digital product range into a mobile-oriented format. Detailed performance information is not provided in the supplied sources.
2022
Establish Shueisha GamesStrategyBackground
Shueisha sought to participate more directly in game development and to connect its creator and intellectual-property resources with interactive entertainment.
Action taken
The company established Shueisha Games as a wholly owned affiliated subsidiary to support developers and work on game projects.
Aftermath
The initiative broadened Shueisha's media-mix activities beyond publishing. The supplied sources do not provide financial results.
2019
Launch Manga Plus as a global digital serviceProduct launchBackground
Digital distribution offered Shueisha a direct way to make selected manga available internationally and to support near-simultaneous readership.
Action taken
Shueisha launched the English-language Manga Plus service with selected current and catalog manga.
Aftermath
Manga Plus expanded Shueisha's international digital presence, while availability and catalog rules remained dependent on territory.
2016
Create a dedicated Dragon Ball departmentStrategyBackground
Dragon Ball had developed into a major cross-media property with extensive publishing, licensing, and adaptation activity.
Action taken
Shueisha established the Dragon Ball Room to focus specifically on coordination and expansion of the franchise.
Aftermath
The move gave the franchise a dedicated organizational structure within Shueisha. Specific financial effects are not established in the supplied sources.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
MANGA MILLION launches globally[2]
Reported:
MANGA MILLION launched as a time-limited service available globally, allowing readers to access manga through its official website without registering.
- Unconfirmed
Shueisha and Xiaoice Japan team announce strategic partnership[3]
Reported:
Shueisha and the Xiaoice Japan team announced a strategic partnership to bring characters from manga IP into real life.
- Unconfirmed
Roboko virtual character launches on LINE and other platforms[3]
Reported:
The jointly created manga character Roboko launched as an AI virtual human on LINE and other platforms in Japan.
Sources3 sources
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