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Shojo Beat

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Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat Volume 1, Issue 1, cover dated July 2005
Former editorsYumi Hoashi[1]
Marc Weidenbaum
Categoriesmanga, shōjo
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation38,000 (2007)
PublisherHyoe Narita
First issueJuly 2005
Final issue
Number		July 2009
Volume 5, Issue 7
CompanyViz Media
Country USA,  Canada
Based inSan Francisco, California
LanguageEnglish
Websitehttp://shojobeat.com/
ISSN1932-1600

Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine for Shonen Jump, the magazine features serialized chapters from six manga series as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty. Since its initial launch, the magazine has undergone two redesigns, becoming the first English anthology to use the two-color tone pages common in Japanese manga anthologies. Viz launched related "Shojo Beat" imprints in its manga, light novel, and anime divisions to coordinate with the magazine's contents.

Targeted at women ages 16–18, the first issue of Shojo Beat launched with a circulation of 20,000 copies. By 2007, average circulation was approximately 38,000 copies. Half of its circulation comes from subscriptions rather than store sales. In May 2009, the magazine was discontinued, with the July 2009 issue being its last, though Viz will continue to use the various "Shojo Beat" manga, anime, and light novel imprints for its shōjo titles.

History

In February 2005, Viz Media announced the creation of a new manga anthology, Shojo Beat. Marketed as a sister publication of Viz's existing Shonen Jump, the magazine started with six manga titles: Crimson Hero, Kaze Hikaru, Baby & Me, Godchild, NANA, and Absolute Boyfriend.[2][3] Of the six titles, two each came from Japanese publishers Shueisha, Shogakukan, and Hakusensha. The first issue was released in June 2005, featuring Nana Komatsu of NANA on its July-dated cover. Yumi Hoashi was the publication's original editor-in-chief. In November 2006, Hoashi left Viz and Marc Weidenbaum replaced him as the magazine's editor-in-chief.[1][4] Weidenbaum remained the magazine's editor until February 13, 2009, when Viz announced that he had left the company; the magazine's new editor-in-chief was not been named and as of the May 2009 issue, Shojo Beat still lists his name as its editor-in-chief.[5][6]

The magazine's panda mascot, Moko, was first introduced in the October 2005 issue,[7] though he remained nameless until the July 2006 issue.[8] He later was given his own MySpace account run by Viz.[9] With the magazine's first anniversary issue, dated July 2006, Shojo Beat switched to using cyan and magenta ink tones for the manga pages. Though this mirrors the format of Japanese manga anthologies, it was a first for manga anthologies published in North America.[10]

Shojo Beat launched another redesign with the January 2007 issue. The new design included more vivid color schemes and fonts and a new "Girl Hero" column to spotlight women Viz felt were charitable and selfless to inspire the readers. The existing columns were also expanded. The issue introduced a new mascot for the magazine, Beat Girl, who was included in each issue on the "Editor's Letter" page as the magazine's "illustrated spokesperson," drawn by different artists each time.[11][12] In the March 2008 issue, a third mascot, a star named Hoshiko, was introduced as a friend for Moko.[13]

In May 2009, the magazine stopped accepting new subscriptions and will cease publication with the release of the July 2009 issue.[14] In a press release, Viz stated the "difficult economic climate" was behind the magazine's cancellation. Subscribers will reportedly receive a copy of the August 2009 issue of Shonen Jump, with options to transfer their subscription or request a refund for the remaining portion.[15]

Features

As a manga anthology, the bulk of Shojo Beat's content was its manga chapters. Additional features included a letter from the editor, manga related news, a preview chapter from another Viz manga title being published under their "Shojo Beat" label, and articles on Japanese culture, current trends in Japan, and fashion and beauty. The end of the magazine has fan related sections, including fan art, letters from readers, manga drawing lessons, and cosplay how-to guides and highlights.[3][16] The magazine's official website included additional articles, downloads of templates for dressing up the magazine's panda mascot "Moko", and online previews of many of the manga series being published under the "Shojo Beat" label.[17]

Series

Shojo Beat contained chapters from six different manga series.[3][18] During its run, the magazine featured fourteen series total, with seven ending their runs to be replaced with other series. Only four of those remained in the magazine until all of their chapters had been published. Each title serialized in the magazine were also published in tankōbon volumes under Viz's "Shojo Beat" label. Viz noted that they periodically removed series from the magazine that have not been completed yet to help "keep the magazine fresh" and to allow them to speed up publication of the individual volumes.[19]

This is a complete list of all titles that were serialized in Shojo Beat. It does not include single chapter previews of titles. The titles that were running in the magazine when it was discontinued are highlighted.

Title Author First Issue Last Issue Completed?
Absolute Boyfriend Yuu Watase July 2005 March 2008 Yes
Baby and Me Marimo Ragawa July 2005 September 2007 No
Backstage Prince Kanoko Sakurakoji October 2006 March 2007 Yes
Crimson Hero Mitsuba Takanashi July 2005 July 2009 No
Gaba Kawa Rie Takada April 2008 August 2008 Yes
Godchild Kaori Yuki July 2005 June 2006 No
Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ Tohko Mizuno October 2007[20] July 2009 No
Honey and Clover Chika Umino September 2007 July 2009 No
Honey Hunt Miki Aihara September 2008 July 2009 No
Kaze Hikaru Taeko Watanabe July 2005 September 2006 No
Nana Ai Yazawa July 2005 August 2007 No
Sand Chronicles Hinako Ashihara August 2007 July 2009 No
Vampire Knight Matsuri Hino July 2006 July 2009 No
Yume-Kira: Dream Shoppe Aqua Mizuto April 2007 July 2007 Yes

Imprints

With the launch of the Shojo Beat magazine, Viz Media also created new imprints for its manga and fiction lines, with the "Shojo Beat" label including both series featured in the magazine and other shōjo manga titles licensed by Viz since the magazine's conception. Published under the "Shojo Beat Fiction" imprint, Viz began releasing a few Japanese light novels that relate to its "Shojo Beat" manga titles.[21][22] In February 2006, Viz launched the "Shojo Beat Home Video" line to release anime titles targeted towards the female audience. The first title under the new imprint was Full Moon o Sagashite, the anime adaptation of the same titled manga already being released by Viz Media. To promote the new anime line, Viz included a preview disc of the first volume of Full Moon in the June 2006 issue of Shojo Beat.[23] Though the magazine itself has been canceled, Viz stated that they would continue releasing existing and new series under the "Shojo Beat" manga and anime imprints.[15]

Circulation and audience

When Shojo Beat launched, it had a circulation of 20,000.[3] In 2006, its average circulation had increased to 35,000, with 41% of copies distributed through subscriptions, and the rest sold in newsstands and stores.[24][25] In 2007, the circulation grew to 38,000, with subscription distribution growing to 51% of copies.[26]

The magazine's audience was overwhelmingly female, comprising 91% of its readers. Targeted towards "young women", over half of the Shojo Beat audience was between the ages of 13 and 19, and over 84% of readers were at least 16 years old.[26]

Reception

In reviewing the premiere release of Shojo Beat, IGN's Jessica Chabot sharply criticized the magazine. She felt it looked and read "like a teenie-bopper magazine" and referred to the issue's cover as a "bright, hot-pink, migraine-inducing, bubble-lettered spectacle". She considered the contents boring, and disagreed with Viz's selection of series, noting, "It's as if Viz had taken everything from their backed-up reject pile and tried to pull one over on the female populace. 90% of what I was reading was either poorly drawn or poorly written (more often than not, it was both)."[27] Comic World News' David Welsh disagreed, as he felt that the magazine had several good series, and he praised Nana, Absolute Boyfriend and Crimson Hero as the top three series of the initial issue.[28] Greg McElhatton, co-founder of Wizard: The Guide to Comics and former reviewer for iComics.com, praised the magazine's mainstream appearance, calling it a "smart" decision, as it would draw in its target audience by visually showing them that it's a magazine for teenage girls. While he felt two of the manga titles in the premiere issue had weak openings, he found that the magazine was "off to a good, if not great start".[29]

After its cancellation, Publishers Weekly's Heidi MacDonald reported that the common response that they saw among fans was that "everyone liked it but nobody paid for it", due to many fans expressing sorrow over the magazine's demise, but also noting they were not subscribers to it.[30] Katherine Dacey, the former Senior Manga Editor for PopCultureShock, remarked that the magazine had offered "just the right mixture of new stories, continuing series, and articles" and praised it for having a "funky, DIY vibe".[31]

References

  1. ^ a b "Viz Names New Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat Editor-in-Chief". Anime News Network. 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  2. ^ "Shojo Beat Details". Anime News Network. 2005-02-08. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  3. ^ a b c d "Viz Media Happy Birthday Shojo Beat Magazine". Anime News Network. 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  4. ^ "Marc Weidenbaum Named V.P. Magazines". ICv2 News. 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  5. ^ "VP/Shonen Jump EIC Weidenbaum Leaves Viz (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  6. ^ "The Beat". Shojo Beat. 5 (5): p. 6. 2009. ISSN 1932-1600. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Contest: Panda Prêt-à-Porter". Shojo Beat. 1 (4): p. 268. 2005. ISSN 1932-1600. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Editor's Letter". Shojo Beat. 2 (7): p. 006. 2006. ISSN 1932-1600. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Moko World". Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  10. ^ "First Anniversary Issue of Shojo Beat". Anime News Network. 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  11. ^ "Viz Media Announces New Look and Expanded Coverage for Shojo Beat". Anime News Network. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  12. ^ "Editor's Letter: Art, Girl". Shojo Beat. 4 (3): p. 006. 2008. ISSN 1932-1600. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Editor's Letter: Art, Girl". Shojo Beat. 4 (3): p. 319. 2008. ISSN 1932-1600. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  14. ^ "Shojo Beat Magazine No Longer Accepting Subscriptions". 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-19. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher-Anime News Network" ignored (help)
  15. ^ a b "Viz Confirms Shojo Beat Manga Magazine's End in June (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  16. ^ "In the Magazine". Shojo Beat Online. Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  17. ^ "Downloads". Shojo Beat Online. Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  18. ^ "Shojo Beat-Expanded content for January 2006". Anime News Network. 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  19. ^ "Godchild Not Returning to Shojo Beat". Anime News Network. 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  20. ^ "Manga From the Magazine". Shojo Beat Online. Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  21. ^ "Viz to Publish Novels". Anime News Network. 2005-06-04. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  22. ^ "Viz Launches New Fiction Imprints". ICv2 News. 2005-06-06. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  23. ^ "Viz Launches Shojo Beat Home Video Line". ICv2 News. 2006-02-20. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  24. ^ "Shojo Beat Marks Second Year". PW Comics Week. Publishers Weekly. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  25. ^ "Shojo Beat Media Kit (January 2007)" (pdf) (Press release). Viz Media. 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  26. ^ a b "Shojo Beat Media Kit (January 2008)" (pdf) (Press release). Viz Media. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  27. ^ Chabot, Jessica (2005-07-05). "Shojo Beat: The Verdict". IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  28. ^ Welsh, David (2008-02-14). "Title Pun Shortage Strikes Manga Columnist". Comic World News. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  29. ^ McElhatton, Greg (2005-06-15). "Shojo Beat Vol. 1, Issue 1". Read About Comics. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  30. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2009-05-20). "Shojo Beat cancellation reax". Publishers Weekly: The Beat. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  31. ^ Dacey, Katherine. "R.I.P. Shojo Beat". The Manga Critic.
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