Forum - View topicNEWS: Viz Confirms Shojo Beat Manga Magazine's End in June
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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This is very upsetting. Not only did I personally enjoy the magazine when I got my hands on it (The spoiler-ry editor's comments in the chapters, the articles, the previews, the very accessible one-chapter-a month format that got me reading and trying out manga I probably wouldn't have, and especially the introduction to NANA and Sand Chronicles, heck, I even liked the ads!)
I felt the mag filled a gap in the female demographic by promoting manga and anime for teenaged girls and young women. It was a fun girls club, and it made me feel like I had the experience of reading manga just like women do in Japan-in magazines like Besstsu Magaret, LaLa, and Ribon. Best wishes to the staff, and Kudos for giving us the feeling of a girls' club when all the most popular stuff in the US is aimed at boys {I blame marketing and CN!  }. I was always impressed when they included an article that mention Shojo anime and manga not published by Viz, especially the excellent "History of Shojo" article with the Osamu Tezuka manga preview.
ANN, I suggest you mark the sendoff with a Chicks On Anime Shojo Beat Edition. I'd love to see an interview with one or more editors and translators on the Shojo Beat team, and see where the brand is going, most importantly, if they'll keep the community alive somehow (publishing fanart in the back of their tankobons like Tokyopop does in Fruits Basket would be a nice, concrete way of doing that). Does anyone know if they'll finally release Yu Watase's "How to Draw Shojo Manga" serial in a collection? Finally, will Moko the Panda and Beat Girl live on? 
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game
 Posts: 47 |
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it sad to see Shojo beat to go but face it shonen will always be more popular
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I'm wondering what's going to happen to the Shojo Beat staff. Will Viz provide them with something? But I think we might be seeing some cuts as well.
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Hellfish
Posts: 391 Location: Mexico |
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This comes quite sudden to me, I really liked the magazine and bought it each and every month (I couldn't suscribe as I live in Mexico) I also liked the magazine even with it's deffects, and yes I even liked the adds, it saddens me as I probably wouldn't have given a try as titles as Sand Chronicles if it wasn't for Shojo Beat (and to other awful titles as the adaptation of Kamikaze Girls...). I didn't agree with all the titles selection but I felt it was worth the paper it was printed on.
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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They don't exactly take up that much space, plus it's in the magazine rack. Plus if they are cutting the magazine than Viz might also end up cutting back on their manga as well. Especially since they are losing one of the best ways they had to promote new titles, since they were run previews in the magazine of new series that were just coming out. There are definitely a number of series I may not have bought if I hadn't first read them in Shojo Beat. It was a very effective marketing tool. |
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poonk
 Posts: 1490 Location: In the Library with Philip |
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I sort of accidentally got the first 9 or so issues of Shojo Beat when it first came out-- I worked at a B&N and the guy in charge of magazines would save me a stripped copy (i.e. cover removed & returned for credit and the rest thrown away, which is sadly what happens to all unsold mags & mass markets, btw) every month. Of all the titles serialized in that first year, the only one that I found compelling was Baby & Me, of all things, because the interaction between the boy and his little brother was so dang cute (very strange though, because never in a million years would I predict that such a series would've appealed to me). One title wasn't enough for me to justify a subscription-- but I probably wasn't Shojo Beat's target audience anyway (which I would guestimate to be 12-16 year old girls, based on the articles/ads). Still, even though it generally wasn't my cup of tea, it's quite sad to see yet another print magazine fold. I for one would've been really unhappy with getting SJ as a substitute (just like I would have been if I had gotten PiQ, targeted at 20-something men, for my NewTypeUSA subscription-- why does this seem like the new trend? You as a reader subscribed to X magazine and not Y magazine for a reason, y'know?).
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Jettneko
Posts: 4 |
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Whaaaaaaaat?!?  NOooooooooo!!!!!
I was actually reducing the amount of manga I buy (because it's so hard on my wallet) and was planning on relying on ShojoBeat magazine to get my monthly dose of manga. I have a 2-year subscription already for crying out loud! I even bought gift subscriptions! 
Viz didn't give any indication of this in the May issue. How could they just drop this bomb without telling their readers first and let us voice our opinion? I think if asked the subscribers would even be willing to go with a "online only" magazine, which I'm sure is cheaper. I thought the magazine was doing well, but I guess it just goes to show that American girls would rather spend their money on makeup and clothes and junk like that than entertainment purchases like manga. I wish this were more like Japan where there are more shojo and josei manga lovers. I've heard that buying these magazines there is just as important as all that other $#!& that girls here seem to be unable to do without. But when I go to cons it's obvious there aren't enough of us shojo loving fans; too many girls here seem only into yaoi/yuri and not interested in pure love romance at all. I want my ShojoBeat magazine! I don't hate shonen but the only ones I really like are Naruto, Bleach, and Kekkaishi! If Shonen Jump doesn't have all three of those, I'm getting a refund. This really isn't fair 
Last edited by Jettneko on Wed May 20, 2009 4:15 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Maybe there should be a limit on how many animated GIFs you can post at once.
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Jettneko
Posts: 4 |
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 How Rude!
Be nice. It's how I express myself.  But to be fair I'll take out a few.
Last edited by Jettneko on Wed May 20, 2009 12:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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SongstressCela
 Posts: 615 Location: Pennsylvania |
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Wow, that's some pretty lame news. =\ I can't say it's surprising, since as much of a fan of pretty much their entire run as I am, I much prefer to stick with only graphic novels. Still, it's disappointing to hear. I hope this means less financial issues in the future though.
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rinmackie
 Posts: 1040 Location: in a van! down by the river! |
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This is really disappointing. And I can't understand how Shonen Jump can be doing better since I was under the impression most manga readers were girls. (Yeah, I know some girls like shonen but I wouldn't think they'd be in the majority of the readership.) Plus. weren't they going to launch a magazine for adult women? As a married, adult woman it really ticks me off that people assume I'm buying this for my children (especially since I don't have any, yet). Just today, I got a Barnes and Noble coupon with an ad for a manga and several other children's books.
Seriously, they need to start targeting the adult demographic. I mean, how else is the market supposed to grow? |
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ninjapet
 Posts: 1517 |
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Sad to see a manga mag go bye bye, but the onlything worth buying it for me for Vampire Knight (I'm not a fan of the series, but I do read it, when it's at my library)
At least people will be able to buy the volumes still. I'm not a fan of the mag, I rather buy Yen Press's if I can buy it from as it has Soul Eater in it. Plus other things that are in my mind better then what SJ has in it. (Onlythings in SJ worth buying are Bleach and Leader Bee) It's just a failed consept, yes girls manga, it's good and all. They could have put more titles people know in it, like Ouran high school host club instead of things most people haven't heard of |
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Jettneko
Posts: 4 |
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We haven't received them yet, but I'm not looking forward to getting it...exactly, poonk, it's like getting Esquire, GQ or Maxim, when you've subscribed to Modern Bride, Seventeen, or Cosmo.
I too bought or read manga that I would have never read or bought because I didn't like the manga-ka's previous/other work or because the cover or description didn't intrigue me.
agent355, I completely agree with all you said. In fact, you said a lot of the things I was thinking. ANN, I think that agent355's idea about the sendoff is fantastic. Please consider doing it, pretty please? |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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I see what you did there. I'm going to leave it at that. |
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Sailor S
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Man, this is very disappointing. Even though I'm a guy, I don't care for many shonen manga, and I especially don't care about Shonen Jump. First I had to deal with my Animerica subscription being rolled into Shojo Beat (which I didn't mind once I read the first issue) and now I have to put up with losing Shojo Beat and having to get this subscription rolled into Shonen Jump? Had I wanted Jump, I'd have subscribed to it back when it started, what, 6 years ago? This is much like having my Newtype USA subscription rolled into that awful PiQ. I don't think I have many issues remaining on my subscription, so I'll probably just ride this out, but I'll never renew my subscription that's for sure.
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