An e-mail today from a concerned subscriber to Viz Media’s Shojo Beat magazine alerted me that there may be a looming cancellation in the future for Viz’s shojo compilation magazine. (Thanks again for the heads up, Mary.)
Currently Viz is no longer taking subscriptions for Shojo Beat through their website and their telephone subscription service is letting consumers know that this is in fact true, and that readers should keep their eye on the website for updates in the near future.
Over on the AnimeNewsNetwork forum, word has already hit some worried readers, prompting the post of this periodical website, Alini Magazine Services, which states that “Shojo Beat is ceasing publication with the July 2009 issue–subscribers will receive Shonen Jump.”
As in fairly common in magazine shutdowns, it looks like Viz is opting to offer Shojo Beat subscribers copies of Shonen Jump in its place. As nothing has been officially announced yet, it remains to be seen if this will a definite solution or an option between that and refunds should Shojo Beat be infact coming to its final days. With such a varying difference in subject matter between the two magazines, I find the idea of giving Shojo Beat readers Shonen Jump to be a bit of a stretch.
Looking into it a little further, I also saw that several online retail sites list Shojo Beat’s August release as the last one while Shonen Jump continues on for several more issues in pre-order status.
No official word from Viz Media on this yet, but now with word spreading and company representatives no longer accepting new or renewed subscriptions, expect to hear something concrete in the near future.
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[…] up on the overnight news this morning, I stumbled across the sad item that Shojo Beat looks to be ending with the July issue. I’ve had a subscription since it started, and I cannot say how absolutely devastated I am at […]
[…] and the company that publishes it said the publication is ending in July. Currently, you can get issues of Shonen Jump to replace ant remaining months for your Shojo Beat […]
This is a bad move IMO by Viz. the Shojo Beat mag has caused me to buy more series that i usually would have. Mostly titles i wouldn't usually buy, but I've read in the mag and went on to buy.
Wounder what the motivation for canceling it is, since from what I've seen it sells really well on both sides of the ocean.
Even worse, offering a Shonen Jump in it's place lol that's stupid. The two are totally different mags aimed at two totally different audiences.
That said i wonder if they're going to merge the two into a single larger magazine, much like Yen Plus is. I know they considered doing that before
[…] saw this at Kuriousity this morning but wanted to hold off on posting until I could check it out. […]
[…] follow-up to my post yesterday regarding the speculated end of Viz Media’s Shojo Beat anthology, today […]
[…] rumors started yesterday, but David Welsh of Comics Reporter confirmed it today with Viz’s Evelyn […]
bring back shojo beat!! (hope that's even possible) sign the petition
http://www.gopetition.com/online/29281.html
Oh my gosh, I am so mad that they ended the magazine! It's probably the ONLY shojo magazine in the U.S., and has all the best shojo series! And then they try to replace it with Shonen Jump? Seriously?! I am not a fan of shonen manga. But I love shojo manga that gets delivered to my house every month- but I guess that's not gonna happen anymore. Don't you think it's horrible? That was my favorite magazine. Sorry for all the complaining, I just want it back.
Kayla ^-^
While Shojo Beat magazine may have been discontinued, that doesn’t mean that something else cannot fill the hole it left. Currently there is no English magazine that focuses directly on shojo manga.. We are attempting to start a magazine project, named ShojoBerry, to do just that, primarily due to the demise of Shojo Beat..
It will be several months before we have anything ready, but if you’re interested, it might be worth checking out! You can find us at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ShojoBerry/11539330… (facebook page)
or at:
http://shojoberry.com (under construction)
Hope to see you there!
-Garrett
[…] announcements too long to list. A few of the top entries posted here on Kuriousity in 2009 include Farewell to Viz’s Shojo Beat, Tokyopop Webinar: Part One, YaoiCon 2009 – Digital Manga, There Are Some of My Favourite […]