Initial Talk About Shojo Beat’s End

With yesterday's news that Viz will cancel it's high-profile newsstand publication Shojo Beat, there is bound to be additional news notes, obituaries and perhaps even analysis of why that publication did not prove popular enough for Viz to keep it going. Here's what I saw out there this morning, or had e-mailed to me by some of you.

* ICv2.com's initial story notes that sales were never at Shonen Jump levels.

* there's a chance there could eventually be some out-loud rumination from North American industry types and observers in the comments thread at The Beat, although thus far there's a single note of regret from Dave Roman and a couple of posts I don't quite understand.

* Lori Henderson notes the magazine's place in her overall manga reading odyssey.

* Anime News Network has the best contextual information, noting an issue #0 I didn't remember, that the final issue will be the 49th, and the initial serial line-up.

* that site's regular readers and message board posters sound off. Some note the role it played in showing them certain titles or appearing in certain, unexpected places; most admit that this can't be a good sign no matter how successful any of the spin-off lines have become.

* in a link that was e-mailed to me, Alex Hoffman suggests that because manga's overall success is based around the notion that this material is sold to female readers, this could be a key and vital loss.

* via another such link, Katherine Dacey says that she'll miss the magazine, mentions the serials it brought to her attention, and ponders its role as a teen magazine generally.
 
posted 8:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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