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''Shojo Beat'' is a ''shōjo'' manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to ''Shonen Jump'', it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty. After its initial launch, ''Shojo Beat'' underwent two redesigns, becoming the first English anthology to use the cyan and magenta ink tones common to Japanese manga anthologies. Viz launched related "Shojo Beat" imprints in its manga, Japanese 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. By 2007, the average circulation was approximately 38,000 copies, with half coming from subscriptions rather than store sales. It was well received by critics, who praised its mix of manga series and the inclusion of articles on Japanese culture, though some critics found the early issues boring and poorly written. In May 2009, Viz announced that it was discontinuing the magazine; the July 2009 issue was the last released. Fans were disappointed at the sudden news. Industry experts felt its loss would leave female comic fans without a magazine of their own, but praised Viz for its choice to continue using the "Shojo Beat" imprint and branding for its ''shōjo'' manga and anime releases. ==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''.〔 Of the six titles, two each came from Japanese publishers Shueisha, Shogakukan, and Hakusensha. The first issue, released in June 2005, featured Nana Komatsu of ''Nana'' on its July 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. Weidenbaum remained the magazine's editor until February 13, 2009, when Viz announced that he had left the company, though the magazine continued to list his name in the role through the May 2009 issue. Starting with the June 2009 issue, publisher Hyoe Narita was listed as the editor-in-chief. The magazine's panda mascot, Moko, was first introduced in the October 2005 issue, though he remained nameless until the July 2006 issue. He later was given his own MySpace account run by Viz.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Moko World )〕 With the July 2007 issue, a new mascot, Beat Girl, was introduced. Included in each issue on the "Editor's Letter" page as the magazine's "illustrated spokesperson," she was drawn by different artists each time. A third mascot, a star-shaped figure named Hoshiko, was introduced with the March 2008 issue as a friend for Moko. With the magazine's first anniversary issue, dated July 2006, ''Shojo Beat'' switched to using cyan and magenta ink tones for the manga pages rather than black-and-white. Though this mirrors the format of Japanese manga anthologies, it was a first for manga anthologies published in North America. ''Shojo Beat'' launched another redesign with the January 2007 issue. The new design included more vivid color schemes and fonts and introduced a new "Girl Hero" column to spotlight women Viz felt were charitable and selfless and who would inspire readers. The existing columns were also expanded.〔〔 In May 2009, the magazine stopped accepting new subscriptions and ceased publication with the release of the July issue. Existing ''Shojo Beat'' subscriptions were transferred to Viz's ''Shonen Jump'' magazine.〔 With the first copy of ''Shonen Jump'' sent to former subscribers, a letter informed them of the transfer and how to request a refund for the unfilled portion of their subscriptions if they would prefer.〔 In a press release, Viz stated that the "difficult economic climate" was behind the magazine's cancellation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shojo Beat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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