was a

shōjo manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

formerly published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

, beginning in 1962. Kodansha used the knowledge gained from publishing magazines aimed at young girls, including ''

Nakayoshi is a monthly Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga List of manga magazines, magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized ...

'' and '' Shōjo Club'', as well as the experience from publishing '' Weekly Shonen Magazine''. ''Shōjo Friend'' is considered the successor to ''Shōjo Club''. In 1963,

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

began publishing ''

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

'', and the two magazines became fierce competitors.

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

entered the market competition in 1968 with ''

Shōjo Comic , formerly published under its full name until December 2007, is a ''shōjo'' manga magazine published semimonthly in Japan by Shogakukan since 1968. The magazine has gained a reputation for being a "love bible for maidens in love" or a "romance ...

''. During this time, popular series such as '' Haikara-san ga Tōru'' (by Waki Yamato) and '' Seito Shokun!'' (by Yōko Shōji) were published in ''Shōjo Friend''. Despite the popularity of these series, the circulation began to decline and the magazine dropped from weekly to bi-monthly publication, and then finally to monthly publication. The final issue was released in September 1996, an event which surprised many people as ''Shōjo Friend'' had been ranked third, following ''Nakayoshi'' and ''

Ribon is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are '' Nakayoshi'' and '' Ciao''. It is one of the best-selling manga magazines, having sold over 590million c ...

''. The cessation of publication was reported widely in the TV news as well. The remaining content which was supposed to have been published in ''Shōjo Friend'' such as '' Suspense & Horror'' was absorbed in ''

Dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

'' and ''The Dessert'' as special inserts through 1999.

Manga serializations

Tetsuya Chiba

* ''Yuki no Taiyou'' (1962) * ''Misokkasu'' (1966) * ''

Akane-chan is a shōjo manga series by Tetsuya Chiba. It was serialized in '' Shōjo Friend'', published by Kodansha, from April to September 1968. Plot A cute young girl, Akane formerly lived in the countryside with her grandfather, but decides to ...

'' (1967)

Waki Yamato

* ''Mon Cherie Coco'' (1971) * ''Hitoribocchi Ruca'' (1974) * ''Love Pack'' (1974) * '' Haikara-san ga Tōru'' (1975) * ''Lady Mitsuko'' (1976) * ''Kigen 2600 Nen no Playball'' (1979) * ''Aiiro Shinwa'' (1980) * ''Yokohama Monogatari'' (1980) * ''Tsubasa Aru Mono'' (1980) * ''N.Y. Komachi'' (1986) * ''Bodaiju'' (1984)

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

* ''

Princess Knight ''Princess Knight'', also known as ''Ribon no Kishi'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pin ...

'' (1967 version)

Fujio Akatsuka was a Japanese manga artist. Known as the Master of Gag Manga, he created many popular manga such as ''Osomatsu-kun'', ''Himitsu no Akko-chan'', and ''Tensai Bakabon''. Biography He was born in Rehe Province, Rehe, Manchuria, the son of a Ke ...

* ''Jajako-Chan'' (1965 - 1967)

Kazuo Umezu

* ''Hebi Shoujo'' (1965) * ''Hangyojin'' (1965) * ''Kagehime'' (1966) * ''Akumu'' (1966) * ''Kuroi Nekomen'' (1966) * ''Akanbo Shōjo'' (1967)

Moto Hagio

* ''Bianca'' (1969)

Yōko Shōji

* '' Seito Shokun!'' * ''Darling Kishidan'' (1985)

Ritsuko Abe

* ''Dekkai Chanto Atsumare'' (1971) * ''Suekko Taifuu'' (1972) * ''Mama no Ojisama'' (1972) * ''Teki wa Tsuyoi Zo Tegowai Zo!'' (1974) * ''Nonnon Plus 3'' (1976)

Yu Asagiri

* ''Onnanoko no Fushigi'' (1990) * ''Kurenai Densetsu'' (1991) * ''Onnanoko no Honki'' (1991)

Machiko Satonaka

* ''Pia no Shouzou (1964)'' * ''Nana to Lili'' (1967) * ''Ashita Kagayaku'' (1972) * ''Aries no Otome-tachi'' (1973) * ''Cleopatra'' (1975) * ''Umi no Aurora'' (1977) * ''Pia no Shouzou'' (1984)

Miyuki Yorita

* ''Kokuhaku wo Request'' (1995) * ''Kabocha no Caramel''

Hiromi Washiba

* ''Kimi ga Waratta''

Chikako Kikukawa

* ''Mienai Sakebi'' (1986)

References

http://www.koredeiinoda.net/category/manga/jajakochan

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shojo Friend 1962 establishments in Japan 1996 disestablishments in Japan Defunct magazines published in Japan Magazines established in 1962 Magazines disestablished in 1996 Magazines published in Tokyo Monthly manga magazines published in Japan Semimonthly manga magazines published in Japan Shōjo manga magazines Weekly manga magazines published in Japan