, formerly known as , is a Japanese manga magazine 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 ...

. It was originally conceived as a , or companion magazine, to ''

Shōjo Friend was a shōjo manga magazine formerly published by Kodansha, beginning in 1962. Kodansha used the knowledge gained from publishing magazines aimed at young girls, including ''Nakayoshi'' and '' Shōjo Club'', as well as the experience from publish ...

'', which is no longer published. ''Bessatsu Friend'' is commonly known by the abbreviated name and is published on the 13th of each month. The magazine originally featured manga focused on romance, but with the start of publications by manga artists like

Keiko Suenobu is a female Japanese shōjo manga artist from Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka. She graduated from the School of Art and Design at the University of Tsukuba with a major in sculpture. In 2006, Suenobu's manga series, ''Life'' won the Kodansha Manga Award fo ...

, it began publishing such that moved away from that main focus. publishes manga by many well known manga artists, such as Miwa Ueda,

Satomi Ikezawa is a Japanese manga artist. Her works include ''Guru Guru Pon-chan'', ''Othello (Satomi Ikezawa manga), Othello'' and ''Sue-chan wa Himitsu''. In 2000, she received the Kodansha Manga Award in the ''shōjo'' category for ''Guru Guru Pon-chan''. ...

, Ayu Watanabe,

Fuyumi Soryo is a Japanese manga artist. Life Soryo was born in Beppu, Oita, Japan. She is a graduate of the Oita prefectural Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School. She was born into the home of a master of the Kanze (Noh school), Kanze school of Noh. In her c ...

, Nanba Atsuko, and Keiko Suenobu. In October 2005, a manga serialized in ''Bessatsu Friend'' titled '' Flower of Eden'' was pulled from publication and recalled by both Kodansha and North American publisher

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...

, after it was revealed that the manga artist,

Yuki Suetsugu is a Japanese manga artist. Career She debuted in 1992 in Kodansha's ''Nakayoshi'' magazine with ''Taiyō no Romance''. Her works later moved to '' Bessatsu Friend'' magazine, also published by Kodansha. Her career was put on hiatus in Octob ...

, had copied art directly from ''

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

'' and ''

Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rathe ...

'' by

Takehiko Inoue is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for the basketball series ''Slam Dunk'' (1990–1996), and the ''jidaigeki'' manga '' Vagabond'', which are two of the best-selling manga series in history. Many of his works are about basketball, I ...

. After that, official imports of ''Bessatsu Friend'' publications became scarce.

Serialization

Current

* '' Hana-kun to Koisuru Watashi'' (2011–present) * ''

A Girl & Her Guard Dog is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hatsuharu. It has been serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Bessatsu Friend'' since December 2018, with its chapters collected into nine volumes as of September 2023. An anime tel ...

'' (2018–present) * ''

Yamaguchi-kun Isn't So Bad is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Saiki. It has been serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Bessatsu Friend'' since September 2019. Publication Written and illustrated by Yuu Saiki, ''Yamaguchi-kun Isn't So Bad'' ...

'' (2019–present) * '' Gazing at the Star Next Door'' (2022–present) * '' L DK Pink'' (2022–present) * ''A Love Too Captivating'' (2023–present)

Past

1977–1989

* ''

Akogare is a Japanese slice of life romance '' shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Chieko Hosokawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Bessatsu Friend'' manga magazine and a total of five volumes were published. A 24-episode live action t ...

'' (1970)

1990–1999

* ''

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

'' (1996–2000) * ''

Peach Girl is a Japanese manga series by Miwa Ueda. A high school drama centered on character Momo Adachi, her love life, friendships and rivalries, it was published in Japan by Kodansha in '' Bessatsu Friend'' from 1998 to 2003 and collected in 18 ...

'' (1997–2004) * ''

Guru Guru Pon-chan is a Japanese manga series by Satomi Ikezawa about a Labrador puppy, named Ponta, who turns into a human and falls in love with Mirai Iwaki, who's very popular in his school. In 2000, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo. It was publ ...

'' (1998–2000) * ''

Girl Got Game ''Girl Got Game'', originally published in Japan as ''Power!!'', is a manga series written and illustrated by Shizuru Seino. Originally serialized in '' Bessatsu Friend'' from 1999 until 2002, the individual chapters have been collected and p ...

'' (1999–2002)

2000–2009

* '' Flower of Eden'' (2000–2004) * '' The Wallflower'' (2000–2015) * ''

A Perfect Day for Love Letters is a Japanese manga short story series written and illustrated by George Asakura. Each story depicts a relationship that revolves around the use of love letters. The stories were originally published by Kodansha in the '' shōjo'' (aimed at ...

'' (2001) * ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (2001–2004) * ''

My Heavenly Hockey Club is a manga series written and illustrated by AI Morinaga. Published by Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning ...

'' (2002–2005) * ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (2002–2009) * ''

Senpai to Kanojo is a Japanese romance '' shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Atsuko Nanba. A live action film adaptation was released on October 17, 2015. Characters *Keigo Minohara (Jun Shison) *Rika Tsuzuki ( Kyoko Yoshine) *Aoi Okita (Riria K ...

'' (2004–2005) * '' Peach Girl: Sae's Story'' (2004–2008) * '' Drowning Love'' (2004–2013) * '' Love Attack!'' (2005–2009) * ''

A Song to the Sun is a 2006 Japanese film directed by Norihiro Koizumi starring Yui. Upon release, ''A Song to the Sun'' was financially successful and helped launch Yui's music career. In addition, Yui also won the Best Newcomer Actress at the 30th Japan Academ ...

'' (2006) * '' Minima!'' (2006–2008) * '' Papillon'' (2007–2009) * '' Love's Reach'' (2008–2011) * ''

L DK ''L DK'', stylized as ''L♥DK'', is a shōjo manga by Ayu Watanabe, serialized in the Japanese manga magazine '' Bessatsu Friend'' since 2009; it has been adapted into a live-action film that was released in 2014. The story tells about the ...

'' (2009–2017) * '' Limit'' (2009–2011)

2010–2019

* ''

Kyō no Kira-kun is a Japanese shōjo manga, shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Rin Mikimoto. It is published by Kodansha on ''Bessatsu Friend''. The first volume was published on 13 January 2012. A live-action adaptation was released on February 2 ...

'' (2012–2014) * '' P and JK'' (2013–2020) * ''

Kiss Him, Not Me , is a Japanese romantic comedy manga series written and illustrated by Junko. It was serialized in Kodansha's '' Bessatsu Friend'' magazine from April 2013 to February 2018. Fourteen ''tankōbon'' have been released. It is published in E ...

'' (2014–2019) * ''

Defying Kurosaki-kun is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makino. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Bessatsu Friend'' from 2014 to 2021. A live-action film adaptation with the international title ''The Black Devil and the Whi ...

'' (2014–2021) * '' Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight'' (2015–2020) * ''Star-Crossed!!'' (2019–2020)

2020–2029

* ''

My Girlfriend's Child is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mamoru Aoi. It tells the story of high schoolers Sachi and her boyfriend Takara who must suddenly deal with Sachi's unexpected pregnancy, exploring topics around teen pregnancy and how th ...

'' (2021–2024)

Related magazines

* ''

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 ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Suspense & Horror'' * ''

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, ...

References

External links

* * {{Kodansha manga magazines 1965 establishments in Japan Kodansha magazines Magazines established in 1965 Magazines published in Tokyo Monthly manga magazines published in Japan Shōjo manga magazines