Bessatsu Margaret (別冊マーガレット, Bessatsu Māgaretto, "Margaret additional volume"), or Betsuma (別マ) for short, is a shōjo manga magazine published monthly in Japan by Shueisha since 1964.[3][4][5] The stories featured in it are noted to have an emphasis on character growth, focusing on themes of interpersonal relationships and settings of everyday life.[1]

Bessatsu Margaret
Cover of the March 2016 issue (featuring Love Me, Love Me Not by Io Sakisaka)
CategoriesShōjo manga[1]
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation68,000
(January–December 2020)[2]
Founded1964
CompanyShueisha
CountryJapan
Based inTokyo
LanguageJapanese
Websitebetsuma.shueisha.co.jp

About

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Bessatsu Margaret was first launched in 1964 as a sister magazine to Margaret. It initially began as a quarterly one-shot publication, before moving to a monthly serialization in 1965.[6]

In 1966, the magazine started the manga contest Shōjo Manga School (later renamed to Betsuma Manga School), where amateur artists could submit their own manuscripts in hopes of being discovered. At the time, this initiative was considered groundbreaking, and became the basis of the submission systems used among other manga magazines to this day.[6][7]

In 1972, Bessatsu Margaret became the first monthly shōjo magazine to surpass 1 million copies in circulation. By 1983, the magazine had sold 1.9 million copies.[6] In 2018, it had an average circulation of 131,000 copies.[8] In 2019, the circulation dropped to an average of 95,000,[9] and in 2020 sales further declined to an average of 68,000 copies.[2]

The magazine targets readers in junior high, high school, and university.[10] In 2018, its demographic consisted of 12.7% of readers aged 14 or under, 16% of 15–18 year olds, 15.1% of 19–23 year olds, and 56.2% of readers 24 years or older.[8]

In Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook, the magazine was ranked 5th in the list for female readers in the 2012 edition,[11] and 2nd in the same list for the 2014 edition.[12] It ranked 16th among all manga magazine readers in the 2018 edition,[13] and 18th in the 2019 edition.[14]

Serializations

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Current

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Past

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Notes

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  1. ^ Transferred to Futabasha's Monthly Action in 2013.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "少女まんがの名作を創出してきた「マーガレット」「別冊マーガレット」が創刊60周年!". Shueisha (in Japanese). October 13, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Shueisha Media Guide 2021" (PDF). Shueisha. May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Jason Thompson (2007). Manga: The Complete Guide. Del Rey Books. pp. 334–335. ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8.
  4. ^ "Girl's Manga" (in Japanese). Japanese Magazine Publishers Association. September 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Preston Phro (December 16, 2013). "Girls manga magazine celebrates 50 years with a freaking awesome cover". RocketNews24. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "「別冊マーガレット」は創刊60周年! 『ホットロード』『君に届け』『アオハライド』など、少女まんが史を代表する名作を創出してきた雑誌の周年に特別企画が続々。". PR TIMES (in Japanese). June 13, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "別冊マーガレット". ManNavi (in Japanese). September 9, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 22, 2019). "Shueisha Reveals New Circulation Numbers, Demographics for its Manga Magazines". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (June 5, 2020). "Shueisha Reveals 2019 Circulation Numbers for Manga Magazines". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  10. ^ "本の街発信!別冊マーガレットに迫る" (PDF) (in Japanese). 共立女子短期大学. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Loo, Egan (December 8, 2011). "Top Manga Ranked by Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2012 Voters". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (December 9, 2013). "Top Manga Ranked by Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2014 Voters". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 8, 2017). "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Reveals 2018's Top 20 Manga Magazine List". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Antonio Pineda, Rafael (December 10, 2018). "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Reveals 2019's Top 20 Manga Magazine List". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  15. ^ Ressler, Karen (July 20, 2015). "Orange Shōjo Manga Will End in August". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  16. ^ Sarah Nelkin (May 13, 2013). "Strobe Edge's Sakisaka Pens 'Sono Omokage o Shitteru' 1-Shot". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  17. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (May 10, 2015). "Story, Title Revealed for Blue Spring Ride Creator Io Sakisaka's New Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  18. ^ Hazra, Adriana (September 12, 2020). "Suteki na Kareshi Manga by My Love Story, Aozora Yell's Kazune Kawahara Ends on October 13". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  19. ^ Tai, Anita (April 3, 2024). "Rainbow Days Creator Minami Mizuno's Koi o Shiranai Boku-tachi wa Manga Gets Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Antonio Pineda, Rafael (September 18, 2023). "Blue Spring Ride Creator Io Sakisaka's 'Sakura, Saku!' Manga Ends, Gets Epilogue". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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