Shōjo Friend

was a shÃÂjo manga magazine formerly published by Kodansha, beginning in 1962. Kodansha used the knowledge gained from publishing magazines aimed at young girls, including Nakayoshi and ShÃÂjo Club, as well as the experience from publishing Weekly Shonen Magazine. ShÃÂjo Friend is considered the successor to ShÃÂjo Club. In 1963, Shueisha began publishing Margaret, and the two magazines became fierce competitors. Shogakukan entered the market competition in 1968 with ShÃÂjo Comic.

During this time, popular series such as Haikara-san ga TÃÂru (by Waki Yamato) and Seito Shokun! (by YÃÂko ShÃÂji) were published in ShÃÂjo 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 ShÃÂjo Friend had been ranked third, following Nakayoshi and Ribon. The cessation of publication was reported widely in the TV news as well. The remaining content which was supposed to have been published in ShÃÂjo Friend such as Suspense & Horror was absorbed in Dessert and The Dessert as special inserts through 1999.