Shojo a Go-Go Baby!

Frequent readers will know that I am not one for finishing what I start. Maybe this is to do with some deep seated issue or maybe I'm just lazy. Either way I'm starting this new series that takes advantage of said laziness. This also takes advantage of the fact that I frequently buy the first volumes of manga and never buy the remaining volumes.So for this series I get to use my false sense of superiority and cold-heated snark to look at the first volumes of various shojo manga.

Why Shojo manga specifically,because it's how I first got into manga as a whole. I was enthralled with the covers of the very few manga magazines,Shojo Beat and Shonen Jump, that were available to me. While the magazines themselves have disappeared due to a number of reasons Wikipedia can tell you,they still live on as manga publishers. Maybe it's blind nostalgia but that iconic pink “SB” is just that,iconic. It litters the shelves of my local bookstore's manga section and is probably what will be noticed first by most.

With this series,Shojo a Go-Go, I'm taking the first volumes of manga published under the Shojo Beat label and give my thoughts on whether they are worth following up on. Is this a tad bit unfair,probably. I mean some series that turn out great may have a weak start. However,the first volume should get you interested enough to continue reading. The opposite could also be true and a story with a stellar premise could turn into a train wreak. However what happens after the first volume isn't really the point here, that will be covered else where if the need arises.

The few arbitrary rules for what appears here are as follows:

• The manga must be published under the Shojo Beat label

• There is no cut-off date

• No ones shots,I have another series for that.

In short,this is me making educated guesses based on gut feelings and taking pot shots at a major publishing label whilst still avoiding talking about anything of real meaning. Feed back,suggestions and angry rants can be left in the comments below. The first posting should follow shortly after this,but as usual no promises