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Bessatu Margaret, a spin-off of Margaret, a manga magazine for girls, is coming up on its 50th year of publication and the astounding cover of superstar characters for their special tribute has just seen the light of day. Featuring work by artists from Shonen Jump, Young Jump, and more, it’s a must-see for any manga fan!

The January issue of Bessatu Margaret, or Betsuma for short, comes with a special tribute book in addition to a full-color cover for Stella and Mille Feuille, a new series by Bessatu Margaret veteran Kana Watanabe.

The covers for both the January issue and its special tribute (released on December 13) showed up on Twitter thanks to tweets from the magazine itself. Check them out below!

▼Click for larger version.

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▼Click for larger version.

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The Bessatsu Margaret Special Tribute features characters from ONE PIECE, Naruto, Gantz, Gin Tama, Terra Formars, Ansatsu Kyoshitsu, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and many more. The February issue promises to feature a special cover of characters from girls manga.

In addition to the special tributes and freaking awesome covers, Margaret has been running a competition for new and young talent called “U-20 Manga Award.” Hosted by Nico Nico Douga, the contest is in its last stage, with the final eight contestants’ work available for the public to the view and vote on. The contest was limited to artists 20 years old and younger–but the skills on display are magnificent! If you want to check out their work yourself, click here! (Japanese only)

▼Some of the characters from the U-20 competition.

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In case you’re wondering, Margaret started publication in 1963 and Bessatsu Margaret started in 1964. Basically, they’re getting a two-year-long birthday bash. The best kind of bash there is.

So, RocketNews24 would like to wish a happy birthday to one of the biggest names in girls manga!

Sources: ITMedia
Images: Twitter (1, 2), NicoNico Douga