Tokyopop was an American publisher and distributor of manga, manhwa, and other Asian comics and media. It was founded in 1997 and became a major player in the manga industry outside of Japan. However, it faced financial difficulties in the late 2000s due to declining sales and the loss of licenses from major Japanese publisher Kodansha. In 2011, Tokyopop closed its North American publishing division and ceased most operations, though it later relaunched in a smaller capacity focusing on digital releases. While it helped popularize manga in the US, Tokyopop ultimately struggled to adapt to a changing media landscape and industry trends.

1. Tokyopop
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the music movie, see Tokyo Pop.
Tokyopop
Status Active
Founded 1997
Founder Stuart J. Levy
Country of origin United States
Headquarters
location
Los Angeles, California
Distribution Germany
Key people
Stuart J. Levy, Founder, CEO, &
CCO
John Parker, President & COO
Victor Chin, Vice President of
Inventory Control
Bill Josey, General Counsel & Vice
President, Business and Legal Affairs
Mike Kiley, Publisher[1]
Publication types
Manga, Japanese light novels,
graphic novels, original English-
language manga
Revenue $35 million (2003)[2]
Official website tokyopop.com

2. The Variety Building, the location of the Tokyopop headquarters
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is an American distributor,
licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The German
publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original
English-language manga, as well as original German-language manga. Tokyopop's defunct US
publishing division previously published works in English and Japanese. Tokyopop had its US
headquarters in the Variety Building in Los Angeles, California,[3] and branches in the United
Kingdom and Germany. Its products are no longer available internationally.
On April 15, 2011 the US publishing operations at Tokyopop announced they would be shutting
down on May 31, 2011; the German branch of the company would continue to publish for the
international market.[4] Company president Stu Levy posted a farewell letter[5] on the American
Tokyopop website; however, this site was redirected to the Tokyopop Facebook page[6]
beginning in May, 2011.[7]
Tokyopop's official Twitter account stated in October 2011 that its "ultimate goal is to start
publishing manga again".[8]
Tokyopop's website relaunched with a letter on December 10, 2012 from management stating
that the company was down to a few select employees who were starting a 'new incarnation' of
the company. Partnered with 'Right Stuf on Demand', they have started reproducing a few titles
that they had previously, offering ebooks of certain titles.[9]
History
Tokyopop was originally founded in 1997 by Stuart J. Levy.[2] In the late 1990s the company
headquarters were in Los Angeles.[10]
When the company was known as Mixx, it sold MixxZine, a manga magazine. Mixx also sold the
shōjo manga anthology Smile. Mixxzine later became Tokyopop before it was discontinued.[11]
Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn praised Stu Levy for opening up an untapped market for
cartoons with the publication of Sailor Moon. Before Sailor Moon, the belief among
Entertainment executives was that "girls don't watch cartoons." [12] Tokyopop's first manga
graphic novel release was Sailor Moon. They engineered prominent book distribution via retail
stores, standardized book trim size, created a basic industry-wide rating system, developed the
first-ever retail manga displays and introduced the world of graphic novels to an audience of
teenage girls. In 2002, Tokyopop launched its line of 100% Authentic Manga (printed right-to-
left).
Tokyopop launched their Global Manga publishing program in 2003 via the introduction of its
"Rising Stars of Manga" talent competition.[13] They were one of the biggest manga publishers
outside of Japan and as such was attributed with popularizing manga in the United States. Brad
Brooks and Tim Pilcher, authors of The Essential Guide to World Comics. London, said that
Tokyopop "published many Korean artists' work, possibly without Western fans even realizing
the strips don't come from Japan. Series like King of Hell by Kim Jae-hwan and Ra In-soo, and

3. the Gothic vampire tale Model by Lee So-young are both Korean, but could easily be mistaken
for manga."[14] In 2005, Tokyopop began a new, free publication called Manga (originally
Takuhai) to feature their latest releases.
In March 2006, Tokyopop and HarperCollins Publishers announced a co-publishing agreement
in which the sale and distribution rights of some Tokyopop manga and books, under this co-
publishing license, would be transferred to HarperCollins in mid-June 2006. The agreement
enabled Tokyopop to produce original English-language (OEL) manga adaptations of
HarperCollins' books. Meg Cabot's books were the first to be adapted into the manga format,
along with the Warriors series by Erin Hunter.[15] The first line of Tokyopop-HarperCollins OEL
manga was released in 2007 with the goal of publishing up to 24 titles each year.[16]
Tokyopop has released several series based on American games, films, and characters, such as
Warcraft,[17][18] the Kingdom Hearts video game series, and Jim Henson films.[19] They released
the first volume of a series based on the Hellgate: London video game in April 2008.[20]
2008 restructuring
In June 2008, the company announced that it was being restructured, with its name being
changed to Tokyopop Group, a holding group for several new subsidiaries. The Tokyopop
operations in the United States would be split into two subsidiaries: Tokyopop, Inc., and
Tokyopop Media. Tokyopop, Inc., consists of the company's existing publications business,
while Tokyopop Media focuses on the company's digital and comics-to-film works.[21] Tokyopop
Media manages the Tokypop website, which will continue to promote its publications.[22]
According to representative Mike Kiley, the divisions would allow the company to "set things up
in ways that would very clearly and definitively allow those businesses to focus on what they
need to do to succeed. The goals in each company are different and the achievement of those
goals is more realistic, more possible if everyone working in each of those companies is very
clearly focused."[22]
During the restructure, Tokyopop laid off 39 positions, equating to 35%–40% of its American
workforce. Most of the positions cut were those involved in the direct publication of its
books.[21][22] The publication output from Tokyopop, Inc., was scaled back. Tokyopop reported
that it would be cutting the volumes released per year by approximately 50%, to an average of
20–22 volumes per month.[22][23][24]
Tokyopop's Japan division was also to be split, with one unit operating under Tokyopop Media
and the other becoming a subsidiary under the overall Tokyopop Group.[24] In response to
Tokyopop's restructuring, declining sales, and losing 20% of its manga market share, Tokyopop
UK cut its publication release schedule from approximately 25 volumes a month to 20.[25]
In December 2008, citing "dramatically low sales" in the publishing industry as a whole,
Tokyopop, Inc., laid off eight more employees, including three editors, and noted that the
company would have to rearrange some of its upcoming publication schedules.[26]
Loss of Kodansha licenses

4. Licenses from the Japanese manga publisher Kodansha historically were a large part of
Tokyopop's catalog. In the years leading up to 2009, the number of Kodansha titles licensed by
Tokyopop decreased. The final new Kodansha title was Tokko by Tohru Fujisawa, and the final
batch of volumes of Kodansha titles appeared around March 2009. Around that time Kodansha
began to consistently give licenses to its manga to Del Rey Manga. Deb Aoki of About.com said
"Well, more or less. You get the idea. If you're the type who reads the tea leaves of the manga
publishing biz, you kinda sensed that things weren't quite the same as they used to be."[27]
On August 31, 2009, Tokyopop announced Kodansha was allowing all of its licensing
agreements with the North American and German divisions of Tokyopop to expire for reasons
unknown. Due to this loss in licensing, Tokyopop was forced to leave several Kodansha series
unfinished, including the popular Rave Master, Initial D, GetBackers, and Life series. It would
be unable to reprint any previously published volumes, rendering all Kodansha-owned Tokyopop
releases out-of-print.[28]
Several other titles licensed and published by Tokyopop, including best sellers Cardcaptor
Sakura, Chobits, Clover, and Magic Knight Rayearth, were reacquired by Dark Horse Comics,
though two other titles Kodansha licensed to Dark Horse had since transferred to Random
House.[27][28] Samurai Deeper Kyo was relicensed by competitor Del Rey Manga, a division of
Random House, which published the remaining volumes of the series.[28]
Tokyopop said that it expected the loss of the licenses to have minimal impact on the company
economically due to its diversification of their holdings over the last few years, though they
acknowledged the loss would hurt fans of the ongoing series who face uncertainty about the
completion of those titles from other companies. ICv2 reported that Tokyopop would continue to
publish light novels from Kodansha and that Kodansha appeared to be planning to publish its
own titles through its partnership with Random House.[29]
In an interview with the website Anime Vice, Tokypop marketing manager Kasia Piekarz noted
that the company was not entirely surprised by the move, stating, "It wasn't completely
unexpected as we haven't licensed anything new from Kodansha in quite some time. What
surprised us most was that they canceled licenses for series that were almost finished, such as
Samurai Deeper Kyo and Rave Master. From a fan and collector's perspective, that doesn't make
sense to us."[30]
Resignations and layoffs
In February 2011, the president and chief operating officer, John Parker, resigned from the
company and took the position of vice president of business development for Diamond. This
came shortly after Diamond became Tokyopop's new distributor, taking the business from
Harper Collins. Tokyopop did not name a replacement for Parker. Parker's departure left only
three remaining executives: the founder and CEO, Stuart Levy; Mike Kiley, publisher; and
Victor Chin, vice president of inventory.
On March 1, Tokyopop continued layoffs, removing many high-profile employees such as long-
time manga editors Lilian Diaz-Przyhyl and Troy Lewter. Tokyopop's management also

5. eliminated the position of director of sales operations. In an interview with ICv2, Stuart Levy
revealed that the layoffs were due to Borders Group, Tokyopop's largest customer, filing
bankruptcy in March 2011, no longer carrying Tokyopop stock, and not paying debts that the
company owed to Tokyopop.[31]
North American publishing shutdown
On April 15, 2011, Tokyopop announced that it would close its Los Angeles, CA-based North
American publishing operations on May 31, 2011. According to the release, Tokyopop's film and
television projects, as well as European publishing operations and global rights sales, will not be
closing. However, it was later announced on the Tokyopop Facebook pages that the UK branch
would cease to operate after May 31 due to their reliance on the importing of the North
American branch's product.[32] Stuart Levy, Tokyopop's founder, released a personal statement
reaffirming Tokyopop's role in introducing manga to the mainstream North American audience
and thanking fans, creators, and employees for their dedication.[33] On May 24, Tokyopop stated
that the manga they licensed would revert to their original owners, who may license the titles to
other companies.[34]
New incarnation
On December 10, 2012, Tokyopop's website relaunched with a letter from management stating
that the company was down to a few select employees who were starting a 'new incarnation' of
the company. Partnered with 'Right Stuf on Demand', they have started reproducing a few titles
that they had previously, offering ebooks of certain titles.
Their company blog article states
"Luckily new technologies that have only very recently become practical are enabling us to re-
emerge. Conventional publishing has irrevocably changed, and it is impractical for all but the
largest and most established companies to pursue publishing as it has gone on for centuries. But
by embracing ebook and print-on-demand technologies, we believe we can move forward and
continue to produce some amazing manga as well as bring you Asian Pop Culture in many
forms."[9]
A letter from Levy on January 6, 2013 states
"Digital technology has transformed many industries including publishing. This hit TOKYOPOP
very hard since we didn’t have ebook rights to most of our series (except OEL). Unfortunately
our Japanese licensors did not move fast enough to provide a legitimate alternative to piracy, and
piracy shows no mercy. As a result, TOKYOPOP had to shut down its LA office and the licenses
to Japanese titles expired, reverting to the Japanese licensors. What that means is TOKYOPOP is
evolving as a company. I know many fans would prefer us to return to being a manga publisher
like we were for most of our history. However, manga will never disappear – we will do what we
can to deliver manga. I plan on experimenting with new ways to bring you Asian pop culture.
Please keep an open mind – and give feedback (not just negative when you don’t like something
but also positive when you like something) so we can tweak our approach."[35]

6. Foreign markets
Tokyopop Germany
In the summer of 2004, Tokyopop founded its first foreign branch in Germany, incorporated as
Tokyopop GmbH and headquartered in Hamburg. The first manga and manhwa by Tokyopop
Germany were published in November 2004, and the first anime in the fall of 2005. In 2006,
Tokyopop GmbH entered a "strategic partnership" with the Japanese publisher Shueisha,
allowing them to publish popular titles such as Death Note and Bleach.[36] According to then-
sales manager Vincent Lampert, Tokyopop GmbH was the second-largest manga publisher in
Germany in 2010.[37] The company has also released a number of original German-language
manga, including Gothic Sports, winner of a 2007 Sondermann award.[38] Tokyopop GmbH
continues to operate as a publisher of German-language manga for the international market after
the closure of the US publishing office.
Other overseas markets
In 2004, Tokyopop set up a London, UK, office that mainly imports books from the U.S. and
distributes them to bookstores in the United Kingdom. Tokyopop released an anime collection in
the United Kingdom market in late 2006, including titles such as Initial D and Great Teacher
Onizuka. Vampire Princess Miyu was released on DVD by MVM Entertainment, and the
Toonami television channel aired the first half of Rave Master in early 2005. It was announced
on the official Tokyopop Facebook page that because the UK branch mainly imported the North
American branch's translated titles, the UK branch will become defunct. Levy also mentioned
that the only branch left open would be the German office.[39][40]
Tokyopop distributes some of their titles to Australia and New Zealand through Funtastic, who
recently acquired Madman Entertainment. In Greece, Tokyopop-owned properties are licensed
by Anubis Comics.
Imprints
Logo for Blu Manga.
Blu Manga

7. Blu Manga is an imprint under which Tokyopop publishes shōnen-ai and yaoi manga titles. The
imprint was launched in 2005. Initially, the company denied that it owned Blu, stating that it was
only distributing for another company. The company released no editor names nor company
contact info, out of fear there would be backlashes and hate mail from "moral crusaders."[41] In
2006, the company confirmed Blu was their own imprint.[41][42] Blu Manga consider that they
have "non-girly" branding which has enabled the imprint, in a genre stereotypically by women
for women, to reach out to a male or gay audience.[43] Early titles published by BLU were
Earthian, Love Mode, and Shinobu Kokoro.[44]
Criticism
Fans critical of possible mishandling of the Initial D property voiced concerns regarding
"editorial changes" in the language localization of the manga and anime.[45] The changes
included renaming of several characters and the removal of one character's involvement in enjo
kōsai, a practice in Japan where younger women are paid to provide older men with
companionship.[45][46] In a letter sent to Anime News Network, Tokyopop responded to the
criticisms, noting that they felt the edits were necessary because they were marketing the series
to a younger target audience than it was originally designed for in Japan. They also felt that the
series would reach a larger audience if it had a broader American appeal.[45]
We also know that we have a responsibility to be true to the spirit of the original Japanese
version of Initial D. So, we start having lots of late night sessions about how to present Initial D
to the widest possible audience and yet still retain its core essence... We are passionate about
anime and manga, and we believe in helping spread the word to as many people as we can.
— Tokyopop Staff, Anime News Network[45]
The company alleviated some of the concerns by noting that the anime series would receive an
"unedited, subtitled, Japanese language" DVD release. The manga series remained edited except
for the first volume, which was accidentally printed before the editing decisions were made.[45]
See also
 List of Tokyopop publications
References
1. "Executive Team: Introduction". Tokyopop. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
2. Jarvis, Michael (2003-10-26). "The Godzilla-Sized Appeal of Japan's Pop Culture". Los
Angeles Times. p. 9.
3. "Contact Us." Tokyopop. Retrieved on April 17, 2011. "TOKYOPOP Variety Building
5900 Wilshire Boulevard 20th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90036-5020" and "(One block east
of Fairfax and across the street from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.)"
4. "End of an era: Tokyopop shutting down". The Beat. Retrieved April 15, 2011.

8. 5. Levy, Stu (15 April 2011). "Stu Levy's Personal Message: On Tokyopop's Closing". ICv2.
Retrieved 26 September 2011.
6. "TOKYOPOP". Facebook. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
7. "http://www.tokyopop.com". The Internet Archive. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
8. "http://animenewsnetwork". Retrieved 12 October 2011.
9. wptokyopop (2012-12-10). "Web Relaunch is a GO!". TokyoPop. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
10. "MIXX'S SAILOR MOON MANGA IS THE NUMBER 1 GRAPHIC NOVEL OR
TRADE PAPERBACK IN AMERICA!" Mixx Entertainment. June 18, 1999. Retrieved
on August 21, 2011. "Mixx Entertainment, Inc. 746 W. Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
90089-7727"
11. http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf
12. "Matt Thorn's Blog".
13. McLean, Tom (October 26, 2007). "Profile, Stu Levy". Variety.
14. Brooks, Brad; Pilcher, Tim (2005-10-28). The Essential Guide to World Comics.
London: Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-300-5.
15. Wyatt, Edward (2006-03-28). "Comic Book Publisher Switches a Deal to
HarperCollins". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
16. Crum, Erin (2006-03-27). "HarperCollins Publishers and Tokyopop Announce
Innovative Co-Publishing, Sales, and Distribution Agreement". HarperCollins
Publishers. Retrieved 2006-04-10.
17. Fahey, Mike (2008-04-17). "Tokyopop Publishing More Warcraft, StarCraft Manga".
Kotaku.
18. Patty, Shawn (2004-08-05). "TokyoPop to Produce Warcraft Manga Trilogy".
ComicsBulletin.
19. "Book Info: Return to Labyrinth Volume 1". Tokyopop.
20. "Book Info: Hellgate: London Volume 1". Tokyopop.
21. "Tokyopop to Restructure Update". Anime News Network. 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-
06-04.
22. "Inside the Tokyopop Restructuring". ICv2. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
23. "Tokyopop to Restructure". Anime News Network. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
24. "Tokyopop Splits into Two Companies". ICv2. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
25. "Tokyopop to Cut Manga Output in United Kingdom". Anime News Network. 2008-06-
12. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
26. "Manga Publisher Tokyopop Lays Off Eight More Staffers". Anime News Network. 2008-
12-12. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
27. Aoki, Deb (2009-09-01). "The Kodansha-TokyoPop Split: Which Manga Are Left in
Limbo?". About.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
28. "Tokyopop Confirms Its Kodansha Manga Licenses Will End". Anime News Network.
2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
29. "No More Kodansha Manga for Tokyopop". ICv2. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
30. Manry, Gia (2009-09-01). "Tokyopop Talks Kodansha". Anime Vice. Retrieved 2009-09-
01.
31. "Tokyopop discusses the consequence of Borders' bankruptcy on publishers". Asia
Pacific Arts. March 7, 2011.
32. "Hey TP-UK , Is...". Facebook. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
33. "End of an era: Tokyopop shutting down". Comics Beat. 2011-04-15.

9. 34. "Tokyopop: Japanese manga licenses to revert to owners". Animenewsnetwork.com.
2011-05-24. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
35. wptokyopop (2013-01-03). "Happy New Year and New Site!". TokyoPop. Retrieved 2015-
07-08.
36. Tokyopop GmbH. "Der Verlag" (in German). Tokyopop GmbH. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
37. Alt, Andreas. "Zwischen Schwindsucht und Publikumsansturm" (in German). Titel
Kulturmagazin. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
38. Ponel, Valerie. "Sondermann Award 2007". Goethe-Institut Kanada. Retrieved 6 May
2011.
39. "TOKYOPOP - Prikbord". Facebook. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
40. "Hey tp-uk, the us...". Facebook. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
41. Brill, Ian; Cha, Kai-Ming (2006-10-24). "New Publishers, More Titles at Yaoi-Con
2006". PW Comics Week (Publishers Weekly). Archived from the original on 2006-11-08.
Retrieved 2015-07-08.
42. "Tokyopop Confirms Blu Label". Anime News Network. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2009-03-
11.
43. "Intersections: GloBLisation and Hybridisation: Publishers' Strategies for Bringing
Boys' Love to the United States". Intersections.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
44. The Advocate - Google Books. Books.google.com.au. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
45. "Tokyopop Open Letter Regarding Initial D". Anime News Network. 2002-07-13.
Retrieved 2008-04-14.
46. "Ask John: Is Edited Anime on American TV a Good Thing?". AnimeNation Blog.
AnimeNation. 2003-08-29. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
External links
 TOKYOPOP at Facebook
 Tokyopop
 Official website (German)
 Official website (Archive)
 Mixx Entertainment (Archive)
 Blu Manga imprint Official site (Archive)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tokyopop&oldid=684095962"
Categories:
 Publishing companies established in 1997
 Manga distributors
 Manhua distributors
 Manhwa distributors
 Tokyopop
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