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Wikipedia Username: WikilessAfro
Introduction
For this piece, there was not much wrong with it in terms of how it was organized, but rather
more simply on proper grammar usage , so that is where I placed most of my efforts. I believe
that I met them by organizing and rearranging sentences, and also removing some unnecessary
phrases that led to errors of word choice. The main problem that I faced in editing this piece was
the large number of reference links that were either outdated, or nonexistent. This led me to
working on editing for continuity and removal of certain phrases that were not able to be
checked, such as a mention of Facebook posts that no longer existed due to the company’s
discontinuation. The more problematic links were the Facebook posts as they were hard to refer
back to overall, but there were also mentions of an interview with one of the staff of
TOKYOPOP that no longer existed, so that had to be erased as well to the best of my ability
without sacrificing too much in the continuity of the story.
Major emendations by the community were actually really helpful as one member contributed a
significant amount of background information in regards to programs like the Global Manga
section, and some more information about subjects such as the Rising Stars of Manga program.
A lot of these changes helped flesh out the history section of the piece and provided a number of
new information to add to the article, and develop further historical context for the company.
Tokyopop
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tokyopop TOKYOPOP-logo.png
Status Active
Founded 1997
Founder Stuart J. Levy
Country of origin United States
Headquarters location Los Angeles, California
Distribution United States; Germany
Publication types Manga, Japanese light novels, graphic novels, original English-language manga
Official website tokyopop.com
The Variety Building, the location of the Tokyopop headquarters
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx Entertainment, 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, and branches in the United Kingdom and Germany.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Early History
1.2 Authentic Manga
1.3 Rising Stars of Manga
1.4 Rise of TOKYOPOP
1.5 2008 Restructuring
1.6 Loss of Kodansha Licenses
1.7 Resignations and Layoffs
1.8 North American Publishing Shutdown
1.9 New Incarnation
2 Foreign Markets
2.1 TOKYOPOP Germany
2.2 Other Overseas Markets
3 Imprints
3.1 Blu Manga
4 Criticism
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
History
Early History
TOKYOPOP was originally founded in 1997 by Stuart J. Levy.[1] In the late 1990s, the
company's headquarters were located in Los Angeles.[2]
While the company was known as Mixx Entertainment, it sold MixxZine, a manga magazine
where popular serials like Sailor Moon were published weekly. Mixxzine later became
Tokyopop before it was discontinued.[11] Capitalizing on the popularity of Sailor Moon, Mixx
also created the magazine, Smile, a magazine that was half girls’ magazine, and half shōjo
manga anthology, and also continued the Sailor Moon story after being discontinued in
Mixxzine.
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." [3]Due to Sailor Moon’s
immense popularity, Tokyopop discontinued the serial from its magazines, and released it
separately as its first manga graphic novel. They engineered prominent book distribution via
retail stores, standardized book trim size, created a basic industry-wide rating system, and
developed the first-ever retail manga displays and introduced the world of graphic novels to an
audience of teenage girls. Also, together with Diamond, TOKYOPOP offered retailers free
spinner rack displays for TOKYOPOP manga, thereby increasing the visibility of the medium in
bookstores.[4]
TOKYOPOP also licensed and distributed Japanese anime. In 1996, Mixx Entertainment
acquired the rights to the anime biopic of Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, and Stu Levy produced
and directed the English version of the anime film, entitled “Spring and Chaos.” The film was
directed and scripted by Shoji Kawamori, who created Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and
The Vision of Escaflowne.[5] Taste of Cinema ranked “Spring and Chaos” thirteenth in its list of
Top “25 Weird Animated Movies That Are Worth Your Time.”[6] From 2000 to 2004,
TOKYOPOP released multiple film and television projects such as Street Fury, which Stu Levy
created, GTO (English version for Showtime TV), Rave Master (English version for Cartoon
Network's Toonami), and Reign: The Conqueror (English version for Cartoon Network's Adult
Swim.) TOKYOPOP also released English version DVDs for: Initial D, Marmalade Boy, Saint
Tail, Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School, Vampire Princess Miyu, Brigadoon, FMW, High
School Ghostbusters.[7]
Authentic Manga
In 2002, TOKYOPOP launched its line of 100% Authentic Manga, which was printed in the
original Japanese right-to-left format and included the original Japanese printed sound effects.
In Japan, all published manga is written to read from right to left, but when an English
translation was published in the U.S., however, the common practice was to use computer-
reversed or mirror images that allowed the books to read from left to right. Unfortunately, this
often compromised the integrity of the title's original artwork.[8]
TOKYOPOP’s decision to release 100% authentic right-to-left manga not only maintained the
integrity of the original artwork, but it also enabled TOKYOPOP to release most graphic novel
series on a frequency three-to-six times faster than the then current industry standard.
TOKYOPOP volumes hit the shelves monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly versus the six months or
longer typical of competitors. It also allowed TOKYOPOP to sell books for an industry-leading
price point of $9.99 per book, at a time when most competitors charged $12.99 to $16.99 per
book.[9]
TOKYOPOP was the first U.S. publisher to adopt such a sweeping policy. While some Japanese
manga artists had required that the English versions of their manga be published from right to
left, TOKYOPOP was the first American publisher to unilaterally announce that it would
maintain the original format for all of its future manga titles.
An "authentic manga" how-to guide was included in each graphic novel to keep readers from
accidentally reading the final page first, and the authentic manga also featured special packaging.
Rising Stars of Manga
TOKYOPOP launched their Global Manga publishing program in 2003 via the introduction of
its "Rising Stars of Manga" talent competition.[10] The competition called for American manga
artists to submit 15-25 page English-language stories of any genre. The top 10 entries, as judged
by TOKYOPOP editors, received cash prizes (between $500 - $2500) and were published in an
anthology of the winning works. The grand prize winners were also given the chance to pitch
full-length manga projects to TOKYOPOP for a chance to become professional manga-ka.
TOKYOPOP launched its first "Rising Stars of Manga" contest on August 15, 2002 and ended it
on December 16, 2002,[11] with more than five hundred American artists submitting their 15–25
page, English-language stories.[12]
The 5th Rising Stars of Manga competition added the People’s Choice award, where the top-20
finalists had their entire entries judged by the fans on the TOKYOPOP website. “We are really
pleased to open up the Rising Stars judging to the fans," commented TOKYOPOP editor Rob
Valois. "Since so many people have been vocal on the message boards and at industry
conventions, we’re offering them all a chance to shape the future of manga. I’m personally
excited to see how the fans’ favorite will compare to our own."[13]
TOKYOPOP held eight Rising Stars of Manga competitions between 2002 and 2008, as well as
one in the UK in 2005.[14]
Several Rising Stars of Manga winners went on to publish full-length graphic novels with
TOKYOPOP, including Josh Elder with Mail Order Ninja, M. Alice LeGrow with Bizenghast,
Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch with Van Von Hunter, Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges with
Peach Fuzz, Wes Abbot with Dogby Walks Alone, Felipe Smith with MBQ, Nathan Maurer with
Atomic King Daidogan, and many more.[15]
Rise of TOKYOPOP
TOKYOPOP became one of the biggest manga publishers outside of Japan, and as such, was
attributed with popularizing manga in the United States. By 2004, it boasted the largest market
share of manga sales in the U.S., reaching as high as 50% of manga exports to the United States,
according to Nissei Weekly.[16]
TOKYOPOP were also instrumental in the introduction of manhwa to western audiences. 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 the Gothic vampire tale Model by Lee So-young are both Korean, but could easily be
mistaken for manga."[17] 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.[18] The first line of TOKYOPOP-HarperCollins
OEL manga was released in 2007 with the goal of publishing up to 24 titles each year.[19]
TOKYOPOP has released several series based on American games, films, and characters, such
as Warcraft,[20][21] the Kingdom Hearts video game series, and Jim Henson films.[22] They
released the first volume of a series based on the Hellgate: London video game in April
2008.[23]
TOKYOPOP also helped to pioneer the Cine-Manga format, a blend of cinematic properties and
sequential art that uses imagery from movies and television series. Levy secured licenses to
publish Cine-Manga with major entertainment brands including Disney, Nickelodeon,
DreamWorks, Paramount, Universal, and the NBA.[24]
2008 Restructuring
In June 2008, Tokyopop 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 were split into two subsidiaries: TOKYOPOP, Inc., and
TOKYOPOP Media. TOKYOPOP, Inc. consisted of the company's existing publications
business, while TOKYOPOP Media focused on the company's digital and comics-to-film
works.[25] TOKYOPOP Media managed the TOKYOPOP website, which continued to promote
its publications.[26] 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."[26]
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
which resulted in a scale back of publication output from Tokyopop, Inc.[25][26] Tokyopop
reported that it would be cutting the volumes released per year by approximately 50%, to an
average of 20–22 volumes per month.[26][27][28]
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.[28] 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.[29]
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.[30]
Loss of Kodansha Licenses
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 competitor 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."[31]
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.[32]
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
by then.[31][32] Samurai Deeper Kyo was relicensed by competitor Del Rey Manga, a division
of Random House, which published the remaining volumes of the series.[32]
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.[33]
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; Publisher, Mike Kiley; and Vice
President of Inventory, Victor Chin.
On March 1, TOKYOPOP continued to layoff workers, removing many high-profile employees
such as long-time manga editors Lilian Diaz-Przyhyl and Troy Lewter. TOKYOPOP's
management also 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.[34]
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, would
not be closing. The UK branch would cease to operate after May 31 due to their reliance on the
importing of the North American branch's product. 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.[35]
On May 24, TOKYOPOP stated that the manga they licensed would revert to their original
owners, who may license the titles to other companies.[36]
New Incarnation
In October 2011, Tokyopop's official Twitter account released a message stating that its
"ultimate goal is to start publishing manga again".[37]
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 began offering ebooks
of various titles for which they retained the rights.[38]
Their company blog article stated:
"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."[39]
A letter from Levy on January 6, 2013 stated:
"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."[40]
Throughout the publishing closure, TOYKOPOP Media remained open for business, continuing
its efforts to produce film and TV adaptations of TOKYOPOP’s manga, as well as reinvigorating
the TOKYOPOP YouTube channel, launching several original web series and adding trailers for
Japanese film and TV. In 2013, TOKYOPOP partnered with MondoMedia to release an
animated short film based on the TOKYOPOP manga Riding Shotgun, which was directed by
Michael Davis and starred the voices of Yuri Lowenthal and Jessy Schram. The short film
garnered over a million views in its first month, and led to an IndieGoGo campaign to finance a
full animated series.[41]
In 2015, at Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con, TOKYOPOP announced that it would be
relaunching its publishing operations in North America in 2016 and hinted that its first major
licensor would be Disney.[42][43]
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.[44] The
company has also released a number of original German-language manga, including Gothic
Sports, winner of a 2007 Sondermann award.[45] TOKYOPOP GmbH continues to operate as a
publisher of German-language manga for the international market after the closure of the US
publishing office.
In addition to publishing popular manga titles, TOKYOPOP GmbH also expanded the market by
producing new and exciting cross-media content, including licensing popular video game
franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Zelda and bestselling novels such as James Patterson
and Warrior Cats. In 2013, the company launched a prestige project called Manga Library, which
adapted classic literary novels into manga.
According the GFK Entertainment, as of 2014 in the core segment of manga, TOKYOPOP
GmbH is currently the second largest provider, with a market share of 27%. Additionally, in the
last two years, TOKYOPOP GmbH had the fastest growth rate out of the big three manga
suppliers in the German market, with a growth rate of 29% in 2014. This compares with Egmont
Ehapa at 6.5% and Carlsen Verlag at 1.8%.[46]
Other Overseas Markets
In 2004, TOKYOPOP set up a London, UK, office that mainly imported books from the U.S.
and distributed 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 would become defunct,
with the only open branch being the German office.
TOKYOPOP distributed some of their titles to Australia and New Zealand through Funtastic,
and in Greece, TOKYOPOP-owned properties were licensed by Anubis Comics.
Imprints
Logo for Blu Manga.
Blu Manga
Blu Manga is an imprint under which TOKYOPOP published 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."[47] In
2006, TOKYOPOP confirmed Blu was their own imprint.[47][48] Blu Manga considered that
their "non-girly" branding had enabled the imprint, in a genre stereotypically created by women
for women, to reach out to a male and gay audience.[49] Early titles published by BLU were
Earthian, Love Mode, and Shinobu Kokoro.[50]
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.[51] 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.[51][52] 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. In an interview by
Anime News Network, TOKYOPOP staff stated they also felt that the series would reach a
larger audience if it had a broader American appeal.[51]
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.[51]
See also
List of Tokyopop publications
References
Jarvis, Michael (2003-10-26). "The Godzilla-Sized Appeal of Japan's Pop Culture". Los
Angeles Times. p. 9.
"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"
"Matt Thorn's Blog".
"TOKYOPOP, Diamond Offer Free Spinner Rack Display through October 31!".
www.diamondcomics.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"Spring and Chaos | TOKYOPOP". tokyopop.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
"25 Weird Animated Movies That Are Worth Your Time". Taste Of Cinema - Movie Reviews
and Classic Movie Lists. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
"Stuart J. Levy". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
"Tokyopop Commits to Unflopped Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"TokyoPop delivers authentic Manga to fans with original right-to-left format". Comic Book
Resources. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
McLean, Tom (October 26, 2007). "Profile, Stu Levy". Variety.
"Tokyopop Announces Rising Stars of Manga Competition". Anime News Network.
Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"Tokyopop launches 2nd Manga Contest". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"TOKYOPOP Kicks Off Rising Stars Of Manga". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2015-11-
25.
"Rising Stars of UK". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"[The Rising Stars of Manga] - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com.
Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"TOKYOPOP Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History,
Background Information on TOKYOPOP Inc.". www.referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved
2015-11-25.
Brooks, Brad; Pilcher, Tim (2005-10-28). The Essential Guide to World Comics. London:
Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-300-5.
Wyatt, Edward (2006-03-28). "Comic Book Publisher Switches a Deal to HarperCollins". The
New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
Crum, Erin (2006-03-27). "HarperCollins Publishers and Tokyopop Announce Innovative Co-
Publishing, Sales, and Distribution Agreement". HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved 2006-04-
10.
Fahey, Mike (2008-04-17). "Tokyopop Publishing More Warcraft, StarCraft Manga". Kotaku.
Patty, Shawn (2004-08-05). "TokyoPop to Produce Warcraft Manga Trilogy".
ComicsBulletin.
"Book Info: Return to Labyrinth Volume 1". Tokyopop.
"Book Info: Hellgate: London Volume 1". Tokyopop.
"ICv2: Tokyopop Does Nickelodeon". icv2.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"Tokyopop to Restructure Update". Anime News Network. 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-06-
04.
"Inside the Tokyopop Restructuring". ICv2. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
"Tokyopop to Restructure". Anime News Network. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
"Tokyopop Splits into Two Companies". ICv2. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
"Tokyopop to Cut Manga Output in United Kingdom". Anime News Network. 2008-06-12.
Retrieved 2008-06-12.
"Manga Publisher Tokyopop Lays Off Eight More Staffers". Anime News Network. 2008-12-
12. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
Aoki, Deb (2009-09-01). "The Kodansha-TokyoPop Split: Which Manga Are Left in
Limbo?". About.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
"Tokyopop Confirms Its Kodansha Manga Licenses Will End". Anime News Network. 2009-
08-31. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
"No More Kodansha Manga for Tokyopop". ICv2. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
"Tokyopop discusses the consequence of Borders' bankruptcy on publishers". Asia Pacific
Arts. March 7, 2011.
"End of an era: Tokyopop shutting down". Comics Beat. 2011-04-15.
"Tokyopop: Japanese manga licenses to revert to owners". Animenewsnetwork.com. 2011-05-
24. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
"Tokyopop Confirms Intent to Publish Manga Again". Anime News Network. Retrieved
2015-12-13.
"Web Relaunch is a GO! | TOKYOPOP". tokyopop.com. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
wptokyopop (2012-12-10). "Web Relaunch is a GO!". TokyoPop. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
wptokyopop (2013-01-03). "Happy New Year and New Site!". TokyoPop. Retrieved 2015-07-
08.
"CLICK HERE to support Riding Shotgun: The Animated Series". Indiegogo. Retrieved
2015-11-25.
"Tokyopop Plans Manga Publishing Relaunch, More Projects". Anime News Network.
Retrieved 2015-11-25.
"Tokyopop Hints at Possible Manga Collaborations With Disney". Anime News Network.
Retrieved 2015-11-25.
Tokyopop GmbH. "Der Verlag" (in German). Tokyopop GmbH. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
Ponel, Valerie. "Sondermann Award 2007". Goethe-Institut Kanada. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
"Manga-Eigenproduktionen Teil 2: Tokyopop". www.comic-report.de. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
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.
"Tokyopop Confirms Blu Label". Anime News Network. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
"Intersections: GloBLisation and Hybridisation: Publishers' Strategies for Bringing Boys'
Love to the United States". Intersections.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
The Advocate - Google Books. Books.google.com.au. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
"Tokyopop Open Letter Regarding Initial D". Anime News Network. 2002-07-13. Retrieved
2008-04-14.
"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=695005961"
Categories:
Publishing companies established in 1997Manga distributorsManhua distributorsManhwa
distributorsTokyopop
This page was last modified on 13 December 2015, at 03:11.
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Tokyopop Final

  • 1. Wikipedia Username: WikilessAfro Introduction For this piece, there was not much wrong with it in terms of how it was organized, but rather more simply on proper grammar usage , so that is where I placed most of my efforts. I believe that I met them by organizing and rearranging sentences, and also removing some unnecessary phrases that led to errors of word choice. The main problem that I faced in editing this piece was the large number of reference links that were either outdated, or nonexistent. This led me to working on editing for continuity and removal of certain phrases that were not able to be checked, such as a mention of Facebook posts that no longer existed due to the company’s discontinuation. The more problematic links were the Facebook posts as they were hard to refer back to overall, but there were also mentions of an interview with one of the staff of TOKYOPOP that no longer existed, so that had to be erased as well to the best of my ability without sacrificing too much in the continuity of the story. Major emendations by the community were actually really helpful as one member contributed a significant amount of background information in regards to programs like the Global Manga section, and some more information about subjects such as the Rising Stars of Manga program. A lot of these changes helped flesh out the history section of the piece and provided a number of new information to add to the article, and develop further historical context for the company.
  • 2. Tokyopop From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tokyopop TOKYOPOP-logo.png Status Active Founded 1997 Founder Stuart J. Levy Country of origin United States Headquarters location Los Angeles, California Distribution United States; Germany Publication types Manga, Japanese light novels, graphic novels, original English-language manga Official website tokyopop.com The Variety Building, the location of the Tokyopop headquarters Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx Entertainment, 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, and branches in the United Kingdom and Germany. Contents 1 History 1.1 Early History 1.2 Authentic Manga 1.3 Rising Stars of Manga 1.4 Rise of TOKYOPOP 1.5 2008 Restructuring 1.6 Loss of Kodansha Licenses 1.7 Resignations and Layoffs
  • 3. 1.8 North American Publishing Shutdown 1.9 New Incarnation 2 Foreign Markets 2.1 TOKYOPOP Germany 2.2 Other Overseas Markets 3 Imprints 3.1 Blu Manga 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Early History TOKYOPOP was originally founded in 1997 by Stuart J. Levy.[1] In the late 1990s, the company's headquarters were located in Los Angeles.[2] While the company was known as Mixx Entertainment, it sold MixxZine, a manga magazine where popular serials like Sailor Moon were published weekly. Mixxzine later became Tokyopop before it was discontinued.[11] Capitalizing on the popularity of Sailor Moon, Mixx also created the magazine, Smile, a magazine that was half girls’ magazine, and half shōjo manga anthology, and also continued the Sailor Moon story after being discontinued in Mixxzine. 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." [3]Due to Sailor Moon’s immense popularity, Tokyopop discontinued the serial from its magazines, and released it separately as its first manga graphic novel. They engineered prominent book distribution via retail stores, standardized book trim size, created a basic industry-wide rating system, and developed the first-ever retail manga displays and introduced the world of graphic novels to an audience of teenage girls. Also, together with Diamond, TOKYOPOP offered retailers free spinner rack displays for TOKYOPOP manga, thereby increasing the visibility of the medium in bookstores.[4] TOKYOPOP also licensed and distributed Japanese anime. In 1996, Mixx Entertainment acquired the rights to the anime biopic of Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, and Stu Levy produced and directed the English version of the anime film, entitled “Spring and Chaos.” The film was directed and scripted by Shoji Kawamori, who created Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and
  • 4. The Vision of Escaflowne.[5] Taste of Cinema ranked “Spring and Chaos” thirteenth in its list of Top “25 Weird Animated Movies That Are Worth Your Time.”[6] From 2000 to 2004, TOKYOPOP released multiple film and television projects such as Street Fury, which Stu Levy created, GTO (English version for Showtime TV), Rave Master (English version for Cartoon Network's Toonami), and Reign: The Conqueror (English version for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.) TOKYOPOP also released English version DVDs for: Initial D, Marmalade Boy, Saint Tail, Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School, Vampire Princess Miyu, Brigadoon, FMW, High School Ghostbusters.[7] Authentic Manga In 2002, TOKYOPOP launched its line of 100% Authentic Manga, which was printed in the original Japanese right-to-left format and included the original Japanese printed sound effects. In Japan, all published manga is written to read from right to left, but when an English translation was published in the U.S., however, the common practice was to use computer- reversed or mirror images that allowed the books to read from left to right. Unfortunately, this often compromised the integrity of the title's original artwork.[8] TOKYOPOP’s decision to release 100% authentic right-to-left manga not only maintained the integrity of the original artwork, but it also enabled TOKYOPOP to release most graphic novel series on a frequency three-to-six times faster than the then current industry standard. TOKYOPOP volumes hit the shelves monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly versus the six months or longer typical of competitors. It also allowed TOKYOPOP to sell books for an industry-leading price point of $9.99 per book, at a time when most competitors charged $12.99 to $16.99 per book.[9] TOKYOPOP was the first U.S. publisher to adopt such a sweeping policy. While some Japanese manga artists had required that the English versions of their manga be published from right to left, TOKYOPOP was the first American publisher to unilaterally announce that it would maintain the original format for all of its future manga titles. An "authentic manga" how-to guide was included in each graphic novel to keep readers from accidentally reading the final page first, and the authentic manga also featured special packaging. Rising Stars of Manga TOKYOPOP launched their Global Manga publishing program in 2003 via the introduction of its "Rising Stars of Manga" talent competition.[10] The competition called for American manga artists to submit 15-25 page English-language stories of any genre. The top 10 entries, as judged by TOKYOPOP editors, received cash prizes (between $500 - $2500) and were published in an anthology of the winning works. The grand prize winners were also given the chance to pitch full-length manga projects to TOKYOPOP for a chance to become professional manga-ka. TOKYOPOP launched its first "Rising Stars of Manga" contest on August 15, 2002 and ended it on December 16, 2002,[11] with more than five hundred American artists submitting their 15–25 page, English-language stories.[12] The 5th Rising Stars of Manga competition added the People’s Choice award, where the top-20 finalists had their entire entries judged by the fans on the TOKYOPOP website. “We are really
  • 5. pleased to open up the Rising Stars judging to the fans," commented TOKYOPOP editor Rob Valois. "Since so many people have been vocal on the message boards and at industry conventions, we’re offering them all a chance to shape the future of manga. I’m personally excited to see how the fans’ favorite will compare to our own."[13] TOKYOPOP held eight Rising Stars of Manga competitions between 2002 and 2008, as well as one in the UK in 2005.[14] Several Rising Stars of Manga winners went on to publish full-length graphic novels with TOKYOPOP, including Josh Elder with Mail Order Ninja, M. Alice LeGrow with Bizenghast, Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch with Van Von Hunter, Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges with Peach Fuzz, Wes Abbot with Dogby Walks Alone, Felipe Smith with MBQ, Nathan Maurer with Atomic King Daidogan, and many more.[15] Rise of TOKYOPOP TOKYOPOP became one of the biggest manga publishers outside of Japan, and as such, was attributed with popularizing manga in the United States. By 2004, it boasted the largest market share of manga sales in the U.S., reaching as high as 50% of manga exports to the United States, according to Nissei Weekly.[16] TOKYOPOP were also instrumental in the introduction of manhwa to western audiences. 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 the Gothic vampire tale Model by Lee So-young are both Korean, but could easily be mistaken for manga."[17] 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.[18] The first line of TOKYOPOP-HarperCollins OEL manga was released in 2007 with the goal of publishing up to 24 titles each year.[19] TOKYOPOP has released several series based on American games, films, and characters, such as Warcraft,[20][21] the Kingdom Hearts video game series, and Jim Henson films.[22] They released the first volume of a series based on the Hellgate: London video game in April 2008.[23] TOKYOPOP also helped to pioneer the Cine-Manga format, a blend of cinematic properties and sequential art that uses imagery from movies and television series. Levy secured licenses to publish Cine-Manga with major entertainment brands including Disney, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Paramount, Universal, and the NBA.[24] 2008 Restructuring
  • 6. In June 2008, Tokyopop 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 were split into two subsidiaries: TOKYOPOP, Inc., and TOKYOPOP Media. TOKYOPOP, Inc. consisted of the company's existing publications business, while TOKYOPOP Media focused on the company's digital and comics-to-film works.[25] TOKYOPOP Media managed the TOKYOPOP website, which continued to promote its publications.[26] 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."[26] 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 which resulted in a scale back of publication output from Tokyopop, Inc.[25][26] Tokyopop reported that it would be cutting the volumes released per year by approximately 50%, to an average of 20–22 volumes per month.[26][27][28] 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30] Loss of Kodansha Licenses 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 competitor 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."[31] 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.[32] 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
  • 7. by then.[31][32] Samurai Deeper Kyo was relicensed by competitor Del Rey Manga, a division of Random House, which published the remaining volumes of the series.[32] 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.[33] 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; Publisher, Mike Kiley; and Vice President of Inventory, Victor Chin. On March 1, TOKYOPOP continued to layoff workers, removing many high-profile employees such as long-time manga editors Lilian Diaz-Przyhyl and Troy Lewter. TOKYOPOP's management also 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.[34] 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, would not be closing. The UK branch would cease to operate after May 31 due to their reliance on the importing of the North American branch's product. 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.[35] On May 24, TOKYOPOP stated that the manga they licensed would revert to their original owners, who may license the titles to other companies.[36] New Incarnation In October 2011, Tokyopop's official Twitter account released a message stating that its "ultimate goal is to start publishing manga again".[37] 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 began offering ebooks of various titles for which they retained the rights.[38] Their company blog article stated:
  • 8. "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."[39] A letter from Levy on January 6, 2013 stated: "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."[40] Throughout the publishing closure, TOYKOPOP Media remained open for business, continuing its efforts to produce film and TV adaptations of TOKYOPOP’s manga, as well as reinvigorating the TOKYOPOP YouTube channel, launching several original web series and adding trailers for Japanese film and TV. In 2013, TOKYOPOP partnered with MondoMedia to release an animated short film based on the TOKYOPOP manga Riding Shotgun, which was directed by Michael Davis and starred the voices of Yuri Lowenthal and Jessy Schram. The short film garnered over a million views in its first month, and led to an IndieGoGo campaign to finance a full animated series.[41] In 2015, at Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con, TOKYOPOP announced that it would be relaunching its publishing operations in North America in 2016 and hinted that its first major licensor would be Disney.[42][43] 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.[44] The company has also released a number of original German-language manga, including Gothic Sports, winner of a 2007 Sondermann award.[45] TOKYOPOP GmbH continues to operate as a publisher of German-language manga for the international market after the closure of the US publishing office.
  • 9. In addition to publishing popular manga titles, TOKYOPOP GmbH also expanded the market by producing new and exciting cross-media content, including licensing popular video game franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Zelda and bestselling novels such as James Patterson and Warrior Cats. In 2013, the company launched a prestige project called Manga Library, which adapted classic literary novels into manga. According the GFK Entertainment, as of 2014 in the core segment of manga, TOKYOPOP GmbH is currently the second largest provider, with a market share of 27%. Additionally, in the last two years, TOKYOPOP GmbH had the fastest growth rate out of the big three manga suppliers in the German market, with a growth rate of 29% in 2014. This compares with Egmont Ehapa at 6.5% and Carlsen Verlag at 1.8%.[46] Other Overseas Markets In 2004, TOKYOPOP set up a London, UK, office that mainly imported books from the U.S. and distributed 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 would become defunct, with the only open branch being the German office. TOKYOPOP distributed some of their titles to Australia and New Zealand through Funtastic, and in Greece, TOKYOPOP-owned properties were licensed by Anubis Comics. Imprints Logo for Blu Manga. Blu Manga Blu Manga is an imprint under which TOKYOPOP published 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."[47] In 2006, TOKYOPOP confirmed Blu was their own imprint.[47][48] Blu Manga considered that their "non-girly" branding had enabled the imprint, in a genre stereotypically created by women for women, to reach out to a male and gay audience.[49] Early titles published by BLU were Earthian, Love Mode, and Shinobu Kokoro.[50] 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.[51] 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.[51][52] 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. In an interview by
  • 10. Anime News Network, TOKYOPOP staff stated they also felt that the series would reach a larger audience if it had a broader American appeal.[51] 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.[51] See also List of Tokyopop publications References Jarvis, Michael (2003-10-26). "The Godzilla-Sized Appeal of Japan's Pop Culture". Los Angeles Times. p. 9. "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" "Matt Thorn's Blog". "TOKYOPOP, Diamond Offer Free Spinner Rack Display through October 31!". www.diamondcomics.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "Spring and Chaos | TOKYOPOP". tokyopop.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27. "25 Weird Animated Movies That Are Worth Your Time". Taste Of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. Retrieved 2015-11-27. "Stuart J. Levy". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-11-27. "Tokyopop Commits to Unflopped Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "TokyoPop delivers authentic Manga to fans with original right-to-left format". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2015-11-25. McLean, Tom (October 26, 2007). "Profile, Stu Levy". Variety. "Tokyopop Announces Rising Stars of Manga Competition". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "Tokyopop launches 2nd Manga Contest". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "TOKYOPOP Kicks Off Rising Stars Of Manga". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2015-11- 25. "Rising Stars of UK". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "[The Rising Stars of Manga] - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  • 11. "TOKYOPOP Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on TOKYOPOP Inc.". www.referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25. Brooks, Brad; Pilcher, Tim (2005-10-28). The Essential Guide to World Comics. London: Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-300-5. Wyatt, Edward (2006-03-28). "Comic Book Publisher Switches a Deal to HarperCollins". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-25. Crum, Erin (2006-03-27). "HarperCollins Publishers and Tokyopop Announce Innovative Co- Publishing, Sales, and Distribution Agreement". HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved 2006-04- 10. Fahey, Mike (2008-04-17). "Tokyopop Publishing More Warcraft, StarCraft Manga". Kotaku. Patty, Shawn (2004-08-05). "TokyoPop to Produce Warcraft Manga Trilogy". ComicsBulletin. "Book Info: Return to Labyrinth Volume 1". Tokyopop. "Book Info: Hellgate: London Volume 1". Tokyopop. "ICv2: Tokyopop Does Nickelodeon". icv2.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "Tokyopop to Restructure Update". Anime News Network. 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-06- 04. "Inside the Tokyopop Restructuring". ICv2. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2008-06-09. "Tokyopop to Restructure". Anime News Network. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03. "Tokyopop Splits into Two Companies". ICv2. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03. "Tokyopop to Cut Manga Output in United Kingdom". Anime News Network. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-06-12. "Manga Publisher Tokyopop Lays Off Eight More Staffers". Anime News Network. 2008-12- 12. Retrieved 2008-12-12. Aoki, Deb (2009-09-01). "The Kodansha-TokyoPop Split: Which Manga Are Left in Limbo?". About.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01. "Tokyopop Confirms Its Kodansha Manga Licenses Will End". Anime News Network. 2009- 08-31. Retrieved 2009-09-01. "No More Kodansha Manga for Tokyopop". ICv2. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-01. "Tokyopop discusses the consequence of Borders' bankruptcy on publishers". Asia Pacific Arts. March 7, 2011. "End of an era: Tokyopop shutting down". Comics Beat. 2011-04-15. "Tokyopop: Japanese manga licenses to revert to owners". Animenewsnetwork.com. 2011-05- 24. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  • 12. "Tokyopop Confirms Intent to Publish Manga Again". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-12-13. "Web Relaunch is a GO! | TOKYOPOP". tokyopop.com. Retrieved 2015-12-13. wptokyopop (2012-12-10). "Web Relaunch is a GO!". TokyoPop. Retrieved 2015-07-08. wptokyopop (2013-01-03). "Happy New Year and New Site!". TokyoPop. Retrieved 2015-07- 08. "CLICK HERE to support Riding Shotgun: The Animated Series". Indiegogo. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "Tokyopop Plans Manga Publishing Relaunch, More Projects". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25. "Tokyopop Hints at Possible Manga Collaborations With Disney". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-11-25. Tokyopop GmbH. "Der Verlag" (in German). Tokyopop GmbH. Retrieved 6 May 2011. Ponel, Valerie. "Sondermann Award 2007". Goethe-Institut Kanada. Retrieved 6 May 2011. "Manga-Eigenproduktionen Teil 2: Tokyopop". www.comic-report.de. Retrieved 2015-11-25. 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. "Tokyopop Confirms Blu Label". Anime News Network. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2009-03-11. "Intersections: GloBLisation and Hybridisation: Publishers' Strategies for Bringing Boys' Love to the United States". Intersections.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2011-12-07. The Advocate - Google Books. Books.google.com.au. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2011-12-07. "Tokyopop Open Letter Regarding Initial D". Anime News Network. 2002-07-13. Retrieved 2008-04-14. "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)
  • 13. Mixx Entertainment (Archive) Blu Manga imprint Official site (Archive) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tokyopop&oldid=695005961" Categories: Publishing companies established in 1997Manga distributorsManhua distributorsManhwa distributorsTokyopop This page was last modified on 13 December 2015, at 03:11. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.