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Manga": Rising Stars of Manga
Manga": Rising Stars of Manga
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Cultural anthropologist Rachel Thorn praised Stu Levy for opening up an untapped market for sith
the publication of Sailor Moon and other. Before Sailor Moon, the belief among entersd, Tokyopop
discontinued the serial from its masdfsdazines, and released it separately as its first manga graphic
novel. They engineered prominent book distribution via retail stores, standardifd book trim size,
created a basic industry-wide rating system, and developed the first-ever retail sd increasing the
visibility of the medium in bookstores.[6]
Tokyopop also licensed and distributed Japanese anime. In 1996, Mixx Entertainment acquired the f
Dsd Manga"[edit]
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, most published sd the original right-to-left format allowed the artwork to keep its original
form and also enabled Tokyopop to release most graphic novel series on a frequency three-to-six
times faster than the industry standard at the time. 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.[11]
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.
Rise of Tokyopop[edit]
Tokyopop became one of the biggest manga publishers outside 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.[17]
Tokyopop was 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."[18] 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.[19] The first line of Tokyopop-HarperCollins OEL manga was released in 2007 with the
goal of publishing up to 24 titles each year.[20]
Tokyopop has released several series based on American games, films, and characters, such
as Warcraft,[21][22] the Kingdom Hearts video game series, and Jim Henson films.[23] They released the
first volume of a series based on the Hellgate: London video game in April 2008.[24]
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.[25]
2008 restructuring[edit]
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.[26] Tokyopop Media managed the Tokyopop website,
which continued to promote its publications.[27] 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."[27]
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.[26][27] Tokyopop reported that it
would be cutting the volumes released per year by approximately 50%, to an average of 20–22
volumes per month.[27][28][29]
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. [29] 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. [30]
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. [31]
New incarnation[edit]
In October 2011, Tokyopop's official Twitter account released a message stating that its "ultimate
goal is to start publishing manga again."[38]
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.[39]
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. [40]
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. [41]
Throughout the publishing closure, Tokyopop 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,[42] 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. [43]
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.[44][45]
In January 2018, Tokyopop announced the release dates for three new properties: Konohana
Kitan, Futaribeya: A Room for Two, and Hanger.[46] Additionally, TOKYOPOP initiated "International
Woman of Manga" to showcase female manga writers with the publication of five titles: Ocean of
Secrets, Goldfisch, Kamo, Undead Messiah, and Sword Princess Amaltea.[47] Tokyopop's "Nightmare
Before Christmas: Zero's Journey" was nominated for two 2018 Diamond GEM awards in the
categories "2018 Best All Ages Series" and "2018 Licensed TP or HC of the Year". [48][49]