Did anyone else hear the news?

Tokyopop shutting down US manga publication efforts | Capsule Computers Pty Ltd - Gaming News, Reviews, Interviews & Competitions

Well, they're still publishing in Europe, which is good for me, but does this mark the beggining of the end for Tokyopop? The publisher that first brought manga in to my world?

Share your views and opinions here.

This is the first I've heard of this, and I'm quite sad about it as TOKYOPOP also introduced me to a lot of translated manga.

I tihkn tokyo pop got everyone hooked, they always published the very best manga too. D:

Saddened, but not surprised. With an economy in the doldrums, there is less demand and less profit for the company. Too bad...

This is the first I've heard of it, and it's horribly frustrating as I'm from America.... But it's not surprising. After the new manga law was passed in Japan by a bunch of politicians who don't even read manga, it was only a matter of time before things like TOKYOPOP went out of business since the law essentially means the government can dictate what mangas get printed overseas and what doesn't.

I understand the concept of some manga being inappropriate, at the same time though, regulation was fine before; it's not like five year olds were out buying extreme manga- since extreme manga is usually wrapped in plastic. Literally the only reason that the law was made was because politicians in Japan are a bunch of homophobes who disapprove of yaoi and yuri etc.
And I'm not a crazed yaoi/yuri fan myself, but it would have been one thing if they were attacking the truly inappropriate releases, but the group they mainly attacked for yaoi was clamp... And sure, Clamp DOES have a lot of odd couples, but they're not extreme or explicit. The law would be much more plausible if the politicians who passed it actually understood manga.

So you ask if the end of printing in the U.S is the beginning of the end of Tokyopop? Well, my answer is that it unfortunately very well could be.

:cry: This is very sad! Now I have no money and can't buy manga like crazy. I really should buy while I still can. I think the market is going to die and go back to the dark ages.

astra is right unfortunately, Viz Media isn't doing so great either from what I could tell. Piracy is killing the manga industry, and Tokyopop couldn't bare anything. I think what they did was a sad move. I guess I'll have to either import from Australia now (actually Singapore) to get manga translated in English, or just live without. I am willing to pay too.

Sigh... I'm never going to complete my Vassalord collection or get anymore Tokyopop manga. :cry: Shoot can't even complete NHK now.

It's sad but it was kinda inevitable. I guess tho it's easier to just get manga thru Japan itself. After the way the disaster hit their economy it's more practical for everyone.

I'm not great at reading Japanese- as said, I only know katakana, not hiragana, and kanji completely eludes me but... does anyone here besides me prefer to struggle along and read in the native language? I really don't like English translated manga anyway. (I'm the same way about anime. I don't like dubbed anime.)

:-/ I rather read manga in English. I hadn't been able to learn Japanese yet, and since Tokyopop is still going to be in Germany, I might just take up German. Since a lot of manga is published in German, but they censor stuff too. I might learn French, because lots of titles are published in French as well.

I know what some might say, but I wanted to take up German for other reasons. If I take up French, I can learn Haitian Creole quicker. ;)

There was Bill 156 that was passed in Japan. :-/ Basically it censors anime, manga, and video games (Violence and sexuality wise). So I guess that also added to the beginning of an end to the manga, anime and gaming industry all over the world (well imports from Japan).

Well this is depressing. Most of the manga I read is Tokyopop, but I agree with everyone up there who said this was inevitable. With scanlations and eReaders, no one really goes out of their way to buy the actual books anymore, myself included. Only the few hardcore manga lovers will shell out $10 per volume, while the rest of us stay at home and browse mangafox. I don't think there's anything we can really do about a dying economy.

>.>; It is sad when people read licensed manga online. If people would just buy one volume of that one certain title and such, Tokyopop would still be in business for a little while longer.

I don't support piracy. I don't support reading manga online unless the title is so out of print where you can't inter-library loan it, or it isn't even released in the US yet. Use your local library system!

With that said, we* are the ones that killed the manga and anime industry (in the US and maybe the world.). >_<; I am sorry if I offended anybody, but it had to be said.

Thanks to this, I have to import from Singapore when I have extra money, or learn German and French. Then import for those countries. I could also take my share from the book sorting, but that won't help. Five Tokyopop titles a week wouldn't be enough.

*I am even blaming myself, and I will blame myself when Darkhorse goes under. All because I couldn't wait for the English ending to be released to the Hellsing manga.

Tokyo Pop has been going downhill for a few years. It's not an all of the sudden thing. It's still sad to see them shut down. I've been buying things from them for like 10 years.

I'm also wondering if this has anything to do with a certain big book store chain going out of business as well since they sold a lot of Tokyo Pop merch.

Originally Posted by Mystic

I'm also wondering if this has anything to do with a certain big book store chain going out of business as well since they sold a lot of Tokyo Pop merch.

I think both are a symptom of a larger problem with print in general. Our reading habits have shifted to electronic formats. Newspapers are a shell of their former selves, when was the last time there was a notable launch of a new magazine, and so on. People probably read more now than they ever have before in the history of mankind, but it's where they read that makes the difference. Paper and ink cost money. Distribution costs money (the cost of gas alone is cutting into profits). Editors, writers, and artists cost money.

As for Borders, their logic always mystified me -- letting people into their store to read magazines for free -- that started some nasty habits of expecting something for nothing.

It's not an easy business, an it's never nice to hear news like this -- this is supposed to be one of the few places where there is a growing readership base...

Originally Posted by alexandrakitty

I think both are a symptom of a larger problem with print in general. Our reading habits have shifted to electronic formats. Newspapers are a shell of their former selves, when was the last time there was a notable launch of a new magazine, and so on. People probably read more now than they ever have before in the history of mankind, but it's where they read that makes the difference. Paper and ink cost money. Distribution costs money (the cost of gas alone is cutting into profits). Editors, writers, and artists cost money.

As for Borders, their logic always mystified me -- letting people into their store to read magazines for free -- that started some nasty habits of expecting something for nothing.

It's not an easy business, an it's never nice to hear news like this -- this is supposed to be one of the few places where there is a growing readership base...

Yeah the whole people not reading things that are in print as much any more kind of puts me off from publishing anything that's not electronic. Media in general is getting to the point where if it's not electronic then it's not going to do as well. Music and print both included. Plus the fact that you can get things off the internet for free now a days too and people just do not want to pay for anything.

You know, the manga is probably just going to change names of publishers.

For example, the original Sailor Moon graphic novels were put out by "Pocket Mixx" then "Mixx: Chix Comix" then "Tokyopop". After being out of print for some time they're being released in English by their Japanese publisher, Kodansha.

"Animerica Extra Graphic Novels" later became "Viz".

Also, if you are looking to complete collections as they stand, you can check out independant comic stores as they tend to have (random volumes albeit) of out of print manga, while the mainstream stores sell out more quickly.

I'm a manga afficianado, but this news does not bother me in the least. Like I said, I've seen one series change 'publishers' three times in a run, and others change as well, sometimes the formatting (American vs Japanese) or size as well... This isn't the end of manga as you know it, you can rest easy.

Not Tokyopop too!!! D':
Anime has been taking a HUGE hit lately! Everywhere around the world anime/manga has been just taking hit after hit starting with Japan it's self with that anime ban law D: and it's affecting us all!!

The anime ban law, as I mentioned above, sucks for various reasons.

However, reading manga online is a huge issue. I understand wanting to keep up to date on the latest chapters rather than waiting for the release of the manga, and if a series doesn't come out in your country than online is more or less your only option. At the same time though, if it's possible, you should always support the official release of the artist. Many series are stopped or discontinued because people don't buy the manga- even if a series is popular online; the artists work hard on their creations, and like it or not, it is stealing when those groups scan manga and translate them.

I'm not saying it should be outlawed- because I listed some reasons above as to why scanlations are important- however, there definitely should be more regulation. Maybe only scan the first couple of chapters to give people a taste and encourage them to buy. People might be against the concept, but reading novels even electronically you have to buy them- it's not fair to the creators that people can read manga online for free.

Originally Posted by xXastraXx

The anime ban law, as I mentioned above, sucks for various reasons.

However, reading manga online is a huge issue. I understand wanting to keep up to date on the latest chapters rather than waiting for the release of the manga, and if a series doesn't come out in your country than online is more or less your only option. At the same time though, if it's possible, you should always support the official release of the artist. Many series are stopped or discontinued because people don't buy the manga- even if a series is popular online; the artists work hard on their creations, and like it or not, it is stealing when those groups scan manga and translate them.

I'm not saying it should be outlawed- because I listed some reasons above as to why scanlations are important- however, there definitely should be more regulation. Maybe only scan the first couple of chapters to give people a taste and encourage them to buy. People might be against the concept, but reading novels even electronically you have to buy them- it's not fair to the creators that people can read manga online for free.

I agree with this. I try my hardest and when I can I buy manga, be it used or new. At least I am buying the original product. :) You stated it better than I ever could. ^_^;

I've never heard of this before. This is terrible. I mean, like everything, it's not a necessity and it's not the end of the world but Tokyopop makes a huge dent in my manga collection when it comes to publishers (although the publisher that makes the biggest dent is probably Viz Media) and they may not sell the best quality of manga out there, but some of their translations are pretty good, and some of their stuff isn't printed out ugly.

They will be missed.

seriously did the company release this, or is it just gossip?

T-T Really? Sad! My first ever Manga I read was published by them!

Originally Posted by famercks

seriously did the company release this, or is it just gossip?

It is true unfortunately, and they are having a garage sale this Saturday. >_<; I wish I could make it to the sale though.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

TokyoPop has always had a bad rep, no thanks to Stu. But, I don't think most "new" fans know about it. The company has always had drama. Even one of the first titles they published had claims of theft against the translation used.

Just Google it, I'm sure you can find the info easily enough.

And they weren't the first to do manga... they were just the first to cash in. Which basically equates to, they printed Sailor Moon.

The manga market is saturated with titles. For those who know games, you might as well compare it to shovelware.
TP has held on to licences and delayed releases just to make sure they had a market. It's disgusting. I can't wait for BETTER companies to pick up the work they ruined, or never even finished.

Yes, it's sad people lost jobs. OEL mangaka got screwed over. Stu is just a jerk. I hope his lame show goes no where.

Ugh, I can't express my hate for that company enough. Or maybe just Stu. Ugh. Ughughugh.

It's not surprising...I do buy a lot of manga....but usually only with a 40% off coupon for Borders. $10 for something you can read in 30/25 minutes is not worth it.

I am very sadden by this since I do read this series called V.B.Rose. D;

It was so close into finishing it.

Guess most of the North America will be buying overseas.

Originally Posted by Sakura_Madison

Guess most of the North America will be buying overseas.

That is true, at least for me. If I can do it, I will be importing from Singapore. :D!