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Tokyopop

AprecheApreche
edited April 2011 in Manga/Comics
R.I.P.

Comments

  • SailSail
    Who cares.
  • AmpAmp
    Oh no! Where will I get all my Mangers!!!
  • progSHELLprogSHELL
    It was only a matter of time.
  • KieyKiey
    I'm surprised it took this long.
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    And now Viz will fully monopolize the meh manga market.
  • CremlianCremlian
    Would just note that Tokyopop media LLC is still going. Whatever the hell they are going to do to with that.
  • P_TOGP_TOG
    What's a "tokyopop" is it like marble pop because those are gross.
  • GundampilotspazGundampilotspaz
    Would just note that Tokyopop media LLC is still going. Whatever the hell they are going to do to with that.
    Probably a way not to lose their current licenses and attempt to sell the right to other companies like Viz, or chase after more possible film adaptations. When companies go bankrupt all licenses default back to the Japanese. This way they can close one piece of the company and retain those precious licenses. At this point it is probably just a holding company to collect money from the upcoming Priest film.
  • ErwinErwin
    As long as Vertical and Del Rey still in business, I will be getting my manga fix in the most awesome way :D
  • Conan-SanConan-San
    edited April 2011
    Their distribution was atrocious. I couldn't find the Full Metal Panic novels for love and/or money.

    So, really, If I can't get the things I want when I'm willing to go though the legal route, fuck 'em.
    Post edited by Conan-San on
  • Hitman HartHitman Hart
    Tokyopop was the first company to release more than a couple of random compilations of Japanese pro wrestling in America, bringing footage of the hardcore promotion FMW over. For being my first exposure to the Japanese wrestling scene alone, I've always kind of liked them, and I read a lot of their manga through the library during their peak period. It's a shame they're gone, but they really haven't had anything of note in years as best I know.
  • chaosof99chaosof99
    Not really surprising. Levy's kind of an idiot as far as I can tell. Only bought three english TP releases: Tokko, Welcome to the NHK and GTO: The Early Days (Shonan Junai Gumi). Unfortunately, they lost the license to SJG 10 volumes into the release of the compilation volumes (5 remain unpublished in english). Their german division is decent though, but could be better if they'd fuck off with the honorifics. They released Death Note and are currently publishing Beelzebub, Claymore and Bakuman in german. Glad that they stick around and there won't be a break in those series.
  • ErwinErwin
    Well, on other note, someone could re-release Cyborg 009 :D
    Maybe once when Sony looses the rights of the anime we can get a proper awesome release. That show was awesome.
  • gomidoggomidog
    Whoa! All gone? Really? Too bad! What a shame. Their translations were mostly crappy and they had awful contract terms for their original creators, but they encouraged OEL manga and started the whole idea of not flipping the comics pages and publishing really fast! They had both good and bad.
    I want to start a manga digital distribution thing, like those purified distributions of out of print works in Japan where the most popular comics get pre-ordered limited print runs. Also, the Japanese companies cannot claim that they are losing domestic sales, because it would be in English.
  • NeitoNeito
    Also, the Japanese companies cannot claim that they are losing domestic sales, because it would be in English.
    They'd find a way.
  • BonehimerBonehimer
    The damage has been done, there are kids now calling themselves "mangaka" and claiming to be making manga instead of weeaboo comics.
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    The damage has been done, there are kids now calling themselves "mangaka" and claiming to be making manga instead of weeaboo comics.
    Gah I hate that so much! Its just a comic book! Manga is from japan, thats it! I remember seeing some book claiming to be the years best manga or something like that, and flipped through it only to find out that most of it was whiteboy weeaboo crap. The back of the book said something that was basically " yeah man manga isn't just from japan its more like a state of mind" or something bullshit like that. Kids, just make comics. You can make it look like manga if you want, art style is art style, but don't call it manga. You're not Japanese, you're a white middleclass suburban American. Deal with it.
  • CremlianCremlian
    Deal with it.
    Maybe we all should take this advise :-p
  • gomidoggomidog
    edited April 2011
    Gah I hate that so much! Its just a comic book! Manga is from japan, thats it! I remember seeing some book claiming to be the years best manga or something like that, and flipped through it only to find out that most of it was whiteboy weeaboo crap. The back of the book said something that was basically " yeah man manga isn't just from japan its more like a state of mind" or something bullshit like that. Kids, just make comics. You can make it look like manga if you want, art style is art style, but don't call it manga. You're not Japanese, you're a white middleclass suburban American. Deal with it.
    I agree, but maybe not so much in such harsh terms. Talking in English, I call what I make comics, no matter what it looks like. When I am talking to my friends in Japan, we call what I make manga, even if it looks very American. (If I am in a manga club in Japan, or on Pixiv, do I have to call my stuff comics in English just because of where I was born?) Manga does not all look the same, and some looks totally different from the stereotypical style - Natsume Ono's work for example.
    In other words, I am going to call Japanese comics manga, French GNs bande dessinée, and all of the above comics. If I am in Finland I would call them sarjakuvakirja. (I just learned that word!) It's language.
    Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the word comics, because the content is not always comical, but I can't think of a better term. If it is long, graphic novels are good. Sequential art is too vague (storyboards are sequential, for example) and sounds kinda pretentious. I suppose, though, it's like any other antiquated term that has a new label applied to it - it's hard to come up with a PC term that pleases everyone and is easy to say.
    Post edited by gomidog on
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    I agree, but maybe not so much in such harsh terms
    I was ranting, I don't actually have feelings that strong about it.
    Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the word comics, because the content is not always comical, but I can't think of a better term.
    The problem I have isn't that they aren't always comical, its just what people think of when I say comics. If I say to someone that I'm reading comic X they'll probably think I'm reading some underwear pervert comic and they may or may not make fun of it. Now If I called it a graphic novel I feel like thats making me even more of a nerd because it could look like I'm trying to pass off a comic as a legitimate art form, even if it is. Its not really that big of a deal to me since I read in private and I don't really care what people think all that much, but it still irks me.
  • gomidoggomidog
    Their german division is decent though, but could be better if they'd fuck off with the honorifics.
    That drives me nuts. I wish they'd actually translate, instead of being like -san and -chan all the time. It sounds forced in other languages. I also don't like when people localize to the extent that they try to erase all references to Japanese culture, like if a short is based around an okonomiyaki joint, don't try to pass it off as an ihop (actual example.) Azumanga Daioh did it well. They would have little liner notes explaining things left out of the translation, and so did the old VHS tapes of Ranma 1/2, keeping the cultural references and jokes pretty legit, but making the speech sound more like it was originally written in English.
  • chaosof99chaosof99
    edited April 2011
    Well, I think they make it depend on the translator or target audience. I just checked, and neither Yotsuba&! nor Azumanga Daioh (two properties TP also published in german, and I dearly forgot to mention) have honorifics as far as I can tell.

    Also, I just received another english Tokyopop title in the mail today. It's Ratman and I had ordered it of Amazon before I heard about TP shutting down because someone recommended it to me. Now I'm not sure what to make of it. I hope the volumes stay in circulation a bit longer just in case I want to continue reading it. Problem however is that if it's longer than what they have published so far (and I have no idea), then of course I'm not sure if anybody else will pick up the license :X
    Post edited by chaosof99 on
  • gomidoggomidog
    Well, I think they make it depend on the translator or target audience. I just checked, and neither Yotsuba&! nor Azumanga Daioh (two properties TP also published in german, and I dearly forgot to mention) have honorifics as far as I can tell.
    In the US, it was ADV manga that published them. Too bad Yen Press picked up the Yotsuba license after ADV went Pah! and now it is kinda meh. Not the worst translation, of course, but somewhat sub-par.
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