As reported on The Beat and elsewhere, Tokyopop will be shuttering its U.S. operations on May 31st.
Founded by Stu Levy in 1997, the publisher found success in the market by riding the cultural tidal wave of manga. Tokyopop was a key enterprise in spreading the form in the states, bringing over hits like “Sailor Moon” and attracting attention with the likes of “Battle Royale”. The publishers troubles in recent years have been well-documented; as of February, only six full-time employees remained.
Levy himself posted a commentary, noting ” I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished – and the incredible group of passionate fans we’ve served along the way (my fellow revolutionaries!).”
Note that the German office will remain open, and that other media projects continue. Find the official Tokyopop PR after the jump.
As for you, readers, what do you have to say? Tokyopop memories? What does this mean for manga in America? Comics in general? Let us hear you.
For nearly 15 years, TOKYOPOP, led by Stu Levy, its founder, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, has pioneered the English-language manga movement and touched the hearts, minds and souls of enthusiasts worldwide.
Today, we are sad to inform our loyal community of manga fans, our passionate creators of manga content, our business and retail partners, and other stakeholders who have supported us through the years that as of May 31, 2011, TOKYOPOP is closing its Los Angeles-based North American publishing operations.
TOKYOPOP film and television projects and European operations, including the German publishing program, will not be affected by the Los Angeles office closure. In addition, TOKYOPOP will continue its global rights sales via its office in Hamburg, Germany.
April 15th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
sad news, It was fun while it lasted! Good luck to TP in the future.
Be well, be fans, support manga, support comics, tell stories, draw like it’s the last page.
See you on the flip side.
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April 15th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Man.
Tokyopop products were the best way to talk to people and show them the positive aspects of anime/manga and a full range of examples.
‘Tis a sad day…
April 15th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
I’m not a manga fan, but I feel incredibly sad for everyone that is. Not good news at all.
April 15th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
I don’t read much manga, but when I do, it has either come from Viz, Drawn and Quarterly, Dark Horse, and Tokyopop. Too bad.
The bad thing I noticed about them was that they put out a lot of books that weren’t really manga at all… they were just westerners drawing in ‘manga’ style (whatever that means). Much of it was pretty mediocre, from what I’ve read.
That said, it’s still a shame.
April 15th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Tokyopop published my first two manga, and two of my favorites: Love Hina and Lupin III. RIP, Tokyopop.
April 15th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
sad news.
April 16th, 2011 at 9:40 am
No matter if it’s mainstream, manga or inde; when a publisher closes doors it’s always a major blow to the comic’s medium. I hope for the best for all the employees involved and hopefully their hard work can carry on somewhere with plenty of opportunity. Best wishes!
April 16th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
LOOK AT ME!!!
I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TOKYO POP BUT I’M SAYING SOMETHING JUST TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!!
LOOK AT ME!!!
April 17th, 2011 at 9:54 am
I used to read a number of TokyoPop manga series, but had to cut back on (or even stop in some cases) what I was buying. This is bad news all around. What’s happening to the anime/manga industry here in the US? If any more companies shut their doors, you can consider it dead, if it isn’t already.
April 17th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
@Johnny: TP has only had a skeleton crew and freelancers for a month or two since they fired just about all of their editors. Really, this is a result of TP’s own actions, except for the Borders fiasco. They were a major innovator in the early 00s but then they tried to do too much and dumped all their new projects too fast before they had a chance to succeed.
April 20th, 2011 at 11:20 am
@Pretty-One-For-Once
Are you trying to say that Troy didn’t know anything about Tokyopop? That dude pretty much started here reviewing manga and wrote for Newtype USA before that. You’re a dips###.