Tokyopop

/wiki/Tokyopopcreator

Tokyopop, formerly Mixx, is a translator and distributor of Manga, aka Japanese comics. It was one of the most prolific manga publishers in the US, along with Viz Media and Del Rey, and was one of the first publishers to print their manga "back to front", i.e. in the original Japanese format. They promoted titles printed under this format as "100% Authentic Manga!", although it may have been done for economic as much as artistic reasons.

In translating, Tokyopop has a habit of leaving word bubbles blank, not translating sound effects, and excluding honorifics in their translations. This makes them targets of fannish rage, because Japanese honorifics are Serious Business.

They tried to expand their line by sponsoring "Original English Manga," including manga-styled Star Trek stories, a sequel to Labyrinth, and CEO Stu Levy's Ugly Baby Project, Princess Ai. It also included genuinely original work, like Brandon Graham's King City and Becky Cloonan's East Coast Rising. Some of these titles were more successful than others.

Tokyopop formerly published Anime DVDs, but no longer. Some of their back catalog was acquired by FUNimation. They have also expanded into translating Korean Manhwa. Their output was recently slashed by nearly 50%, possibly due to cannibalization at retail. The competition from other publishers might have also had something to do with it.

Also, they used to have the most User-Unfriendly website in all the interwebs. They must've taken this criticism to heart, since the new website it much easier to understand.

For a few years, they ran a Rising Stars Of Manga competition, inviting people to send in short one-shot mangas (though some people would send in prologues to larger stories...TokyoPop figured that as long as it stood on its own as a story, it was fine) and publishing ten winners each year. Many of those winners were offered to do full series: examples are Peach Fuzz, Atomic King Daidogan, Dogby Walks Alone, and even the famed Endling won the second competition! Unfortunately, after seven contests, the entire competition seems to have ceased, and most of the artists who were offered deals have had their series pulled.

As of 4/15/11, the company has closed down all American operations, leaving only their international office in Germany open; however, they have recently confirmed that they intend to return to the American industry. However (again), they entered the realms of Trolling Creator as this wasn't the cause and they were merely creating a newsletter on Asian pop-culture.

Not to be confused with the otherwise-forgettable 80s movie Tokyo Pop that featured the first film appearance of a Visual Kei band.

Notable Manga and Comic Series

...and many, many, many more

  1. ↑ it actually says Kiyo QJO on the covers, but the art style is pretty obvious
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