![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Tokyopop shuts down US publishing division
Saw the news on my F-list that Tokyopop is shutting down its US publishing division by May 31st. The film division will remain open, as will the German publishing office, which is apparently doing very well according to a translated statement in the comments of this Manga Bookshelf post. (If only I could read German!) Katherine Dacey at The Manga Critic provides some commentary and a roundup of links, Brigid Alverson at Robot 6 wonders if TP will return the rights of the OEL titles back to the creators, and David Welsh at the Manga Curmudgeon looks back on his favorite TP title and asks readers to chime in with their own fond memories.
I am sort of surprised and yet not--I knew that Tokyopop was in financial trouble, but they had recently announced that they were rolling out a much simpler and better organized website on April 26, so I assumed that they were managing to hang in there, at least for the moment. I feel very badly for the employees who will lose their jobs--they were down to a handful of permanent staff, but that doesn't make the situation any less harsh for those few people, and TP was employing a number of freelancers who will also have to look for other work in a dwindling market. And I'm thinking that this will probably have a trickle-down effect to retailers, too. I've mentioned before that I buy most of my manga at a local comic book shop, and while the shop also sells toys, dvds, and American comics, manga makes up a very large portion of the store's sales, and I would guess that TP titles make up a big chunk of the manga sales. At a rough estimate, I would guess that TP and Blu titles make up at least half the manga that I personally buy at the store, with June, Viz, and a few Yen Press titles rounding out the rest. That means that unless I decide to pick up some new titles from the other publishers, the shop will be collecting only half as much money from me every month, and I'm sure the same goes for other customers.
I've commented plenty on Tokyopop--in fact, I did so many posts that I've added a new Tokyopop tag, although this will most likely be the last TP post. I've already talked about my frustration about canceled or on-hiatus titles before, so I'll just say that I'm very upset that I'll never be able to finish many of my favorite series like Tokyo Pet Shop of Horrors, Genju no Seiza, Vassalord, Tactics, Saiyuki Reload (just one volume shy of completion, argh!), Aria, Alice in the Country of Hearts, and V.B. Rose, not to mention some titles I was reading via the public library like Deadman Wonderland, Future Diary (just two volumes left, double argh!), and Gakuen Alice. And there were a few recent titles that I started buying despite my misgivings about TP's habit of not finishing series, like Red Hot Chili Samurai, Skyblue Shore, and Stellar Six of Gingacho. Although I initially took offense at the tone of (now former) TP editor Lillian Diaz-Pryzyb's article, I did decide to follow her advice and put my money where my mouth is and invest in those series in the hopes that I'll help them survive. And I will admit, I was feeling more charitable towards Stu Levy after hearing about his relief efforts in Japan. Oh, and I nearly forgot--all the BL and yaoi titles that Blu was putting out! No more Junjou Romantica or Tea for Two!
Okay, I did go off another rant after all, sorry. But I kind of want to cry when I think about all the half-completed series on my shelves. People are saying in various blogs and forums that they hope some of the TP series will be rescued by other publishers, but realistically, I think the chances are pretty slim except for the most popular titles--like maybe Hetalia, for example. Most of the other manga publishers have been struggling and going through layoffs too, so I'm not holding out hope for too many rescues. I am hoping that DMP/June will pick up a few of the Blu titles at least.
Anyway, I "put my money where my mouth is" and now I sort of feel like I just got screwed over again. It's almost like you're damned if you do, damned if you don't--as Lillian said, if no one buys a manga title, it's guaranteed to fail, but on the other hand, forking over my money doesn't mean that it's guaranteed to succeed. Someone on one of the ANN forums basically said to people who were complaining about their favorite series being left unfinished, "Hey, you guys knew that Tokyopop was in trouble, and if you decided to buy their books anyway, you have no one to blame but yourself." Harsh and a bit snide, but true enough, I suppose. I knew I was taking a risk by buying those Tokyopop titles, but I was holding out hope they'd manage to pull through.
Helen McCarthy author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga tweeted "Stu Levy critics: there's more to this than your right to translated manga - like people losing their jobs"--this was later retweeted by Deb Aoki of Manga.About.com. And you know, fair enough--I have family and friends who have been laid off, so I certainly feel for the TP employees, and I'd never say that my access to manga is more important than the loss of the their jobs. But at the same time, I feel like I have some right to be upset, considering that I've invested hundreds of dollars into Tokyopop series that will now never be completed.
Although when I read the tweet again, it seems like it's being directed more at people who are venting about Stu Levy. Honestly, I don't know how much Levy is responsible for TP's demise--I'm sure that bad business decisions played a part, but there were also outside factors like Kodansha's revoking their licenses and Borders' bankruptcy. Still, I think that people can be mad at Levy and feel badly for the workers who are losing their jobs at the same time, although I guess that's not coming across in the rants that McCarthy and Aoki have been reading.
I was holding off on buying the second (and final) volume of Eensy Weensy Monster because I was waiting for the library to get it, but now I think I'll go out and buy it tomorrow just to be on the safe side, since there aren't going to be any more books shipped after May. And I need to make sure I get vol. 6 of Karakuri Odette (also the final one!)--it was supposed to be out this week, but for some reason it was missing from the local comic shop's shipment. Other people have blogged about getting it, so I know that it's available at other stores/vendors. I feel bad about Comic Shop Guy losing business, so I'll wait to see if it shows up in next week's shipment, but if not, I'll look for it at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
I was considering buying the new series Butterfly (because I like supernatural stories), but now I don't see any point in buying the first volume of a series that I'll never finish. *sigh*
I'll probably go back to buying the original Japanese version of Tokyo Pet Shop of Horrors (actual title is "Shin Petshop of Horrors"), but it's not really practical for me to buy the tankoban for all the series I've been reading--not just because of the added expense, but because my Japanese isn't very good, so it takes me a long time to translate a single chapter. I basically have to sit there with a dictionary and look it up word-by-word, although I do recognize many of the simpler and more common kanji characters now. So I'm limiting that option for only my very favorite series--basically Matsuri Akino's stuff, and I still have a backlog of Genju no Seiza and Elixir tankoban to work on.
If Kodasha ever gets their US branch up and running, hopefully there will be some new (and returning old favorites) to replace some of the titles I'm losing to TP--and give my local comic shop some added business!
ETA: Sorry if you saw this post and it disappeared. I marked it "Friends" by mistake when I meant to mark it "Private" so that I could proofread it before publicly posting. Corrected version is up now!
no subject
She doesn't mention it, but I think their driving cover prices down is also part of it. I've seen blog posts by former translators that at the prices TokyoPop paid, it isn't possible to get consistently good work. (Saiyuki was an exception, for some reason.) Those lowball fees were dictated by the prices TokyoPop charged for its products. Those prices weren't sustainable in the long run without a deeper pocket backing them. And TokyoPop's German subsidiary is successful because VIZ hasn't entered the market. They therefore can compete with the other German manga publishers on a level playing field.
I think the lashing out tone of Lillian Diaz-Pryzyb's article was because she was venting about what she realized was the pending demise of TokyoPop, although I might be wrong about that if it happened before Borders' bankruptcy filing. Then again, Borders' bankruptcy was, if anything, even less of a surprise than TokyoPop closing its US operations.
I don't think you got screwed over again by buying more series from TP. Your only alternative would be to leave off buying, and thus reading, those series at an earlier point. Can you really say that would be a more satisfactory alternative? Yes, you won't be able to finish them, at least not in English, unless someone else picks up the license, but if TokyoPop hadn't licensed them, you probably would never have seen them. I think the Japanese licensors, and the entire licensing system, is as much to blame as TokyoPop for hiatuses, and Ichijinsha's delay in licensing them the reason why the most recent (and in Saiyuki's case, the last) volumes of Reload and Loveless weren't published in the US. Even the Singaporean English translation of Reload, which I've now purchased for twice the cover price due to shipping costs, was delayed due to licensing issues.
Like you, I think economic realities mean that not that many licenses will be rescued, and I don't see it happening with something like Reload that only has one volume to go. It makes more sense to hire editors and sink money into popular series that are just starting out, like Hetalia. I'd forgotten that was a TokyoPop series; my daughter will be unhappy.
Ironically, in the short run, all this is going to do is revive the scanlation business.
PS: I may do another post about this today or tomorrow; would you mind if I linked to this entry?
no subject
Feeling screwed over was a gut reaction, though I know it isn't really fair or rational. And yeah, the only other option was not to read them at all. Even half of Pet Shop of Horrors or Tactics, or nine volumes of Saiyuki is better than nothing at all--though it still kills me that they won't be finished!
I think that your daughter doesn't have to worry too much--Hetalia seems to be the one series that everyone agrees will likely be rescued, although it will probably take some time for the license to be renegotiated and find a new home.
And yes, you may certainly feel free to link to this or any other public post.
no subject
You could always buy the Chuang Yi translation of Reload 10 off eBay like I just did. There's a link in one of the comments to my post about TokyoPop.
no subject
That said, I still lay the blame firmly at Stu Levy's feet. You said:
"Honestly, I don't know how much Levy is responsible for TP's demise--I'm sure that bad business decisions played a part, but there were also outside factors like Kodansha's revoking their licenses and Borders' bankruptcy.?
Here's the thing, though, just in this one paragraph (many others are citing these reasons as well) - Why would Kodansha have pulled its licenses if TP had been doing a good job of marketing its titles? It wouldn't have. Kodansha is only just now getting into the US market this year...has it been 3 or 4 years since TP lost the Kodansha titles? Either way, there's been a delay, and the reason for that is startup cost and effort. If TP had been doing a great job with the K titles and sending K lots of shared revenue, it would be logical to let TP continue with those licenses and not try to start its own American venture because it costs so much to start a publisher up.
Also those same people who dared argue that you should have seen TP's demise coming should also be arguing that TP should have seen Border's demise coming. And while you spent your spare entertainment dollars, TP was spending lifeblood money in continuing to give Borders books it didn't pay for.
When I lay the blame at Stu Levy's feet, it's because he spent a lot of money over the years that caused the TP war chest to dwindle down to, I'm guessing, nothing. People don't want to count the money spent foolishly early on, saying those projects had nothing to do with the recent spending that helped close TP, but they're wrong.
You get so much capital together and some loans and you start a company. Over time, you pay off the loans, and you put some money away for rainy days, and you distribute some back to new products and, if you're doing well, eventually disperse some wealth back to the employees and/or investors.
Starting up the OEL program cost TP money that it didn't make back. So did the bad web site, so did print on demand, so did "World's Greatest Otaku" (omg that big-assed bus!) and other moves I can't even remember. TP let a lot go by the wayside in terms of projects, and then it also began to get a reputation as a publisher that doesn't finish series. TP also did not cultivate good relationships with its fans.
Stu either was behind all these failed projects and, as leader, he created the atmosphere of fan neglect by hardly ever being forthcoming with bad news. Stu also has been bored with publishing for the last year, and a run through his Twitter feed would prove that. In fact, the man was more out than in during the past year from what I can tell based on his Twitter account. Out attending conventions of technology and other media, making contacts and looking for new ideas...for himself, not TP.
no subject
Stu is holding on to the media arm of TP and not shutting TP down as an entity because there's still licenses and structure that can be exploited for further inroads into media like film and TV. If "Priest" is a hit, TP's media arm will flourish. If it's a failure, look for one or two more movies, that, if they don't hit, will be as far as TP can get as a media company.
Someone on Lawless' post about this hinted around that some Japanese publishers with TP didn't feel TP did a good job with their works. It takes a leader, who's focused on publishing and producing excellent books, to make good manga (or books, or anything, really). Stu Levy always looking for the Next Big Thing almost as soon as TP was off the ground. He was smart enough to surround himself with good people who were able to keep TP running for a long time, despite the financial losses Stu incurred on other projects and neglecting the Japanese publishers.
But if you chip away at a financial war chest long enough, eventually, there won't be anything left. TP lost great editors and marketers along the way, and that chipped away at the company's human resources war chest, too. There had been two previous lay-offs this year alone, and it's only April. Word around the blogs was that TP only had about 6 full-time employees left to manage a host of freelancers.
Stu was TP's leader this whole time. He ran the publishing arm out of resources. We'll see how long the TP name survives after this. My guess is just long enough for Stu to get hired on as a consultant at a much bigger, more prestigious media company.
There, spleen vented. *HUGS* I feel bad for us and everyone, really. Just not Stu Levy; he ain't no saint.
love, lore
no subject
At the very least, as Katherine Dacey said on her post, Levy seemed unable to focus and follow through on projects. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but I wish that he'd turned over the publishing arm to someone else who could give it their full attention since he seems more interested in his movie/TV projects. It puzzles me a bit that the media division is managing to stay afloat--the Priest movie is the only big project I've heard about, and I can't imagine that the Otaku TV series is bringing in a lot of money.
Anyway, feeling sad and a little bitter...I guess I'll need to brush up on my Japanese if I want to finish some of these series. *sigh*