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Posts Tagged Tokyopop

Tokyopop Announces Original Series Will Resume Digitally

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, August 15, 2009

Earlier in the week Tokyopop revealed news that eager readers will finally see the return of several of their original manga-styled series. Instead of seeing print however, theses returning series will now see online releases on a chapter by chapter basis through Tokyopop.com’s online manga reader.

These series, as announced so far, are:

Psy-comm (Vol. 03) – Volumes one and two were originally released in print with the third currently listed as the last.

Boys of Summer (Vol. 02) – Volume one was originally released in print. The series is set for three complete volumes.

Earthlight (Vol. 03) – Volume one and two were originally released in print and is currently listed complete at three volumes.

Kat & Mouse – Volumes one, two and three have been released in print with volume four due for release this September 2009. Presumably online releases will begin with volume five.

Pantheon High – Volume one and two have already been released in print and volume three is slated for release this coming October 2009. Tokyopop currently only has three volumes listed in the series.

Undertown – Volume one has already been released in print and volume two has a Tokyopop release date set for December 2009. TP.com lists this series complete at volume two.

Gyakushu – Volume one has already been released in print and is listed complete at three volumes.

Tokyopop also mentions in their press release the potential for a print-on-demand service, one that could possibly see future series published exclusively on their website see eventual print if popularity deems it a worthwhile endeavour for them.

You can read Tokyopop’s full press release on the titles here.

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Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Global Manga, Tokyopop

PR: Tokyopop Presents New Online Manga Exclusive

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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TOKYOPOP PRESENTS:
New Online Manga Programming Exclusive to TOKYOKPOP.com
PSY-COMM Debuts as the First of a Number of Series in 2009

Los Angeles, CA (August 12, 2009) ― TOKYOPOP is pleased to announce the release of a number of its original series exclusively on TOKYOPOP.com. Modernizing the magazine serialization made famous by Charles Dickens, today TOKYOPOP will debut PSY*COMM volume 3, with a new chapter serialized weekly for free until the series concludes its story arc. The launch of this new volume of PSY*COMM marks the debut of TOKYOPOP’s online manga program that will include continuing volumes of BOYS OF SUMMER, EARTHLIGHT, KAT & MOUSE, PANTHEON HIGH, UNDERTOWN, GYAKUSHU, and others.

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Review: Zone-00 (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kiyo QJO
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “In a world where humans a demons coexist under a fragile peace, change is coming… A mysterious drug, known only as Zone-OO, seems to be causing demons all over Tokyo to lose control and revert to their old, violent ways. Enter two young students who stand on opposite sides of an ageless conflict. One a demon, the other an exorcist, they must now join forces to uncover the secret before it’s too late!”

An energetic, bright-eyed demon and a down-to-business sharp-eyed exorcist; the two are classmates and good friends, an unlikely enough mix even before you throw the deadly events that have started happening around their town. With a drug circulating that turns normally controlled individuals into flesh-hungry beings, an assortment of bizarre characters come together to investigate the occurrences, and in this first volume, lay some initial presumptions to rest… when they’re not busy exploring each other’s individual oddities that is.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Review: Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo (Vol. 05)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, August 7, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Matsuri Akino
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2009

Synopsis: “The mysterious underworld takes on a whole new dimension in this volume of Pet Shop of Horrors! When all the pastries in Shinjuku disappear, it’s just the beginning of a mystery involving a couple desperate for a child and a chef desperate to create the perfect dessert. Then there’s the case of the lovely lady who saves Taizuu from an assassin’s bullet, only to reveal her own deadly ulterior motives. And when a young runaway finds the perfect home, questions arise as to whether it’s a non-traditional school for girls – or a sinister cult.”

This fifth volume offers up some of the funniest moments of the series’ history and I had more than a few good laughs, albeit at the character’s expense. Taizuu steps up on his attempts to flesh out the truth behind Count D and his mysterious pet shop, going so far as to buying every sweet and cake in the entire city district! It’s one thing after another as Taizuu continues to fill the role of the absent Leon, except for a key-difference: Taizuu comes with a plethora of resources at his disposal.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Tokyopop Webinar: Part One

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, August 6, 2009

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Early this afternoon (or early this evening as in my case), Tokyopop held its first webinar: a live webcam-based session where Tokyopop staff took the time to share some information about upcoming titles and answer a whole lot of questions from the attendees.

Thanks to a quick transit home, I was able to attend this first-of-two sessions and you can read about what was said under the post cut.

As for my impressions of the Webinar as a whole: fantastic idea. It allows the opportunity for a convention-type industry panel but that people around the world can join in on from the comfort of their own homes. It’s a great way to communicate with fans and I give Tokyopop major kudos for putting it into place. Most impressively was the number of questions they were able to answer thanks to the in-order, streamlined method of submission. Very organized and a great opportunity to hit a lot of proverbial birds with one stone (I had all my questions answered so that was snazzy). I certainly hope I can attend the next one as well.

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Alice in the Country of..., Hinako Takanaga, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Tokyopop

Tokyopop Says Bye To Cheap Paper, Hello To Fans On Webinar

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 5, 2009

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Some pretty exciting manga news came courtesy of About: Manga’s Deb Aoki who has news from Tokyopop that many have been waiting to here. Hearing the cries of their readers, Tokyopop has finally found an American paper mill that will be supplying them with a paper closer to the quality of their original.

I join those in crying out a big yay! Although the lesser-quality paper wouldn’t have stopped me from purchasing my favourites, it was still depressing seeing those skinny little spines and see-through pages. A thank you to Tokyopop for not letting our whines fall on deaf ears.

Tokyopop will also be doing something I think is fantastic: a live Webinar with members of their staff to answer questions and share some news about the company. It’ll be like an industry panel without the con. The time of it sadly is rather inconvenient for us 9-5’ers though, taking place 1-2pm PST this Thursday (August 6th). Though I’m in Atlantic time (4 hours ahead of PST), I’ll be in transit home during this webinar but don’t think I won’t be hoping for a speedy drive home.

I’m curious what my readers think: would you be interested in being one of the 1000-cap able to attend Tokyopop’s Webinar? And how about that paper; happy to see a return to the thicker weight or impartial?

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Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Review: Chibi Vampire (Vol. 02)

By Shannon Fay on Friday, July 31, 2009

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Yuna Kagesaki
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2006

Synopsis: “Kenta sees Karin at work and school, each day serving as a reminder that something about the girl with the oft-bloody nose just isn’t right! He’s suspicious… and he’s not exactly subtle about it. Fearing that he might discover her secret, Karin decides to kill this potential problem–with kindness! She goes out of her way to do all kinds of nice things for him. But when Kenta catches her “feeding” yet again, the gig may be up. So what’s a vampire girl to do? Why, take the boy home to meet her parents, of course!”

Chibi Vampire is a series about a vampire teenager with a unique condition. Unlike everyone else in her family who sucks blood, Karin’s body produces too much of the red stuff. When her body makes too much, she has to either bite someone and inject the blood in them or suffer a geyser of a nosebleed. When she gives blood, her ‘victims’ become energetic and happy for a few days afterwards.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Summer Predictions for Tokyopop on Amazon.com

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, July 5, 2009

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While many manga fans are enjoying con season for some in-person news, Amazon continues to offer glimpses into the future a little ahead of schedule. Today I came across a few new titles from Tokyopop over on Amazon.com, so enjoy :) But remember, this doesn’t neccessarily guarantee a release until we hear from Tokyopop directly (or see the title in this month’s Diamond previews; yay for Kazusa’s Mad Love Chase!)

Kokaku Detective Story (Vol. 01)
Yoshitsugu Katagiri

Happy Cafe (Vol. 01)
Kou Matsuzuki

Hanako and the Teller of Allegory (Vol. 01)
Sakae Esuno

.hack//CELL (Vol. 01)
Ryo Suzukaze & Akira Mutsuki

Deadman Wonderland (Vol. 01)
by Jinsei Kataoka & Kazuma Kondou

Not much surprise seeing another .hack series but it’s of course good news for the fans out there. The title I’m most interested in however is Deadman Wonderland (pictured above). The artist is the same manga-ka behind Eureka Seven and the plot sounds like a cool combination of gladiatorial battles and supernatural drama.

What about everyone else, looking forward to some of these titles?

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Tokyopop Title Tips, New News About Old News

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, May 29, 2009

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A couple new Amazon finds today (feels like it’s been a while, doesn’t it?) and a few updates on some old news. Hold onto your seats, this could prove mildly of interest to you!

First off, Tokyopop has two new series listed over on Amazon.ca, both listed for February 2010:

Portrait of M and N (Vol. 01) – Tachibana Higuchi
Alice in the Country of Hearts – Unknown

Likely related to recent Domo-promotion news, Tokyopop also has a listing for Domo 7/11 Exclusive. No real idea what that is, but it’s atleast being sold to us considerably cheaper than whatever the heck these are: Pop Display — 2009 Volume 3: Chibi Vampire and Pop Display — 2009 Volume 4: Domo 7-11 Box. $431.68 Canadian? Alrighty then.

In updates on older news, Amazon now lists Yen Press’s upcoming omnibus re-release of Azumanga Daioh. The book is dated for December 2009 and with a 672 page-count. You can see the listing on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

For those who can’t wait to get a hold of Viz’s VizBig omnibus release of Inu-Yasha (sporting unflipped pages), Amazon also has that listed now as well. A 576 page-count with the first volume due out November 2009 can be seen at both Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

For the Battle Royale fans out there, Viz looks to be re-releasing the novel. Viz originally released a copy of Koushun Takami’s brutal survival drama novel in early 2003. This new listing has the same description and page-count as the 2003 release so it’s likely a reprint over a formal rerelease if the information on Amazon is indeed correct.

And finally, I checked back on a weird listing for something called Yellow 2: Episode 1 that originally popped up on Amazon.ca earlier this month. The listing has been tweaked slightly, including to my memory, the additional information that the book is only 60 pages long. That’s pretty tiny for a graphic novel, and even more curious is that to my knowledge Makoto Tateno (still) hasn’t done a sequel to her popular boys’ love series, Yellow. Until now…?

While this is purely speculation on my end (for a listing that may or may not even be accurate), it reminds me a lot of Dark Horse’s upcoming release of CLAMP’s mangettes, with the smaller page counts released over numerous ‘episodes’. I can’t help but ponder the possibilities: could Digital Manga could be hopping on the simulataneous release bandwagon and could we see some exciting news in the future regarding more potential titles like this from them? Time will tell!

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Alice in the Country of..., Boys' Love/Yaoi, CLAMP, DMP, Makoto Tateno, Manga, Tokyopop, Viz Media

Review: Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo (Vol. 04)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, May 13, 2009

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Manga-ka: Matsuri Akino
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “When Count D is caught between two yakuza families in a modern day Romeo and Juliet-style romance, will his advice result in an ending as tragic as Shakespeare’s woeful tale? Or will he be able to bring the star-crossed lovers together without causing mafia warfare? And when a popular actress is having trouble with a stalker, Count D comes to the rescue with the perfect pet!”

Count D is back with more surprises for readers here in the fourth volume of Matsuri Akino’s Pet Shop of Horrors as the owner of Neo-Tokyo, the building in which Count D has set up his new shop, continues to follow the Count around in hopes of discovering his ‘true’ business. The owner’s shocked expressions are never short of entertaining with each new discovery about his mysterious tenant, and after learning just how deep Count D’s connections go, now it may be more a matter of whether Count D is best kept friend or foe, instead of merely deciding the fate of his shop.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop