Kodansha cancels all series with TOKYOPOP

[MMM]

From TOKYOPOP press release Aug 31,2009:

The Japanese publisher Kodansha, from whom TOKYOPOP has licensed many terrific series over the years — Chobits, Love Hina, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Rave Master, Initial D, Kindaichi, Life, GetBackers, and Love Attack, to name a few — has decided to let all existing contracts with TOKYOPOP expire on all manga series that they have licensed to us. As a result, Kodansha will not renew any licenses with TOKYOPOP for any new manga volumes. What does this mean? TOKYOPOP will not be allowed to complete the publication of any series that is currently in progress; in addition, TOKYOPOP will not be allowed to reprint titles after the current inventory has been sold out, so once these series are sold out at retail, they will not be available for consumers to purchase. The reasons for Kodansha’s decision were not communicated to TOKYOPOP.

We have received many emails and phone calls about titles related to this announcement, and given the nature of the negotiations, we could not definitely answer any of those questions until now. We love all of these series, and we are disappointed that we will not get to enjoy the outcome of some of our favorite manga. We hope to see these series completed some day…. However, if they are ever published again, they will not be published by TOKYOPOP.

Partial list of Kodansha titles TP has published or is publishing:

A.I. Love You
Baby Birth
Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
Blame!
Boys Be…
Cardcaptor Sakura (due for omnibus treatment from Dark Horse, I think)
Cherry Juice
Chobits (due for omnibus treatment from Dark Horse)
Clover (available in new omnibus from Dark Horse)
Confidential Confessions
Culdcept
Cyborg 009
Dead End
Deus Vitae
Dragon Head
Dragon Voice
Dream Saga
Et Cetera
FLCL
Flower of Eden (licensed but never published)
GetBackers
Girl Got Game
Great Teacher Onizuka
GTO: The Early Years
Harlem BeatRebound
Heat Guy J
Ice Blade
Initial D
Instant Teen: Just Add Nuts
Jing: King of Bandits
Kami Kaze
Kamichama Karin
Kedamono Damono
Kilala Princess
Kindaichi Case Files
Life
Love Hina
Magic Knight Rayearth
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Mars
Mink
Miracle Girls
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
Parasyte (since published anew by Del Rey)
Peach Girl and spin-offs
Pixie Pop
Planetes
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette
Psychic Academy
Rave Master
Remote
RG Veda
Rose Hip Rose
Sailor Moon
Saint Tail
Sakura Taisen
Samurai Deeper Kyo (picked up by Del Rey)
Smuggler
Telepathic Wanderers
Tokyo Mew Mew and sequel
Tramps Like Us
Voices of a Distant Star
Warriors of Tao
Zodiac P.I.

Sources: HERE and HERE

[IamKira]

dang.... that's not news you want to hear.....

with any luck though, they'll let ADV print their stuff... (I've always liked ADV a little better than tokyopop for some reason)
we can only hope
7 lucky : rheart : 's ...wish on them

[thcuteness]

well damn that's just about all my fav series :/

[IcewindDude]

Ack, that's a shame. Lots of fans will be let down on this one. I wonder if there are others who are supposed to pick it up?

I get all mine imported in Japanese anyways, but still, that's a shame.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by IcewindDude

Ack, that's a shame. Lots of fans will be let down on this one. I wonder if there are others who are supposed to pick it up?

I get all mine imported in Japanese anyways, but still, that's a shame.

Kodansha USA set up shop a while back, but hasn't been very active. It would most likely be expected that Kodansha USA will be taking over the Kodansha Japan manga.

[magicalgirlj]

Originally Posted by IamKira

dang.... that's not news you want to hear.....

with any luck though, they'll let ADV print their stuff... (I've always liked ADV a little better than tokyopop for some reason)
we can only hope
7 lucky : rheart : 's ...wish on them

um ADV manga is dead, but darn I loved reading Life

[Banzai]

That's quit a bit of manga that will no longer be as available now. I may have only read one manga book completely but this isn't really great news.

[spoonybard]

Ugh. I hope that doesn't mean I'll have to purchase the other three Ultimate Editions of Battle Royale much faster than I had anticipated.

[Sinestra]

WOW thats surprising i think have read and or own 90% of the manga on that list. Not something i really wanted to hear and whats more surprising Kodansha did not even give a reason as to why this decision was made. It a shame fans wont be able to complete their collections or have the joy of reading some great manga material.

im really disappointed.

[spoonybard]

Plus, you have to wonder what's going to happen to TOKYOPOP as a result...