Tokyopop Germany Loses Kodansha's Manga

by dtshyk
Jan 5, 2009 7:28 AM | 10 Comments

Tokyopop Germany officially admitted in the forum that Kodansha refused to renew all the manga licenses including "Beck", "Cromartie High School", "School Rumble", "Perfect Girl Evolution", and "Jigoku Shoujo". Tokyopop was surprised at Kodansha's decision and urged them to reconsider but failed.

Kodansha established its US corporation last July and started manga business on its own in US. The termination of the contracts with Tokyopop Germany may be related to Kodansha's new marketing strategy. Kodansha's rival companies, Shuueisha and Shougakukan, succeeded in the manga business by running the subsidiary VIZ Media. It's highly likely that Kodansha will expand the direct retailing of manga both in US and Europe.

Source: Tokyopop Germany Official Forum
Source: ICv2
Source: Anime!Anime!
Source: Anime!Anime!

10 Comments Recent Comments

ScrumYummy said:

Leon-Gun said:

magentaanbu said:

Leon-Gun said:
And over here in the US all manga costs about the same ($9.99), regardless of the company. Bookstores ussually offer "buy 3 get 1 free" or "buy 4 get 1 free" deals.

That's not exactly cheap though... Its best to buy manga online.

That's the market price. Unless you get deals from second-hand owners or the bookstores have sales, it's almost impossible to get anything lower than that.

You people are pussies. We used to pay $16-19 for a single tankoban. Be grateful that manga is now $7-$10; it will get even cheaper if more people buy it.

While I don't agree with your choice of words, I do agree we have it better than others. And contrary to DVD's I rather prefer buying manga than reading scanlations.

Jan 5, 2009 3:16 PM by Leon-Gun

Now i know why i didn't actually "bought" beck :D

Jan 5, 2009 2:01 PM by Arbel

Leon-Gun said:

magentaanbu said:

Leon-Gun said:
And over here in the US all manga costs about the same ($9.99), regardless of the company. Bookstores ussually offer "buy 3 get 1 free" or "buy 4 get 1 free" deals.

That's not exactly cheap though... Its best to buy manga online.

That's the market price. Unless you get deals from second-hand owners or the bookstores have sales, it's almost impossible to get anything lower than that.

You people are pussies. We used to pay $16-19 for a single tankoban. Be grateful that manga is now $7-$10; it will get even cheaper if more people buy it.

Jan 5, 2009 1:52 PM by ScrumYummy

magentaanbu said:

Leon-Gun said:
It just means they are gonna open it's own branch in Europe, hence they want to have all their works back in their hands before beggining in earnest. And over here in the US all manga costs about the same ($9.99), regardless of the company. Bookstores ussually offer "buy 3 get 1 free" or "buy 4 get 1 free" deals.

That's not exactly cheap though... Its best to buy manga online.

That's the market price. Unless you get deals from second-hand owners or the bookstores have sales, it's almost impossible to get anything lower than that.

It's almost impossible to buy manga where I live to begin with so I do buy most of my manga online. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes I don't.

Jan 5, 2009 11:54 AM by Leon-Gun

I was really disappointed when I heard about this (because I've bought all 17 volumes of School Rumble up to now), but maybe it's for the better, I couldn't stand the waiting for the next volume anyway, so I'll finish it with scanlations...

Jan 5, 2009 11:28 AM by raito-kun

Well, I collected the School Rumble manga.
Seems like it's time to become a pirate again.
Scanlations! /o/ Yarr~

BUT! If EMA loses the license for Negima, I swear, I'll freak out.

Jan 5, 2009 9:58 AM by De-JaY

That's not exactly cheap though... Its best to buy manga online.

Jan 5, 2009 9:49 AM by magentaanbu

Phew, and I just thought about starting School Rumble. Good thing I didn't. I hate unfinished series on my bookshelf. -.-

Jan 5, 2009 9:38 AM by Krayt

It just means they are gonna open it's own branch in Europe, hence they want to have all their works back in their hands before beggining in earnest. And over here in the US all manga costs about the same ($9.99), regardless of the company. Bookstores ussually offer "buy 3 get 1 free" or "buy 4 get 1 free" deals.

Jan 5, 2009 8:49 AM by Leon-Gun

I'm not buying from tokyopop (they are around 1-1,50€ more expensive than other companys, but not more contents or any special goods) but to hear something like that is always leaving us worried x_x

Jan 5, 2009 8:03 AM by auraMAL