The End

[viridian5]

"End of an era: Tokyopop shutting down US publishing division"

I wonder what happens to Saiyuki, Trinity Blood, and Silver Diamond manga now.

Comments

[lady_ganesh]

Also Kyou Kara Maou, Vassalord, Wild Adapter....

[viridian5]

They may not have been putting much out recently, but at least we had the hope of seeing it eventually. I'm worried Tokyopop will sit on the rights.

[lady_ganesh]

Me too.

[7veilsphaedra]

If a publishing house is defunct, there are a number of things they can do with intellectual properties, but if they choose not to publish them, the moment the license/option expires, the mangaka are free to seek out new publishers. It isn't as though the publishers' prerogatives include not publishing. At least actual publication is a standard clause for every contract I've heard of. And with hugely popular manga like Saiyuki, I'm sure there will be someone else to pick up Minekura's license soon enough.

It's with the more obscure works that the trouble begins.

[viridian5]

I was under the impression that this is just their US division closing though, and that Tokyopop has been shady with publishing rights in the past, so I worry.

[7veilsphaedra]

Saiyuki was their big moneymaker, so I expect they will want to leverage that property for maximum profit. They will probably either sell the license, or find some way of making English copies available in North America. Either way, it doesn't matter where the work is being printed, as long as copies are available for sale and Minekura continues to receive royalties.

It's the works with smaller audiences that I would worry about.