BREAKING NEWS: Tokyopop and Kodansha End Partnership!

In a move that came to a surprise to all of us this morning, we learned that Japanese manga publisher Kodansha has ended their partnership with North American manga publisher Tokyopop. There are a lot of titles that are being affected (many even mid-run). Earlier this year, Kodansha also ended their partnership with Tokyopop's German branch. We are all a bit heartbroken this morning because Tokyopop was one of the first companies to publish manga in North America, and Sailor Moon was one of their first titles too. Over the years at conventions they have gotten a lot of questions from Sailor Moon fans about whether they are still trying to get the rights to the manga, and the answer was always yes (and they also said the series was close to their hearts too). If there is any happier news to report from this, it seems some older properties that were once published by Tokyopop are now being published either by Del Rey or Dark Horse. Del Rey appears to have gotten the majority of newer titles too. As of this writing, we don't know what caused this move. However, Tokyopop has been fighting through their own share of financial troubles and company restructuring, along with never ending complaints by fans for their editing choices. Once again, buzz has resurfaced that Kodansha may be doing this in preparation for their own entrance into the English manga market.

The big question becomes, what does this mean for Sailor Moon? Novelizations that were once published by Tokyopop as companions to the series now may never get published again (or new ones added). We suspected the rights to the manga were in limbo in any case after what we learned from Italy, however if there is a slight chance for the manga to return , it is too early to say who it would go to. While everyone is saying to keep their eyes out on Del Rey and Dark Horse Manga for title licenses, we're going to watch Kodansha to see if they enter the market on their own or not.

Now, for those of you who are reading any of those series that are in limbo and ending in mid-run (check this list for more detail), you can write to Kodansha! Go here and send sales an e-mail. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT SAILOR MOON. We promise, that will come a little later. Inquire about those series that are in mid-run right now that you are a big fan of, and how much you would like to hear of a license for it pretty soon - and if you were happy with Tokyopop's translation, vouch for them!

For now though, we will send pertinent results to Tokyopop just to be on the safe side, and a copy will go to Kodansha. As of this writing we don't know what stance Del Rey or Dark Horse has towards Sailor Moon.