And Danielle, I'm like you, there are some books I'm worried about as well. I'm hoping the fact that BECK has an anime tie-in will keep it on the safe list as TP's marketing will always be able to focus on that. Then again, I guess sales are always going to be the final deciding factor.

What I think will be MOST affected though are TP's light novel line. Stuff like Trinity Blood, Chibi Vampire, Full Metal Panic, etc. I don't know how well their line is selling overall, but seeing as how several series were stopped already due to low sales (Slayers, Crest Of The Stars, Scrapped Princess, and I believe Kino's Journey as well) then I have to imagine they're some of the first things being scrutinized...sigh...

I have actually wanted TOKYOPOP to cut back on the number of titles for awhile now. They have some great titles still- Fruits Basket, of course, as well as BECK, Chibi Vampire. Welcome To The NHK, Rave Master, Manga Sutra, etc.- but their pure volume was drowning those titles and they were preventing their own books from finding the audiences they need. There were just too many TP books coming out that left me scratching my head as to how and why they ever got licensed. I’m all for a full, healthy market with as much stuff out there as possible- but there are limits and this market has reached its current one, in my estimation.

This was my local comic book shop owner's feeling about the whole thing as well and I pretty much agree. He barely orders books from TP these days, compared to how much Viz comes through the store on a monthly basis. I still worry Beck might be on the titles to go but I really hope not -- the problem with TP right now is gems like Beck fall through the cracks.

The cold war analogy is both apt and pretty amusing actually.

Plus, there was always this "keeping up with Viz" feel to TP's volume-over-quality release plan. It was like the Cold War in the 80's all over again, except this time TOKYOPOP was Russia, getting outspent and eventually hitting hard times because of their attempt to keep up. Del Rey's entering the marketplace and signing that HUGE first-look deal with Kodansha hurt TP as well, because a lot fo their early hit titles came from Kodansha.

I stil buy more series from TP than any other manga publisher, so I'll be following this anxiously to see how this all shakes out...

I dunno, with Viz and Del Ray scooping up licenses with their contracts with large publishers, is there anything left? Even if there were, would TokyoPop pony up the money? Isn't that why they've become so focused on the much cheaper OEL OGN stuff? Not only is it cheaper, but they get greater control and profit from any media they make from it. Nothing against the work itself and those who make it, but it's simply cheaper to make for TokyoPop and easier for them to control..

Instead of buying tons of crap and OEL, maybe they should've saved sufficiently to score one great license that might profit as much or more as all the rest put together.

The problem with this report is that though they’re downsizing the publishing part of their company, they’re branching out into comics-turned-movie and such. Which is a bad idea. Maybe Viz’s success is giving them ideas, but they’re not stable enough. Only branch out into what you can do! Global manga is great, and I’d like to see them put more effort into that area while still maintaining their Japanese manga piles, instead of branching out into things while leaving others half-finished. Their report strikes me as downsizing so that they could focus on the comics-turned-movies and stuff, NOT the comics.

I can't tell you how strongly I agree with this -- while I understand Tokyopop needs to downsize parts of its manga publishing (even though I hate that notion as a fan), I really can't see them trying to turn into an idea factory either here. I just don't think it will work but then *shrug* I suppose we'll have to wait and see what actually Tokyopop media *means*...but, in the end, I actually don't care about Tokyopop media, I care about Tokyopop *manga*. sigh.....

It's obvious they would downsize, especially since they've gotten so much backlash for the Pilot contract, and the OEL creators don't seem to be lining up for them anymore, and the ones that do aren't that good....Their OEL line is both THE best, and the worse I've seen, and they're taking on just too much.

It's good that they're cutting releases, and tightening up. Instead of licensing like mad and releasing stuff that aren't selling well, they should focus more time on actually writing good contracts, searching for new talent if they still want to go the OEL route, and find their next big manga hit, or they're sinking fast. For a long time, I thought they were going for "speed" and "quantity", not "quality". Hopefully, cutting back releases will help. Downsizing isn't good, but if that's what it takes to get Tokyopop to take less and give more of the attention their projects DESERVE, (because they're biting more than they can chew), I'm all for it. I just hope they don't sink. Maybe it's just sentimentality, but they were my first manga company, so even though they aren't the greatest or the best, I still really like them.

The problem with this report is that though they're downsizing the publishing part of their company, they're branching out into comics-turned-movie and such. Which is a bad idea. Maybe Viz's success is giving them ideas, but they're not stable enough. Only branch out into what you can do! Global manga is great, and I'd like to see them put more effort into that area while still maintaining their Japanese manga piles, instead of branching out into things while leaving others half-finished. Their report strikes me as downsizing so that they could focus on the comics-turned-movies and stuff, NOT the comics.

Since I'm invested in *manga publishing* I'm concerned, even if I recognize TP might need to evolve to survive the current market conditions they are faced with (i.e. they lack the licensing clout / relationships to bring the big titles like Naruto and Bleach).

Publishers should be publishers first is how I view it but with the way publishing is changing I suppose TP is willing to take this chance to ensure market stability that lasts beyond the lastest manga/comic fad.

Still. I'm suspicious.

This means that Tokyopop isn't really....well. A company that concerns me, in the end, if that is where they are headed.