The Manga Review: Turnover at Tokyopop

In a recent interview with ICv2, Tokyopop’s Kae Winters confirmed that Stu Levy is transitioning out of his long-time leadership role at the company. “Stu’s been a major part of Tokyopop for so long, but with his own family now – and his move to Germany – we knew he’d step back eventually,” she said. She praised new COO & Publisher Marc Visnick as “a natural fit with our team” as Tokyopop continues to solidify its place in the current US market. “When we returned to publishing back in 2016 we released seven new titles; in 2022 we published almost ten times as many,” Winters noted. “We consider ourselves a boutique publisher now, with plans to expand modestly in an effort to maintain quality over quantity, and continue to bring titles to fans that we personally believe in.” Visnick echoed Winters’ sentiments, stating that he is “cautiously optimistic” about manga sales since Tokyopop has “witnessed steady growth across all trade channels” including independent booksellers and libraries.

NEWS….

On the tenth anniversary of Saturday AM‘s founding, Brigid Alverson sat down for a conversation with publisher Frederick Jones to discuss the magazine’s history, as well as its recent pivot into book publishing. “We refer to our works as diverse manga to normalize content that is both by creators of various ethnic origins and features various heroes of similarly broad racial backgrounds,” Jones explains. “While most young people will never make it to Japan and even fewer won’t learn Japanese, Saturday AM’s diverse manga stands as a key brand for their works to be discovered, featured, and celebrated.” [ICv2]

Kristin offers practical tips for assembling the full run of Berserk. [Anime Collective]

Bill Curtis compiles a master list of all this month’s new manga and light novels. [Yatta-Tachi]

R.I.P. Leiji Matsumoto. [The Beat]

Yamada Murasaki’s Talk to My Back has been nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Award. [The Beat]

Last year was the highest grossing year for manga sales in Japanese history. [Otaku USA]

Chainsaw Man was 2022’s best selling manga according to two separate charts: NPD Bookscan and ComicsHub. Both lists are heavily dominated by VIZ Media properties, with only a handful of titles from Dark Horse and Kodansha making the cut. [ICv2]

If you love cats, Brigid Alverson has good news for you: Seven Seas has five new cat manga in the pipeline, including Cat on a Hero’s Lap, My New Life As a Cat, and A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch. [ICv2]

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival just announced its inaugural Sophie Castille Award, which recognizes outstanding work in the field of translation. The award was created in honor of the late Mediatoon executive who was “a key figure in the growth of translation of comics and graphic novels around the world.” This year’s prize will go to the translator of “a comic translated from any language into English,” but LICAF organizers hope “to widen the scope of these awards and have partners all over the world so that there will be Sophie Castille Awards for many languages” in the future. [LICAF]

…AND VIEWS

Please join me in congratulating Tony Yao on thirteen years of manga blogging! Tony has been posting thoughtful articles about manga and mental health for years, first at Manga Therapy, and more recently at Drop-In to Manga. [Drop-In to Manga]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to teach–or take–a college survey course on manga? If so, you’ll want to check out the syllabus for Martin de la Iglesia’s Manga – Introduction to History and Theory, which he taught last year at Heidelberg University. [The 650-Cent Plague]

David Brothers leads the Mangasplainers in a lively discussion of Under Ninja, a series about a ninja who “sets his sights set hilariously low.” [Mangasplaining]

Looking for a great new series? Laura Grace adds a new chapter to her ABCs of Shojo Manga with a survey of titles beginning with the letter G. [Beneath the Tangles]

If you love a great accessory or a well-tailored frock, you’ll want to read Jocelyne Allen’s review of Fashion, a manga about the garment industry. Author Lemon Haruna “does a great job of portraying clothes in motion, and making them feel both unique and a part of everyday life,” Allen observes. “Haruna also has an extremely clean, but totally expressive style that reminds me somehow of a cross between Kondoh Akino and Chris Ware.” [Brain vs. Book]

REVIEWS

This week’s must-read review comes to us from Adam Symchuk, who praises Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand for its thoughtful depiction of a young girl on the cusp of adolescence. “Exploring themes of ‘family’ is where Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand excels,” he observes. “Tokiko’s relationship with her father paints a portrait of a young girl with a unique intuition and empathetic nature.” Over at The OASG, Helen and Krystallina compare notes on volume seven of The Apothecary Diaries, while the staff at Beneath the Tangles post short reviews of Ayashimon, Guardian of Fukushima, and Tezcatlipoca, and my Manga Bookshelf colleague Sean Gaffney reminds us that he doesn’t just review light novels; he also writes pithy, hilarious manga reviews.

New and Noteworthy

• Asumi-chan Is Interested in Lesbian Brothels, Vol. 1 (Matt Rolf, Okazu)
• Call the Name of the Night, Vol. 1 (Nick Smith, ICv2)
• Confessions of a Shy Baker, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
• The Invisible Man and His Soon-To-Be-Wife, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
• Insomniacs After School, Vol. 1 (Nick Smith, ICv2)
• Kitaro (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
• Marmalade Boy: Collector’s Edition, Vol. 1 (Kate Dacey, The Manga Critic)
• My Home Hero, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
• Ping Pong Dash! (Krystallina, The OASG)
• Sasaki and Peeps, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
• SHY, Vol. 1 (Ian Wolf, Anime UK News)
• SOTUS, Vol. 1 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
• Sunbeams in the Sky, Vol. 1 (Nick Smith, ICv2)
• Until We’re Together (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
• Weathering With You, Vol. 1 (Sara Smith, The Graphic Library)

Complete and Ongoing Series

• ARIA, The Masterpiece, Vol. 6 (HWR, Anime UK News)
• Asadora!, Vol. 6 (Sara Smith, The Graphic Library)
• Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 6 (Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading)
• Dr. STONE, Vol. 23 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 4 (Krystallina, The OASG)
• Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 5 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Love of Kill, Vol. 10 (Krystallina, The OASG)
• Love Recipe (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
• Mao, Vols. 3-5 (SKJAM! Reviews)
• Miss Miyazaen Would Love to Get Closer to You, Vol. 3 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
• Ragna Crimson, Vol. 7 (Grant Jones, ANN)
• Welcome Back Alice, Vol. 4 (Demelza, Anime UK News)