Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

---

Tokyopop goes beyond manga

With a series of recently announced moves, it would appear that Tokyopop is aiming for nothing short of global domination through the shared language of manga.

OK, so maybe that's exaggerating things a bit. But consider this recent series of stories and news releases coming from the publisher:

» On May 2, Tokyopop announced the creation of a new imprint, Pop Fiction, that will be releasing novels starting in October that are targeted at the teen market. Included are novel versions of the anime properties "Kino no Tabi" ("Kino's Journey"), "Scrapped Princess" and "The Twelve Kingdoms."

Nicole Monastirsky, Pop Fiction senior editor, told newsarama.com that the novels will be placed in young-adult sections of bookstores instead of manga sections.

» May 5 saw the publisher roll out a new term to refer to manga with origins other than Japan: "global manga." The term "OEL," or "original English language," had gained popularity in recent months, but as Susan Hale told Anime News Network, the term has become inaccurate with the increasing numbers of non-English properties Tokyopop is picking up.

» Finally, last Monday, news broke of the creation of two more imprints: "Manga Chapters" and "Manga Readers," for children ages 6 to 12. While there doesn't seem to be anything that jumps out as being particularly mangalike in the titles announced -- it seems to be traditional English fare, perhaps with manga-style illustrations -- it'll be interesting to see where this line goes in coming months ...

Random plugging

Since this has turned out to be a Tokyopop-themed column, this week's quick plug is the first volume of Tokyopop's "Rozen Maiden." For once, it's a story about a guy isolated from society who isn't thrilled when a female doll pops into his life, or when it subsequently springs to life ...