Da Ran Culture Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Once the largest manga licensee and publisher in Taiwan, Da Ran had had more than 200 full-time employees and printed more than 1.5 million copies per month in its heyday in 1990s. However, incorrect business moves e.g. overextension and falling behind payment due days brought its downfall.

(2003-03) Sued by Shueisha for failure to pay license royalties on time. Other Japanese publishers followed suit, retracting licenses and severed contacts.

(2003-03-31) Da Ran declared bankruptcy.

(2003-05-03) Shueisha and Tong Li held a joint press conference, transferring three popular Shōnen Jump titles: Hikaru no Go, One Piece, and Yu-Gi-Oh!, among other titles formerly licensed by Da Ran, to Tong Li. Soon most Da Ran titles were redistributed to other licensees.

(2003-08-22) Shogakukan signed a memorandum with Da Ran: all licenses would expire at the end of August 2003, but Shogakukan gave Da Ran a six-month grace period to clean up stocks.

(2004-01) With the deadline of the grace period drew near, Da Ran still could not give Shogakukan exact numbers of remaining volumes and the clear amount of unpaid royalty. Shogakukan held a press conference and redistributed its popular titles (e.g. Inuyasha) to other companies.

All licenses listed on this page have long expired, but many volumes are still circulating in used bookstores and auction websites.