News

Tokyopop Reveals 4 More Manga Licenses, Return of 'Rising Stars of Manga' Contest

Tokyopop announced at its panel at Anime Expo on Saturday that it has licensed the following manga:

Title: SCRAMBLUES (Bokura no Scramblues)
Author: mame march
Summary: Kurosaki is the designer in charge of the CD jacket design for the powerhouse musician Eddie.
As he sees beyond Eddie's surly exterior and catches a glimpse of the man beneath the affectation, he begins to think about the message and emotions that Eddie tries to convey through his music. And at that moment, Kurosaki realizes that Eddie's voice is the thing to guide him on his course. But how can he communicate what he truly feels...?

Title: The Snake Who Loved a Sparrow (Suzu Hebi Kyūairon)
Author: Nna Natsuo
Summary: In a world where forest creatures can take human form, a member of the sparrow clan, Komazu, is one day saved from a boar stampede by a cold but eye-catching white snake named Shiratoh. Dealing with both animal problems — fear of predation by their common enemy, the eagle — and human problems -- differences in class, loneliness, and prejudice — these two boys learn to overcome the difficulties that come their way through an open mind and heart.

Title: Be My Love, My Lord (Ban ni Natte, Goshujin-sama)
Author: Adumi Nagano
Summary: This is a world where humans keep beasts and beasts obey humans. Born as the second son of a well-known family, the lonely Reiji has always had his beastman servant, Tsubaki, as irreplaceable presence since he was a child.
But once day his feelings turn to love, and Reiji playfully kisses Tsubaki, which invites his bestial lust. His sharp bite overflows with his own repressed feelings, but comes with a dark realization; they are different races, different castes. Can they overcome these hurdles and embrace their love?

Title: My Coworker Has a Secret (Wakeari Otoko Onna no Secret Days) Author: Mushiro
Summary: Akari is a 25-year-old bookstore worker who lives in Tokyo. She looks like a very normal and stylish office worker, but she has a secret she doesn't want anyone to know: she is a massive otaku for 2.5D stage play actors, to the point that she spends all of her paycheck immediately to support them. She desperately hides this, but somehow her male coworker finds out her secret anyway.

The company also announced it is bringing back its Rising Stars of Manga competition. The competition will have 10 winners. The first place winner will receive a $1,000 prize, the second place winner a US$500 prize, and the third place winner a US$250 prize. Runners up will get US$100 and an audience favorite will also get US$100.

The theme of the competition will be "25." The submission period will be from July 25 to October 25. Submissions can be in black and white or in color and must be between 10-25 pages long.

Tokyopop said previous winners and industry professionals will judge the competition. The company also added that artists will retain the copyright on their works, and that Tokyopop will not have ownership of the IP. Tokyopop will publish the winners in a digital collection. The company will reveal more details like where to submit the entries online and the full terms at a later date.

Tokyopop revealed it also launched a Discord server and encouraged fans to join. The panel also highlighted several other series, such as the Hyperventilation and On or Off Webtoons and the Dekoboko Sugar Days: Extra, The Nightmare Before Christmas: Mirror Moon, and Marcy's Journal: A Guide to Amphibia works.

Sources: Email correspondence, Tokyopop panel at Anime Expo (Lawrence Furry)