Now a brand needs some kind of visual representation. Something that will leave an imprint in the minds of the audience, so one can say “Oh that’s TOKYOPOP!” without question. To all the fans out there, does one remember a head with headphones? It has been on the binding of TOKYOPOP manga and the defunct magazine from back then. Yes, I am talking about the Robo-fish. It all started a few years ago, with one of its designers, who came up with the recognizable image. “It has a bit of an attitude, I think, but it is still very cute. That’s certainly what I’ve experienced with pop culture in Japan, as well as manga specifically. So, everyone has loved that icon.” What about Princess Ai? She seems recognizable as a TOKYOPOP icon. Would one say that she is the “Mickey Mouse” of TOKYOPOP? “That’s an interesting question. I don’t think TOKYOPOP has a “Mickey Mouse” right now, but I do think at some point one of our characters will become very famous. I’m not sure if that will be Princess Ai or another character – I suppose only time will tell!”
Now let’s get into the details of the business. There is something called intellectual property development, and in regards to TOKYOPOP, it is the “creation of characters and stories (although technically “intellectual property” can include a broad array of creative expression such as trademarks, patents, trade secrets and other areas).” There are different approaches, such as: “working with other creators, coming up with concepts in-house, and co-developing with other creative companies. We also license existing intellectual property, which is how we built our business and what we’re most famous for (licensing of course manga and some anime from Japan mainly).”
I heard TOKYOPOP is providing sublicensing services for Gentosha Comics. What does this all means? Licensing of intellectual property (IP) is when the owner of a type of IP legally allows another individual or entity to use the IP for a commercial purpose. “In our business, for instance, we typically license the English-language publishing rights to manga from Japan. Sub-licensing is when one entity licenses IP then licenses it again to another entity (the ability to sub-license must be included in the original license).” For example: “we have a partnership with Gentosha to do a few things including publishing their manga in English, as well as sub-licensing publication rights in other languages as well as merchandise rights. It’s a win-win because they have great manga (IP) and we have a well-established global network of partners to publish in many languages.”
Continuing with the learning of manga properties, let’s talk about bringing it to the U.S. Some of us might be wondering why does it take a lengthy amount of time to see a series? According to Levy, “it’s a combination of things.” One possibility is that it is difficult to tell in the early stages if a series will be a success or not, “either commercially or artistically.” For example: in regards to manga, “there are many series that start out with a cool first or second chapter but never really go anywhere after that. On the contrary, some series may start out a bit slow but end up being great. So, taking a bit of a “wait and see” approach is prudent.” Second issue is the translation process: it takes time to translate the story into English. After that, the English version has to be manufactured. Lastly, another possibility is that the negotiations with the licensors of the product often take time.
© 2010 Linda Thai
Artwork by Linda Thai
Note: The artwork is just for entertainment, cause there is A LOT of text to read.
Stay tune for Part 5 of the Stuart Levy interview!
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