Year in Review: TOKYOPOP in 2003

By: Chris Beveridge
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2004





In 2003, TOKYOPOP had themselves another banner year when it came to the manga side of things, which we aren't really covering here. Their anime & DVD side of the show has taken a serious backseat to their manga movement, which isn't surprising considering the kind of numbers and titles that are being produced from that department.



2003 saw the close of two series and the start of three others. Their GTO series came to a close with ten volumes covering the just over forty episodes for the show. Overall, GTO managed to get by with few real issues and basically kept fans of it happy from volume to volume. The other series that came to a close wasn't quite as easy, as that was Saint Tail with the final three disc set release. After the series failed so completely the year before, going from a bilingual release and then dropping the dub entirely, the last twenty-odd episodes came out in one set with just the Japanese track and subtitles. Saint Tail was essentially a no win situation for TOKYOPOP; dropping the series outright and not finishing either track would be a huge blemish from their first foray into anime releases. It would take a lot for fans to trust them to finish another series and they'd always point back to it. Dropping the dub and going with the Japanese track only was the lesser of two evils, since it could allow them to say that, yes, we did at least get all of it out in one form even though we were losing money on it. Neither side of the fans in this debate really made out well, though at least some people were glad to finally see all of the series.



TOKYOPOP didn't give up entirely on the anime side though and brought out three new series to complement their closing ones. Reign made it out on four volumes and got a short showing on Cartoon Network before falling through the cracks. Brigadoon has had a small but loyal following as the series barely receives any notice outside of a few reviews here and there. The only title to really make a splash, and in a bad way, is Initial D. The controversy over its release style, with the English dub and video being heavily localized for American viewers, has for the most part ended as people have made up their minds. Little discussion comes up as new volumes are released, and often half of it is just the people complaining (rightfully so) about the changes and their unwillingness to buy into the releases. Those who have been picking it up tend to talk only about the Japanese release, which has been quite well done. Initial D's release plans continue to feel like a throwback to the early days of anime in the 80's when shows were brought over simply for a TV run and no thought given to the home video run.




Looking forward, TOKYOPOP doesn't have much on their announced plate for the anime side of the business. Initial D has quite awhile to go but Brigadoon is close to finishing up. The only new thing coming out is the first third of Marmalade Boy in a collection, and while that's got people excited, there's the nervousness about whether TOKYOPOP will be able to finish a 70+ episode series based on how Saint Tail performed. While their manga side continues to gangbusters and all the attention is focused there, the anime side lags more and more.



2003 Release History:



01/14/2003 - GTO Vol. #06

02/25/2003 - Reign: The Obsession of Alexander Vol. #1

03/11/2003 - GTO Vol. #07

04/15/2003 - Reign: The Obsession of Alexander Vol. #2

05/13/2003 - Brigadoon Vol. #1

05/13/2003 - GTO Vol. #08

05/13/2003 - Saint Tail Vol. #6

06/17/2003 - Real Bout High School Box Set

06/17/2003 - Reign: The Obsession of Alexander Vol. #3

07/15/2003 - Brigadoon Vol. #2

07/15/2003 - GTO Vol. #09

08/12/2003 - Reign: The Obsession of Alexander Vol. #4

09/16/2003 - Brigadoon Vol. #3

09/16/2003 - GTO Vol. #10

09/16/2003 - Initial D Vol. #01

10/14/2003 - Initial D Vol. #02

11/11/2003 - Brigadoon Vol. #4

12/02/2003 - GTO Box Set 1