Kodansha Ends All Licensed Manga Contracts With Tokyopop

Japanese publisher Kodansha has announced that they will not renew any of their existing manga contracts with Tokyopop. Tokyopop will not be allowed to complete the publication of any series that is currently in progess, including several series that are close to completion. Additionally, Tokyopop will not be allowed to reprint titles after the current inventory has sold out. In the past, Tokyopop has licensed many series from Kodansha, including Chobits, Clover, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Rave Master, and GetBackers. Some titles have been picked up by other publishers; Dark Horse will put out omnibus editions of Clover and Chobits, and Del Rey has picked up Parasyte. However, many series still remain in limbo.