Tokyopop sadness and a most manly alliance.
June 11th, 2008 by Lianne
As a long-time freelancer for Tokyopop, the last two weeks have been completely surreal. I lost almost every one of my editors in the big lay-off last week, which sucks really hard because I consider all of them my friends. I’m in mourning right now. I’ve been told that the series I’m working on (Fruits Basket, Saiyuki, Tactics, and Rave Master) haven’t been canceled, but that sort of news is more bitter than sweet when you genuinely like all the employees you out-stayed. I wish them all the best…Paul, Peter, Stephanie, Rob, Tim, Luis, Hope, and everyone else who was let go. Tokyopop will never be the same without you. ;_;
In update news, NotHayama wrote up a Mini Review of Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross. I also fixed last post - Orange Skirt wrote the review, not the post. Having her name as the post writer followed by lines like “I have a lot in common with Orange Skirt!” probably sounded like teh crazy.
We’ll be back Tuesday. Hopefully things will be less sad then.
[…] news for Furuba fans: At Sleep Is For the Weak, Lianne Sentar, who freelances for Tokyopop, has been told her series, Fruits Basket, Saiyuki, Tactics, and Rave Master, have not been canceled, but she is […]
Lianne, I’m sad to hear about the layoffs resulting from Tokyopop’s restructuring. And it seems some titles are still up in the air. But I am thrilled to hear Saiyuki will be continued. I don’t know about others, but this series (both Saiyuki and Reload) are my favorite manga series. Please keep up the good work and know that there are still readers out here who can’t wait to see these books.
[…] Source: Sleep is For the Weak […]
[…] freelancer Lianne has mentioned a few series that are definitely not getting the ax from Tpop anytime soon: Fruits Basket (duh), […]
Thanks for the news. My heart goes out to those that were let go. The company I work for is currently going through the same thing. We started the year with around 500 employees, and now were down to about 320. I’ll still buy the my favorites Tokyopop titles. One of which is Fruits Basket - thank you for the good news on that. But I’m worried about Aria, V.B. Rose, Gakuen Alice, Kingdom Hearts II, and even the Vampire Kisses OEL.
Would you think it would make a difference if sales figures improve for jeopardized titles in the next few weeks? Or have the jeopardized titles already been put on the chopping block? Just wondering…
Hope D. got laid off too? Damn it! I didn’t know about her. You wouldn’t know about Lillian or Alexis would you?
Ash - I can’t speculate on which titles are getting cut and which aren’t, because I only know about the titles I personally work on. But I hope those titles stay, too, especially since I love rem to death (she does the art for Vampire Kisses).
Yaoi Press - Lillian is still there, Alexis I’m not sure. And are you Ms. Abraham? If so, I think I met you at Anime North…
Lianne, I DOUBT you would remember me(fanfic author Sailor Hematite!) but I’ve been worried about you since I heard there was a hubbub going around Tokyopop. I’m glad you arent just thrown to the wind! I was a little upset when I found out you were working with the enemy(booo MixxZine!), but I constantly scanned through their manga to find your name and point it out.
“Look! This girl, Lianne, used to write Sailormoon fanfics! She was one of the best!”(Jen Wand’s Yaten’s Love Song is my number one tho! BUT PSYCHO SETSUNA ROX MY SOX!!).
I would like to say I’m sorry about your friends/coworkers and I wish them the best!
Lianne,
Yes, this is Yamila. I’m glad to hear about Emily. I heard about Alex today. Still there. That’s great since he’s working with my friends KOSEN. I’m scooping up some laid off folks to get some projects done for Yaoi Press. (Nothing to get excited about, just crappy lettering and pre-press). Most people seem to be taking a break now. I’m sure they needed it.
lol They do that all the time. My friends used to work there too. They tend to fire the senior employees, so that they can hire newer cheaper employees. They also tend to fire a group at a time. They have been doing this for years.
[…] This post is inspired by this, that, and the other thing. […]
[…] mutta sekään tuskin on mahdottomuus. Raven ja Fruits Basketin kaltaiset suosituimmat sarjat eivät tietenkään ole tulilinjalla - mutta vaikkapa Arian, BECKin ja Strawberry Marshmallow’n tilanne on täysin toinen. […]
Thanks for all of the words of support, Lianne. Yeah, it’s strange to think how far some of us go back, isn’t it? Don’t worry, all of us who were let go are doing fine. We’ve been getting together pretty regularly since the layoff. As far as I know, none of the laid off editors have found full-time work yet, but many of us have enough freelance work to tide us over for at least a little while. It will be interesting to see where everyone ends up. The TP editorial team was a pretty amazing group of individuals and I’m sure going to miss working alongside them each day.
Tim! Oh, Tim. ;_;
I’m glad to hear you guys are doing okay. I figured you probably had some freelance work, since so much of our industry is run by that and you guys are pretty much top-pick for that kind of thing. I hope you all end up full-time somewhere you’re happy. Man, I miss you guys so much. ;_;
[…] Sentar (freelance rewriter and editor) wrote in her blog that the series she has been working on (Fruits Basket, Saiyuki, Tactics, and Rave Master) have not […]