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Tokyopop Restarts Manga Licensing With Konohana Kitan, Hanger, Futaribeya

Tokyopop announced on Monday that it will begin publishing translated Japanese manga again, and has licensed three titles: Konohana Kitan, Hanger, and Futaribeya. The company detailed its 2018 release schedule for all three manga.

The first four volumes of Sakuya Amano's Konohana Kitan are slated for print release on June 19, August 21, October 23, and December 4. Tokyopop describes the story:

Created by Sakuya Amano, KONOHANA KITAN is the heartwarming story of a new apprentice named Yuzu, and the other fox girls who work at a hot spring hotel called Konohatei. The staff at Konohatei live by one belief: no matter who one may truly be, no matter what, anyone who is a guest is a god. Of course, that includes you. Let the hospitality of Yuzu and the Konohatei heal your tired soul.

The manga originates from Amano's earlier Konohana-tei Kitan manga, which launched in Ichijinsha's Comic Yuri Hime S magazine in 2009. Amano put the manga on hiatus in 2010. Four years later, Amano relaunched the manga with the new Konohana Kitan title in Gentosha's Comic Birz. Gentosha published the manga's sixth volume in September.

The manga inspired a television anime last year. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired and Funimation streamed an English dub.

The first two volumes of Hirotaka Kisaragi's Hanger will ship in print on July 18 and September 4. Tokyopop describes the boys-love story:

In Neo-Tokyo, crime is rising rapidly in the wake of a new generation of super-drugs capable of enhancing the user's physical and mental abilities. Hajime Tsukomo is a new recruit on a federal task force trained to go after these powered-up criminals. Now he must team up with Zeroichi, a so-called Hanger looking to reduce his own jail sentence in exchange for helping to take down these chemically-boosted bad guys.

The manga is ongoing in Gentosha's Rutile magazine. Gentosha published the first compiled book volume in February 2015 and the second volume on last April.

Tokyopop's earlier boys-love imprint Blu once released Kisaragi's Innocent Bird manga in English. The now defunct manga platform JManga later published the manga digitally. Digital Manga Publishing released Kisaragi's Dark Walker and ADV Manga published the first volume of Kisaragi's Gate. Kisaragi also drew the Blood+ Kowloon Nights manga, which Dark Horse Comics published in English.

The first two volumes of Yukiko's four-panel manga Futaribeya will ship in print on September 4 and November 6. Tokyopop describes the story:

About to start her first year of high school, Sakurako Kawawa settles into her new lodgings. But when she meets her new roommate -- the beautiful Kasumi Yamabuki -- everything changes! From day one the responsible, level-headed Sakurako and lazy, easygoing Kasumi find themselves at odds with one another, but with their matching mugs and one bed to share, Sakurako and Kasumi's friendship is just beginning!

Yukiko launched the manga in Gentosha's Comic Birz in 2014, and Gentosha published the fifth compiled book volume in December.

Tokyopop shut down its North American publishing operations in May 2011 but collaborated with other companies to release manga and world manga after the closure. Tokyopop announced at its Anime Expo panel in 2015 that it was planning to begin publishing manga again in 2016. It has since released manga collaborations with Disney films, including Lilo and Stitch, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Beauty and the Beast. Tokyopop also began releasing the Chinese comic Bloodivores digitally last July.