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PR: Tokyopop Looks Ai-Head at 2007

OEL's aren't manga anyway, I hate it when they call it manga.

OEL's aren't manga anyway, I hate it when they call it manga.

I find it to be manga. Here's something to consider: if there's no such thing as OEL manga or anime since anime can be only be done by the Japanese, can Americans only do American animation (which is often animated by the Asians)? That is, since it's American, can no other country work on it. I think we are too critical of manga and anime.

I thought Fruits Basket was their top selling Manga. I don't recall Princess Ai ever being listed in the top selling graphic novel or usa today book sales list

OEL's aren't manga anyway, I hate it when they call it manga.

Dear Answerman, I was reading princess AI the other day and I noticed it was written by someone called "DJ Milky". when I went back to the bookstore I saw his name on some other books too, so I looked around on the internet and couldn't really find out a lot about him besides his website which doesn't really tell me a lot. who is DJ Milky? Is he a real DJ?

Ahhh, DJ Milky. One of the industry's worst-kept "secrets" (although I'm not sure if it's even really kept "secret" anymore). If you go by his Myspace profile, DJ Milky appears to be a hip young dude who's responsible for Princess Ai and a few other titles; there's even some animatics from the upcoming Princess Ai movie, credited as "A DJ Milky Film". There are a few choice quotes on that page that kinda sum up the image DJ Milky is trying to project:

Funky ass beats so u can move to the groove

About me:
i create. i chill. i bug. i trip. so don't hate. word.

Who I'd like to meet:
the realest muthas out there.

There are a handful of photos there, but the personal information is all purposefully vague (like his age being "100 years old"). The fact is, if you scour most of DJ Milky's site, you'll never once see him cop to the fact that he's Stu Levy, founder and CEO of Tokyopop.

Generally when people find out about that a whole bunch of puzzle pieces fall into place.

Levy's projects - OEL manga like Juror 13, Karma Club, and especially Princess Ai, are all aimed squarely at the young adult market, and DJ Milky is a persona Levy created in order to more effectively sell these titles and indeed the entire "manga lifestyle" thing he's been pimping for a few years now. There isn't anything necessarily "wrong" with it, but there are a few things about it that some fans may find a little irritating.

The whole "yo sup im just buggin here writin princess ai yall" thing is really transparent; it's obvious that someone of Levy's age and position in life doesn't really talk like that. He might be "sincere", but it comes across as an incredibly thick layer of marketing speak designed to reel in kids.

The other thing about this is that Levy's projects - especially Princess Ai - appear to get the biggest marketing push Tokyopop has to offer, with DJ Milky's name slapped all over it (most of the books also advertise "original poetry by DJ Milky!" as though he's already a well-known artist). Not only is the guy apparently using the company's best resources to pimp his own projects, he's also positioning himself specifically so if any of them are a success, he gains a whole lot of celebrity. In my estimation, it's all a little crass and transparent; if I were a teenager and I bought into DJ Milky's whole thing and then found out he was the middle-aged CEO of the company that publishes the book I'm reading who is A) not actually a DJ and B) nowhere near my age, I'd probably be a little pissed off and feel like I'd been duped.

But hey, maybe that's just me.

Likewise, when I ask for Manga, I don't want some Amercian artist/company trying to peddle American Art as Manga. It's called a Comic Book or Graphic Novel.