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Tokyopop to release Santa Inoue's Tokyo Tribes manga

TOKYOPOP INC. TO UNLEASH HARD-HITTING HIP-HOP MANGA,
TOKYO TRIBES, SANTA INOUE'S SEMINAL TALE OF TOKYO
STREET GANGS

Los Angeles, CA (April 21, 2004)--Building on its
unmatched catalog of groundbreaking entertainment,
TokyoPop Inc. is bringing one of Japan's most shocking and
raw series to North American readers. Santa Inoue's
Tokyo Tribes is scheduled to debut in August 2004, marking
the company's latest contribution to a revolutionary
fusion of manga and hip-hop. The company also publishes
Ahmed Hoke's award-nominated @Large, which has
garnered critical acclaim by hip-hop and other national
media.

Manga-ka Santa Inoue's action-packed tale of street
gangs battling it out in the concrete sprawl of Japan's
capital city has raised the bar for manga
storytelling. Layered with hip-hop trappings and packed with
gangland grit and authenticity, Tokyo Tribes paints a
vivid, somewhat surreal vision of Tokyo's urban youth. When
rival gangs from various barrios press each other for
turf, the heat between two of the clans waxes
personal, and a bitter rivalry explodes into all-out warfare.

"Tokyo Tribes sets itself apart from other imported
manga," says TOKYOPOP Editor Luis Reyes. "It indulges
the type of camp action you'd find in Tarantino and John
Woo, but mixes it with a hip-hop sensibility for a
really unusual blend of styles and narrative flavors."

With a love of American hip-hop culture,
internationally acclaimed manga artist Santa Inoue is famous for
hyper-real urban action dramas such as Neighborhood 13,
Born to Die and Tokyo Tribes. His provocative work,
which first appeared in the skateboard fashion magazine
Boon, has proven so popular in Japan that he has
achieved celebrity status. The multi-talented creator has
launched a successful urban clothing line as well as
collectible Tokyo Tribes merchandise found in
fashionable retailers across his native country.

ABOUT TokyoPop Inc.
TokyoPop Inc. is the leading North American publisher
of manga, the fastest growing segment within the
publishing industry. With exclusive rights to hundreds of
licensed and original book, video and music properties,
the company has rapidly become a media convergence
leader. TOKYOPOP has millions of books in print and
publishes many hit manga series, including Love Hina,
Chobits, Rave Master, Initial D, GTO, Battle Royale and
Cowboy Bebop. The company pioneered Cine-Manga(TM),
releasing such titles as Finding nemo, SpongeBob
SquarePants, Lizzie McGuire and Transformers: Armada. TOKYOPOP
television properties include Rave Master, GTO and
Reign: The Conqueror. The company has also expanded its
presence as a licensor, representing merchandising rights
for Rave Master, Initial D, Stray Sheep and others.
Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.

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