Los Angeles, CA (July 2, 2005) � TOKYOPOP, America's number one graphic novel publisher and leader of the Manga Revolution, announces the next Rising Stars of Manga competition. Due to a voluminous flood of participant feedback, the planet's most important and most accessible manga talent competition will embrace an annual format. Now creators will have more time to plan, create and complete their entries in order to produce the best possible representation of their abilities. The sixth Rising Stars of Manga competition opens on July 2, 2005 and will close on January 15, 2006.

Aspiring creators living in America and working in English are encouraged to submit their 15-to-20-page manga�along with completed entry forms�to TOKYOPOP for the chance to join the next generation of nationally published manga-ka. A handful of winners will score cash prizes and their winning entries will be presented in the next Rising Stars anthology, to be published in Summer 2006.

TOKYOPOP is on a mission to identify and develop the artists and writers who will define manga in the years ahead. The Manga Revolution is sweeping the U.S., and a new generation is being inspired by this innovative art form. In the Rising Stars of Manga competition the top seven entries, as chosen by TOKYOPOP's editorial staff and the on-line People's Choice selection, will receive monetary prizes and be published in the sixth Rising Stars of Manga anthology. All the winners will have an exclusive opportunity to pitch a full-length manga story idea to TOKYOPOP executives for possible development. Entrants should submit content from all genres�comedy, drama, horror, science fiction, action, fantasy, romance�and even under-represented subjects such as political, historical or instructional manga. Complete details for the sixth Rising Stars of Manga competition are available now on TOKYOPOP's website at: www.tokyopop.com/news/mangatalent/index.php.

About TOKYOPOP®
As the largest English-language publisher of manga in the world, TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand. TOKYOPOP's innovative product extensions include its pioneering Cine-Manga® book format, which features colorful flavors of pop culture's hottest films, television shows and music videos. The company has expanded its property reach beyond publishing�TOKYOPOP's television series have been broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network, Showtime and G4Media, and are released on DVD, with consumer products available at all major retail outlets. The company's global reach has recently expanded to Europe, with new offices in the UK and Germany, in addition to its Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With nearly 28 million books in print, TOKYOPOP's award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties features more than 200,000 pages of manga compiled over nearly 1,000 manga volumes. Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.