Manga and light novel publisher TOKYOPOP has announced the production of audiobook editions for select titles from its catalogue. These releases are based on light novels published under the company’s LoveLove imprint, with the initial batch of titles currently available for purchase and streaming.
To facilitate distribution, TOKYOPOP has engaged RBmedia and its audio brand, Dreamscape Media. Through this partnership, the audiobooks have been made available on various retail and library platforms, including Audible, Spotify, Kobo, OverDrive, and Hoopla.
The initial launch lineup consists of three titles. These include an English language edition of Dinner for Three, the isekai fantasy romance Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry, and the Chinese Danmei novel The Wizard: When Words Kill.
TOKYOPOP Publisher and COO Marc Visnick commented on the format expansion, noting that the medium is well suited to the genre and allows the company to reach different demographics:
We are very excited to announce the launch of TOKOYPOP audiobooks and offer new and existing fans a fun new way to discover and engage these stories,” says TOKYOPOP Publisher and COO Marc Visnick. “The audiobook format is ideally suited for light novels and will help to introduce these characters and storylines to new audiences and add a bold new dimension to the TOKYOPOP catalog and our growing roster of light novels.
More information on each of the three new audiobook releases are included below:
Dinner for Three
Story by Hizaki Isamu, artwork by Yukimura Kanae
Shizuku Futakawa is used to being abandoned. So far, he’s been abandoned by his mother, his abusive father, and his stepmother. He doesn’t have time to wallow, though, because he’s responsible for his younger stepbrother Kikutaro. Determined to be a good big brother, Shizuku sets out to ensure a successful future for Kikutaro to the best of his ability. One day, he returns home and mistakenly thinks that his little brother has been kidnapped by his next-door neighbor, Tsujido. Seeing that the brothers are struggling on their own, tough-looking and aloof Tsujido starts helping and cooking warm meals for them. For the first time in his life, Shizuku gets a taste of what it’s like to be cared for…
Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry Vol. 1
Story by Kou Yatsuhashi, artwork by Mito Nagishiro
Leticiel was born as a princess in a time of war and was hailed as her nation’s Greatest Sorceress. After suffering a devastating loss during an invasion by a neighboring country, she gave up her life to prevent the enemy from stealing her magical powers – or so she thought. Until she wakes up and finds she’s been reincarnated a thousand years in the future. Not only that, but the body she’s transmigrated into belongs to a truly pitiful woman despised even by her own family. There are many things for Leticiel to be angry about, but number one on her list: Why is magic in the future so lame?
The Wizard: When Words Kill
Story by Shi Wu, artwork by Uri
Eighteen-year-old Cheng Jinxi is accused of brutally murdering a dozen of his relatives in just one night. Despite police officer Liang Yuanfeng doing everything he could to find evidence of his innocence, Cheng Jinxi confesses to the crime and is sent away to prison. Seven years later, a series of bizarre supernatural murders occur, and Liang Yuanfeng is given permission to bring Cheng Jinxi out of prison as a backup to help solve them. Cheng Jinxi can bring so much despair and pain with his powers, but Liang Yuanfeng believes the two of them can work together in the name of justice. And when the guilt and numbness he once felt fades into something new, Yuanfeng realizes… This new feeling is love.
