Tokyopop Germany has announced on its forum there that it will no longer be publishing works sourced from Japanese publisher Kodansha.  This will affect several incomplete series, including Beck, Cromartie High School, School Rumble, Perfect Girl and Hell Girl. 

According to the announcement, Tokyopop was surprised by the decision, which Kodansha did not explain other than to say that it was not due to the cooperation between Kodansha and Tokyopop Germany.  Tokyopop said that it had tried to convince Kodansha to reconsider its decision, but was unsuccessful.  It said that it did not know if another publisher would finish the series that it was publishing. 

Kodansha was expected to enter the U.S. market itself last fall (see “Kodansha Heading Stateside”), but has not done so to date.  It’s not clear at this point whether the company’s move in Germany (where its books are also published by a number of other third party

licensees) was related to an over-all global strategy or something specific to the market or the licensee.