Fruits Basket Reaches Two Million Units

TOKYOPOP's Best-Selling Manga Fruits Basket Reaches Two Million Books in Print with Latest Release

Los Angeles, CA (December 6, 2006) – TOKYOPOP, the leader of the Global Manga Revolution, is proud to announce that the company's hottest manga series, Fruits Basket, created by Natsuki Takaya, has reached two million books in print with the release of Fruits Basket Volume 15, in stores now. The funny and touching story of Tohru Honda, an orphaned high school freshman girl who is rescued from homelessness by an enigmatic family with a big secret, Fruits Basket is one of the best selling and most popular manga series throughout North America, regularly rising to the top of both Graphic Novel and Overall General Fiction categories on noted literary sales rosters, including BookScan and the USA Today Top 150.

Fruits Basket (by Natsuki Takaya - winner of the ultra-prestigious Kodansha Manga Award) began its life in the pages of Hana to Yume magazine, the manga anthology from Japanese publisher Hakusensha. In 2001, the series became a huge fan-favorite in Japan, jumping to the top of the manga charts. Hakusensha and TV Tokyo then teamed up to turn Fruits Basket into a 26-episode anime series, and TOKYOPOP released the first volume of Fruits Basket in North America in 2004. The rest is history... or her story.

When TIME Magazine asked Ms. Takaya her feelings on having the top-selling manga in the U.S., she responded, "That definitely flatters and pleases me. Thank you very much. As for a reason, I can't clearly distinguish one, but if people read Fruits Basket and think 'I like this,' then that alone is enough to bring me joy."

According to TOKYOPOP Publisher Mike Kiley, "Fruits Basket is an extraordinary manga series that crosses all age boundaries and appeals to both girls and boys. We are proud to have played some small part in bringing Takaya-sensei's delightful story to English-speaking audiences."

ABOUT TOKYOPOP
TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company's global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with recent offices opening in the UK and Germany and partnerships in Australia and China, in addition to its original Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto the new social networking site www.TOKYOPOP.com, reading its books, and watching its DVDs and television programs, TOKYOPOP's award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace. Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.