TokyoPop Rising Stars of Manga™2022 Competition Official Rules

Published in

INKR Comics

7 min readJul 25, 2022

No purchase or entry fee required.
Prior Rising Stars of Manga winners are ineligible.
No entries accepted before July 25, 2022, or after October 25, 2022.

Update on October 13, 2022: Theme removed.

The platform partner of this competition is INKR Comics.
All entries must be uploaded to the platform partner via information provided on http://bit.ly/3otk3Zp

1 Eligibility

1.1 The Rising Stars of Manga 2022 competition (the “Competition”) is open to everyone worldwide, but not: the Grand Prize, Second Place, Third Place, Runner-Up, People’s Choice, or any other winners of any previous TOKYOPOP Rising Stars of Manga competition, or anyone ineligible for any reason listed in section 3 below.

1.2 There is no age limit, but if you are under 18, your parent or legal guardian must also complete and sign the official Competition Entry Form.

1.3 We will accept only one (1) entry per person, whether as an individual or as part of a group; therefore, all multiple entries from the same source will be ineligible. You must enter using your true name. Group entries are acceptable but all persons who contribute to the creation of the entry must complete and sign the official Competition Entry Form available at https://bit.ly/25-tokyopop-inkr-contest

2 How to enter

2.1 Write and illustrate a manga that:

is your original creation (or the original creation of only you and others who jointly make the entry with you);
has never been published or publicly displayed anywhere;
is a self-contained English-language story running at least 10 pages but no more than 25 pages in length;
begins with a separate title page that includes only the printed title of your manga, your name (and the name of any others who jointly make the entry with you), and total number of pages of the manga;
meets all requirements in TOKYOPOP’s entry specifications, which you may read and download at https://bit.ly/tp-contest-mechanical-guide
Do not include any artwork on the title page and do not submit a cover.

2.2 Print your name (and the names of any others who jointly make the entry with you), your telephone number, title of your manga, and the page number on the front of each page of your manga entry.

2.3 Complete the official Competition Entry Form (which you may download from INKR’s website at https://bit.ly/25-tokyopop-inkr-contest).

2.4 Your entry must be submitted no earlier than July 25, 2022, and no later than October 25, 2022. Submissions received by TOKYOPOP after October 25, 2022, cannot be considered. TOKYOPOP is not responsible for misdirected, delayed, late, partial, or incomplete entries.

2.5 Left to right reading or left to right is up to the entrant.

2.6 Black and white or color is up to the entrant.

3 Ineligibility

3.1 Your entry will be ineligible for consideration if:

your Entry Form is incomplete, illegible, unsigned, the terms have been modified in any way, or you have not confirmed that you have agreed to and abided by these Official Rules;
your entry is incomplete or does not meet the entry specifications at https://bit.ly/tp-contest-mechanical-guide;
your entry is not original or contains any reference to or depiction of any real person who is now living or to any real product, company, or organization
your entry contains explicit nudity or sexual situations, disembowelment, decapitation, dismemberment, gratuitous acts of graphic violence, symbols of hate, or obscene or indecent material;
you do not comply fully with all of these Official Rules or you fraudulently enter the competition

3.2 Employees, volunteers, interns, and agents of TOKYOPOP Inc. and its advertising, public relations, and promotion agencies, and their immediate families (spouse, parents, children, and siblings and their respective spouses) and individuals living in the same households of such persons are ineligible to enter or win.

4 How entries are judged

4.1 Eligible entries will be judged and winners of the prizes listed in 5.1 below will be selected by TOKYOPOP’s panel of judges, composed of TOKYOPOP editors and guest manga creators. Entries will also be displayed on INKR’s website for fans to vote for the Audience Award winner. Judging criteria include:

theme
originality
storytelling
character design
artistic style, design, and layout
technical skills
reader enjoyment

4.2 TOKYOPOP’s panel of judges will select ten finalists including the prize winners. The finalists will then be narrowed down to three winners. The Audience Award will be conducted on INKR’s website. All finalists and prize winners will be announced at http://www.TOKYOPOP.com. The Audience Award winner will be chosen by popular vote, subject to confirmation by TOKYOPOP. Complete rules for online voting in the Audience Award competition are available at https://inkr.com.

4.3 The decisions of TOKYOPOP’s panel of judges will be final and may not be challenged for any reason.

5 Prizes

5.1 Available prizes in the Competition are:

First place: one (1) prize of $1,000 in cash
Second place: one (1) prize of $500 in cash
Third place: one (1) prize of $250 in cash
Six (6) runners-up: one (1) prize of $100 in cash each
Audience Award: one (1) prize of $100 in cash
First, second and third place winners will each receive one Jetblue flight voucher as part of their Soar with Reading program (https://bit.ly/3cTQaPX)

5.2 A single prize is awarded for each winning entry and will be divided equally among all persons making the entry. In the event of a tie, the entries will be re-judged by an additional judge who will serve as a tie-breaker.

5.3 Prizes are non-transferable and must be accepted as awarded. No substitutions will be made.

5.4 Taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the winners.

5.5 The first place winner is eligible to pitch a full-length manga story to TOKYOPOP’s executive editorial staff.

5.6 If you are a Competition winner, TOKYOPOP may require you to furnish proof of identity, address, and birth date as a condition to awarding the prize to you. TOKYOPOP may also require you to agree to and sign additional release(s) to use and publish your winning entry and, unless prohibited by law, a publicity release. Failure to present such proof or sign such additional releases will result in disqualification and forfeiture of the prize, which may be awarded to an alternate winner.

5.7 Winners will be chosen by December 5, 2022. If you are a Competition winner, TOKYOPOP will send you an email notifying you. Notification will be emailed to your email address listed in the Competition Entry Form you submit. Prizes must be claimed as directed in the notification within ten (10) days after the notification is emailed or will be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate winner. TOKYOPOP is not responsible for undeliverable, misdirected, or lost notifications.

5.8 A list of winners will be available between December 5, 2022 and December 30, 2022 by sending a self-addressed, stamped, #10 business envelope to:

TOKYOPOP Inc.
RSOM2022 Winners List
4136 Del Rey Ave
Ste 502
Marina del Rey, CA 90292

Winners will also be listed on TOKYOPOP’s website at {INSERT LINK HERE} starting December 5, 2022.

6 Use of entries and advertising, publicity, and promotion

6.1 By entering the Competition, you grant TOKYOPOP:

an unlimited but non-exclusive license to display (digitally publish), use, adapt, edit, and/or modify your entry as part of the Rising Stars of Manga 25th Anniversary competition, without compensation
IMPORTANT: for purposes of clarity, you retain 100% ownership in your copyright and all rights arising from such copyright other than the limited non-exclusive license described above;
unlimited usage of your entry and your name and city and state of residence for any promotional purposes related to the Competition;
the right to display your entry (or excerpts) and your name and city and state of residence on the Internet for the public to judge in the Audience Award component of the Competition;
And, the right to display and critique your entry (or excerpts) on the Internet and to use your name and city and state of residence in connection with such display and Critique.

6.2 If you are one of the ten Competition winners, you grant TOKYOPOP:

an unlimited but non-exclusive license to display (digitally publish), use, adapt, edit, and/or modify your entry as part of the Rising Stars of Manga 25th Anniversary competition, including in commerce, and in any and all media worldwide including in the Rising Stars of Manga 25th Anniversary anthology book (digital and/or physical), without additional compensation beyond your prize
IMPORTANT: for purposes of clarity, you retain 100% ownership in your copyright and all rights arising from such copyright other than the limited non-exclusive license described above);
the right to use your name, likeness, and excerpts from your entry in connection with the advertising, publicity, and promotion of your winning entry.

6.3 By entering the Competition, you represent that your entry and our use of your entry will not infringe upon the rights of any third parties.

7 Other terms

7.1 The Competition is not a sweepstakes, lottery, or game of chance. It is a judged competition. No purchase is required or entry fee is charged.

7.2 Your digital entry submission will not be returned.

7.3 You retain full copyright ownership of your manga.

7.4 By entering the Competition, you agree to waive any right to claim ambiguity or error in these Official Rules or in the conduct or outcome of the Competition itself.

7.5 TOKYOPOP reserves the right to modify these Official Rules in any way and at any time without prior notice, except for the copyright ownership provision in 7.3 which TOKYOPOP cannot change.

7.6 Applicable federal, state, and local laws apply. Void where prohibited by law.