Stuart Joel Levy

• Name — Stuart J. Levy • Born — 1967 • Title — Founder and former CEO of Tokyopop • Occupation — * Producer • director • writer • Education — University of California at Los Angeles, Georgetown University

Levy attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied economics and business. He later earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991. Following his legal studies, he attended Keio University in Tokyo, where he participated in a Japanese language program.

In the mid-1990s, Stuart J. Levy was involved in early internet and media initiatives related to Japanese popular culture, including the creation of Japan Online (1995), an English-language web project focused on Japanese entertainment. During this period, he also contributed writing on video games and Japanese media, including work associated with Electronic Gaming Monthly. Through his company Tokyopop, Levy played a role in introducing and localizing Japanese manga for English-speaking audiences, overseeing early publications of titles such as Sailor Moon and Parasyte. He also authored an early English-language novel adaptation of Sailor Moon (1999), part of Tokyopop's efforts to expand the franchise into new formats for Western readers.

In 1997, Levy founded Tokyopop (originally Mixx), which initially published serialized manga through the magazine Mixxzine. In the early 2000s, the company began publishing manga in its original right-to-left format, a departure from the standard left-to-right format used in Western comics. This approach was later cited by industry observers as a factor in the growth of manga readership in North America. Tokyopop expanded distribution into U.S. retail chains, including Waldenbooks and Borders, and published a range of Japanese manga titles, including Sailor Moon, one of its most widely recognized early releases. The company also launched initiatives such as Rising Stars of Manga, a competition aimed at developing original English-language manga creators.

During the 2000s under Levy, Tokyopop became one of the larger manga publishers in the United States. Coverage in publications such as The New York Times and Publishers Weekly discussed the company's role in the expansion of manga and Japanese pop culture in Western markets. Levy also expanded the company's activities into anime distribution, music, and cross-media projects, and participated in early efforts to localize Korean comics (manhwa) for English-speaking audiences.

Levy relocated to Berlin in 2020. In 2023, he stepped back from day-to-day operations of Tokyopop's U.S. business while remaining involved in the company's strategic direction. He has also been involved in international media initiatives, including a partnership with MBC Group related to anime production and distribution in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2025, Levy was featured in an episode of The Anime Business, a documentary interview series examining the history of anime and manga in international markets.

Levy authored the first volume of an English-language novel adaptation of Sailor Moon (1999), part of a series published by Tokyopop that adapted the anime for younger readers. Under the pen name of D.J. Milky he also published novels Karma Club and Juror 13.