Illumitoon Entertainment is a company based in Fort Worth, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 that has announced plans to "[deliver] customized, quality entertainment to the North American markets." Specifically, the company plans to produce animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

, especially anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, both for television broadcast and home video release.

Founded by three former executives of FUNimation Entertainment

FUNimation Entertainment

Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...

, the company has announced its first anime acquisition, Beet the Vandel Buster

Beet the Vandel Buster

is a manga and anime series written by Riku Sanjo and illustrated by Koji Inada.The manga was published in Shueisha's Monthly Shōnen Jump in Japan until the illustrator Inada became ill. The magazine later ceased publication leaving the future of the manga unknown at this time. VIZ Media publishes...

. While press statements seem to emphasize making this and future titles "relatable" or "placeable" to North American audiences, they have also stated that, unlike companies such as 4Kids

4Kids Entertainment

4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...

, they would be including the Japanese language tracks on their video releases.

Since the initial announcement, Illumitoon has also licensed Get Ride! Amdriver and B't X

B't X

, pronounced "beat X", is a science fiction mecha manga series, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It ran for 16 volumes in manga and was later adapted to anime with 25 episodes, then concluded with a 14 episode OVA . The manga was released in America by Tokyopop. The anime was released in...

, as well as Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshio Sawai, published by Shueisha, and serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine...

, which is already airing on Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

 but distributed by Toei

Toei Company

is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, a modest vertically-integrated studio system by the standards of the 1930s United States; operates studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a...

. Their first DVD was released in January 2007.