Manga Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation
in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand. It also co-produces several anime series, including Ghost in the Shell
, Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance and Eon Kid, usually through financial contributions toward production costs. It was established in 1991 by Chris Blackwell
by Island Records
' Island World Communications subsidiary. It is currently a subsidiary of Starz Media
, a subsidiary of venture capital firm Liberty Media
. It has also played a part in dubbing
anime, when it is not sub-licensing a production that has already been licensed by another company (e.g., Akira
, licensed and redubbed by Geneon
in 2001, Bounty Dog, and Lupin III: Bye Bye Liberty Crisis).
They currently have licensing and distribution deals with Funimation Entertainment
, Sentai Filmworks, and Viz Media
in the UK, however unlike previous licensing agreements they do not bring titles from Funimation, Sentai, and Viz to Australia under their brand as Manga's Australian distributor, Madman Entertainment
has the licenses from these companies.
Despite its name, the company's principal business is the distribution of anime
rather than manga
, although they have published some manga, such as Crying Freeman
, in the United Kingdom under the Manga Books imprint.
who owned Island and Manga, they decided to sub-license their properties to Siren Entertainment
. In late 1996, Manga Entertainment UK gave the sub-distribution license to the newly founded Madman Entertainment
who in turn were distributed by Siren. This meant that both Siren and Madman has equal rights to Manga's properties.
In 1997, PolyGram Australia gained the rights to some of Manga's more recent additions to its catalogue. This included Lupin the 3rd properties except The Castle of Cagliostro
and Violence Jack
. Violence Jack: Evil Town was banned in Australia even when PolyGram submitted the UK cut to the Australian Government for classification. The other 2 OVAs in the series submitted were the uncut dubbed versions that were released in the USA by Critical Mass
however due to Evil Town's banning PolyGram scrapped the release of Violence Jack in Australia. PolyGram already had the UK cut of Evil Town in circulation despite its banning.
Siren decided to license Street Fighter II: V from Manga USA in 1998 and released the series without input from Madman, as Madman also had and exclusive licensing deal with ADV Films who had licensed Street Fighter II: V in the UK and re-dubbed it. This property was taken over by Madman in 1999.
In 1999, Siren relinquished its licensing deal with Manga UK and its separate deal for SFII: V from Manga USA as Madman had become big enough for Siren to make same amount of profit distributing for them as it was when it was the sole distributor of Manga products in Australia.
In 2001, Siren Entertainment restructured itself and split the company into 2 separate entities: Siren Visual & The AV Channel. Madman's founders who were former employees of the company and owned shares of Siren decided to take The AV Channel and turn it into Madman's distribution arm which was absorbed into Madman in 2008.
Madman Entertainment in the mid 00's decided to align itself with Manga USA, but since the dawn of Blu-Ray & Manga USA turning into an online and television distributor of Anime, Madman has aligned itself with Manga UK. Both companies funded and co-produced the PAL region dub of Ghost In The Shell: Innocence and co-produce DVD & Blu-Rays.
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....
in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand. It also co-produces several anime series, including Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell (film)
"See You Everyday" is different from the rest of the soundtrack, being a pop song sung in Cantonese by Fang Ka Wing. It can be faintly heard playing in the marketplace scene, when Batou is hunting the ghost-hacked puppet....
, Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance and Eon Kid, usually through financial contributions toward production costs. It was established in 1991 by Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
by Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
' Island World Communications subsidiary. It is currently a subsidiary of Starz Media
Starz Media
Starz Media is the motion picture, animation, television, and home video subsidiary of Liberty Media.-Subsidiaries:Starz Media's subsidiaries include:*Anchor Bay Entertainment - distribution division for DVDs and videos....
, a subsidiary of venture capital firm Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
. It has also played a part in dubbing
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
anime, when it is not sub-licensing a production that has already been licensed by another company (e.g., Akira
Akira (film)
is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....
, licensed and redubbed by Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
in 2001, Bounty Dog, and Lupin III: Bye Bye Liberty Crisis).
They currently have licensing and distribution deals with 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...
, Sentai Filmworks, and Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
in the UK, however unlike previous licensing agreements they do not bring titles from Funimation, Sentai, and Viz to Australia under their brand as Manga's Australian distributor, Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
has the licenses from these companies.
Despite its name, the company's principal business is the distribution of 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....
rather than manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, although they have published some manga, such as Crying Freeman
Crying Freeman
is a manga by Kazuo Koike & Ryoichi Ikegami about an assassin who sheds tears after he kills his targets. Crying Freeman follows the title assassin, a Japanese man hypnotized and trained by the Chinese mafia to serve as its agent, and covered in a vast and complex dragon tattoo...
, in the United Kingdom under the Manga Books imprint.
Manga Entertainment in Australia
Manga Entertainment expanded into Australia in late 1993 when Manga's main headquarters were still based in London. Although initially Manga's titles were to be released in Australia by PolygramPolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
who owned Island and Manga, they decided to sub-license their properties to Siren Entertainment
Siren Visual
Siren Visual is an Australian company which specialises in the distribution of Japanese anime, documentaries and off-beat cinema in Australia and New Zealand....
. In late 1996, Manga Entertainment UK gave the sub-distribution license to the newly founded Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
who in turn were distributed by Siren. This meant that both Siren and Madman has equal rights to Manga's properties.
In 1997, PolyGram Australia gained the rights to some of Manga's more recent additions to its catalogue. This included Lupin the 3rd properties except The Castle of Cagliostro
The Castle of Cagliostro
is a 1979 Japanese animated film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is one of the films featuring master thief Arsène Lupin III.The second animated Lupin III movie and arguably the best known, Castle of Cagliostro was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who also co-directed the first...
and Violence Jack
Violence Jack
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Go Nagai in 1973. It has had several serializations and one-shot stories which have run in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s...
. Violence Jack: Evil Town was banned in Australia even when PolyGram submitted the UK cut to the Australian Government for classification. The other 2 OVAs in the series submitted were the uncut dubbed versions that were released in the USA by Critical Mass
Critical Mass
Critical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
however due to Evil Town's banning PolyGram scrapped the release of Violence Jack in Australia. PolyGram already had the UK cut of Evil Town in circulation despite its banning.
Siren decided to license Street Fighter II: V from Manga USA in 1998 and released the series without input from Madman, as Madman also had and exclusive licensing deal with ADV Films who had licensed Street Fighter II: V in the UK and re-dubbed it. This property was taken over by Madman in 1999.
In 1999, Siren relinquished its licensing deal with Manga UK and its separate deal for SFII: V from Manga USA as Madman had become big enough for Siren to make same amount of profit distributing for them as it was when it was the sole distributor of Manga products in Australia.
In 2001, Siren Entertainment restructured itself and split the company into 2 separate entities: Siren Visual & The AV Channel. Madman's founders who were former employees of the company and owned shares of Siren decided to take The AV Channel and turn it into Madman's distribution arm which was absorbed into Madman in 2008.
Madman Entertainment in the mid 00's decided to align itself with Manga USA, but since the dawn of Blu-Ray & Manga USA turning into an online and television distributor of Anime, Madman has aligned itself with Manga UK. Both companies funded and co-produced the PAL region dub of Ghost In The Shell: Innocence and co-produce DVD & Blu-Rays.