Crunchyroll Ltd.,

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Crunchyroll UK and Ireland, is an anime distributor and

licensing A license (American English) or licence ( Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another par ...

company in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founded in 1987 as Island World Communications, the company operated as

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...

Ltd. until 2021. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of

Crunchyroll, LLC Crunchyroll, LLC is an American Entertainment#Industry, entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused Crunchyroll, eponymous over-the-top media service, over-the-top video on demand#Subscription models, ...

, run by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

through

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

and

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

Aniplex Aniplex, Inc. (株式会社アニプレックス, ''Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu'') is a Japanese entertainment company and a subsidiary of Sony, Sony Group Corporation, founded in September 1995 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company fo ...

History

Original history

Golden Square Music was founded in London in 1987 by Chris Blackwell and Andy Frain as a subsidiary of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

' Island World Group. Golden Square Music changed its name to Island World Communications in 1991, and to Manga Entertainment in 1993. Manga Entertainment expanded into North America in 1993 with the purchase of L.A. Hero, renamed to Manga U.S.. Over time, Manga Entertainment changed ownership from IDT Entertainment, Liberty Media, and

Starz Media Starz Distribution, formerly IDT Entertainment from 2003 to 2006 and Starz Media from 2006 to 2013, is an American television production, distribution, and syndication company and the distribution arm of Starz Inc., a subsidiary of Starz Ente ...

. In November 2014, it was revealed that Manga UK's Director of Marketing and Acquisitions Jerome Mazandarani, and product manager Andrew Hewson had left Manga Entertainment to form Animatsu Entertainment, a new anime licensing company. The company was registered on 11 September 2014, with Mazandarani becoming COO and Hewson becoming marketing manager. On 13 January 2015, Animatsu announced that it had reached a licensing deal with

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC (or simply Sentai) is an American entertainment company. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sentai Studios. The ...

to distribute titles in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company would also enter into a sales and marketing partnership with Manga UK. With the partnership, Animatsu was responsible for licensing, marketing, and brand management, while Manga UK was responsible for distribution and sales. On 26 February 2015, the UK branch was acquired from Starz Media, alongside its parent Anchor Bay UK, by managing director Colin Lomax. Anchor Bay UK was renamed to Platform Entertainment and went on to have exclusive rights to the Manga Entertainment branding and catalog in the UK and Ireland. In September of that year, Mazandarani revealed that Animatsu and Manga UK were in the process of merging operations. The Animatsu brand would ultimately be phased out, with its final release being '' Hello! KINMOZA'', released on 2 July 2018. Animatsu Entertainment was dissolved on 31 December 2019. On 17 June 2016, it was announced that Animatsu had acquired the global rights to the film ''

In This Corner of the World is a manga series written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno which ran from 2007 to 2009 in ''Weekly Manga Action''. It follows the life of Suzu Urano, a young bride with her new family living on the outskirts of Kure City during the Second ...

'', with Mazandarani credited as "Overseas Manager" for the film. Animatsu later announced that it had reached a distribution deal with

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

to distribute the film in North America. In the same month, Kaleidoscope Film Distribution announced they had purchased Platform Entertainment and confirmed that they would split Manga UK off as an independent company. Prior to 2016,

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

sublicensed its properties for the UK and Ireland market through companies

Revelation Films Revelation Films is a British film and television production and distribution company delivering visual entertainment via cinema, television and digital platforms. Tony Carne founded Revelation Films in 1992 as a video and television productio ...

MVM Entertainment MVM Entertainment, also known as MVM and MVM Films, is a British licensor and distributor of Japanese animation. The company also sub-licenses anime titles from US anime companies such as Media Blasters, Geneon, Nozomi Entertainment, Urban Vis ...

, then-independent Manga Entertainment, and

Anime Limited Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime, is a British anime distribution company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It releases anime for British, Irish, French and other European audiences. The company was established in 2012 by Andrew Partridge, ...

. In 2016, Funimation began directly releasing its titles in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with Funimation handling licensing, localization and branding, and Anime Limited handling distribution and classification. Funimation later distributed ''My Hero Academia'' through

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

UK in 2017, and later through

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

UK, along with other select titles, in 2018. Funimation later began sub-licensing titles to Manga Entertainment's UK branch in late 2018, before acquiring the company on 29 May 2019.

Sony acquisition

On 29 May 2019, Sony Pictures, the parent company of American anime distributor

, had announced that they had acquired Manga UK, and was merging its UK and Ireland operations into Manga UK. Manga UK managing director Jerome Mazandarani stated that the acquisition would secure more content for Manga Entertainment, while being able to pursue licenses outside of Funimation. On 30 May 2019, Manga UK announced that they were co-producing the anime television series '' Cannon Busters'' with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. On 12 April 2021, Funimation announced that Manga Entertainment would officially rebrand to Funimation in the UK and Ireland on 19 April 2021, with the Manga Entertainment brand name remaining on select releases within the region. They stated in a press release that the distribution of digital, physical and theatrical anime would continue "without interruption". ''

Blue Exorcist is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Kazue Kato. The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager who discovers that he and his twin brother Yukio are the sons of Satan, born from a human woman, and he is ...

'' and '' Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga'' joined the Funimation catalog in the UK and Ireland the same day, to celebrate the merger. On 28 March 2022, the company changed its legal name to Crunchyroll Manga Ltd. and again on 21 July 2022 to Crunchyroll Ltd.

Notes

References

External links

Archive of the mangauk.com Web site
(index) * * {{Sony Music 1987 establishments in England 2019 mergers and acquisitions Anime companies Aniplex British companies established in 1987 British subsidiaries of foreign companies Crunchyroll Entertainment companies of the United Kingdom Former Liberty Media subsidiaries Manga Entertainment Mass media companies based in London Mass media companies established in 1987