Kazé was a French publishing company that specializes in

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. Its head office was in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

. Founded in 1994, the company debuted by publishing ''

Record of Lodoss War is a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based on the work he originally created for a world called '' Forcelia'' as a rules-free setting for role-playing games (RPGs).Yasuda, Hitoshi. Afterword. . By Ryo Mizuno. Ka ...

'' on VHS. It was owned 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 the EMEA division 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, ...

, a joint venture anime business between

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 ...

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 ...

. After 15 years, Kaze became Kazé in 2010, in hopes that the addition of an accent allowed for a better pronunciation of its name. It published numerous series of Japanese animations in French and became one of the largest independent publishers of video and manga in Europe. In 2005, Kazé launched its music label, Wasabi Records, specializing in

J-Pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

. In the last few years, the company has diversified its activities by publishing Japanese animated feature films, such as '' Appleseed'', '' Origin: Spirits of the Past'' and ''

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a science fiction novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Originally serialized from 1965 to 1966, it tells the story of a high-school girl who accidentally acquires the ability to time travel, which leads to a time loop where she repeatedly relives th ...

''. In 2007, Kazé released ''Shinobi'', its first live-action film, to theaters in France, and in July 2009, Kazé launched its own television channel, KZTV (Kazé TV), devoted to anime. On August 28, 2009, Kazé announced its acquisition by

Viz Media Europe Crunchyroll EMEA, formerly known as Viz Media Europe, is a European anime distributor. Established as Viz Media Europe, it was Viz Media's European sister company until 2019. It holds partnerships with TV channels, DVD distributors, and manga pu ...

, a subsidiary of

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

and

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

. Prior to the purchase, the company's manga was published under the Asuka imprint. Since January 2010, only

yaoi , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it from the equivale ...

titles have been released under the Asuka imprint; the majority of titles were moved to the company's new Kazé imprint, including later volumes of non-yaoi series started under the Asuka imprint. Asuka's current licenses include a broad spectrum of manga: popular shōnen and shōjo series such as ''

After School Nightmare is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro. It was serialized from 2004 to 2007 in the manga magazine ''Princess'' and collected in ten volumes. It was licensed in North America by Go! Comi, with all volumes ada ...

'', more mature

seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word means "youth", but the term " manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Manga Times'' and '' Weekly Man ...

and

josei , also known as and its abbreviation , is an editorial category of Japanese comics that emerged in the 1980s. In a strict sense, ''josei'' refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women, contrasting ''shōjo'' manga, which is marke ...

titles such as ''

Bokurano is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mohiro Kitoh. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Monthly Ikki'' from November 2003 to June 2009, with its chapters collected in 11 volumes. It is about a group of mid ...

'', and classic manga such as '' Black Jack'' and works by

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

. They also publish a number of yaoi and

yuri Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

titles, including a French edition of '' Be x Boy'' magazine. The company also published in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In May 2012, Cédric Littardi, the founder and long-time head of the company, announced his departure. On June 1, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that Kazé and its labels will be rebranded as Crunchyroll. The rebranding became effective on October 1, 2022.

Italian dubs

In 2012, the French company has received criticism from

regarding the publication of '' Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail'' (series

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

), '' Mardock Scramble: the First Compression,'' and ''

Children Who Chase Lost Voices , also known as ''Journey to Agartha'', is a 2011 Japanese anime fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, and produced by CoMix Wave Films. It follows an elementary school girl and her substitute teacher travelling to the depths of th ...

''. Instead of giving the job to an Italian

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

studio, as with previous releases, Kazé opted for a French dubbing studio named Wantake, which used amateur

voice actors Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

of Italian-French nationality. The resulting performance was regarded as poor. Criticism was also directed towards the menu systems on the DVDs, which featured inaccurate translations. On

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

, titles have received numerous negative reviews owing to these perceived failings, and the company was flooded with negative comments via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Anime published

Anime published in France

*'' Appleseed XIII'' *''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'' *''

Yo-kai Watch is a Japanese role-playing video game series and associated media franchise created and developed by Level-5. The first game in the series was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. Three main sequels and several spinoffs, on both Nintendo a ...

Anime published in UK

*''

Bakuman is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for ''Death Note''. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from Augus ...

'' (Sub-only release) *'' Berserk: The Golden Age Arc'' *''

Black Lagoon ''Black Lagoon'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe. It has been published in Shogakukan's manga magazine '' Monthly Sunday Gene-X'' since April 2002, with its chapters collected in ...

'' *'' Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail'' *''

'' (Seasons 9-16, Movies 3 and 4) *''

Code Geass , often referred to as ''Code Geass'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp. Set in an ...

'' (Both seasons) *''

Future Diary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno. It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's '' Shōnen Ace'' between January 2006 and December 2010, and has been collected into 12 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The plot depicts the ...

'' *''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly manga magazine ''Ultra Jum ...

'' (Season 1 only) *'' Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic'' *'' Mardock Scramble'' *'' Mawaru Panguindrum'' *''

Nisekoi is a Japanese romantic comedy manga series written and illustrated by Naoshi Komi. ''Nisekoi'' was first published as a one-shot manga in Shueisha's seasonal '' Jump Next!'' magazine before being serialized in the manga magazine '' ...

'' *'' Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan'' *''

One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero manga series created by One. It tells the story of Saitama, an independent superhero who, having trained to the point that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows bored from a lack of challenge. He ...

'' *'' Persona 4: The Animation'' *''

Princess Jellyfish is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akiko Higashimura. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''josei'' manga magazine ''Kiss'' from October 2008 to August 2017. The manga is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA. An 11-ep ...

'' *''

Tiger & Bunny ''Tiger & Bunny'' (stylized in all caps) is a 2011 Japanese anime superhero television series produced by Sunrise and directed by Keiichi Sato. The screenplay was written by Masafumi Nishida with original character design by Masakazu ...

'' *'' Trigun: Badlands Rumble'' *''

Un-Go is a 2011 anime television series produced by Bones which aired on Fuji TV's noitamina program block between October 13, 2011 and December 22, 2011. Based on the noted Japanese intellectual and novelist Ango Sakaguchi's novel , the series ...

'' *''

World Conquest Zvezda Plot is a Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tensai Okamura. It premiered on Tokyo MX, GTV and GYT on January 11, 2014. The series is written by Okamura and Meteor Hoshizora of the Japanese game company ...

Anime published in Germany

*''

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to a ...

'' *'' Cat's Eye'' *''

Fairy Tail ''Fairy Tail'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collect ...

'' *'' Inuyasha'' *''

Phantom Thief Jeanne is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. The story is about the adventures of a high school girl, Maron Kusakabe, who is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) and transforms into a phantom thief magica ...

'' *''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

'' *'' Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist'' *''

Anime published in Spain

*''

Anime published in Italy

*'' Hellsing Ultimate''

Manga

*'' Black Rose Alice'' *''

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 volumes. The ...

'' *''

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from August 2016 to June 2020, with its chapters collected in 20 volumes. I ...

'' *” Hanako Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun”

Kazé Anime Nights

Kazé Anime Nights is a cinema event, where Kazé screens anime films and sometimes Asian films across Germany and Austria for one day or multiple days.

Films of Kazé Anime Nights and Asia Nights 2018

Films of Kazé Anime Nights 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaze 2021 disestablishments in France 2009 mergers and acquisitions 2019 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions Anime companies Companies based in Paris Crunchyroll French companies established in 1994 Manga distributors Mass media in Paris Publishing companies established in 1994 Publishing companies disestablished in 2022 Publishing companies of France Former Sony subsidiaries Viz Media