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Toei Animation Inc. (abbreviated as TAI, or sometimes just Toei Animation USA or Toei LATAM depending on the territory) is an American licensing and distribution company that operates as an international distribution arm of the Japanese animation studio Toei Animation. Originally founded in 2004 and based in Los Angeles, the company is responsible for licensing the studio's library across North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.[2] It holds partnerships with TV channels, DVD distributors, and streaming websites.
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Multimedia entertainment |
| Founded | March 2004 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Area served | North America, South America, Oceania and South Africa |
Key people | Masayuki Endo (president and CEO)[1] |
| Products | Anime |
| Parent | Toei Animation |
| Website | www.toei-animation-usa.com |
History
editDue to Toei Animation's decision to start distributing the series directly since 2003 with the establishment of Toei Animation Europe based in Paris, Toei Animation Inc. based in Los Angeles was founded in 2004.[2]
In November 2004, Toei had signed a deal with Geneon USA to distribute three titles, Air Master, Interlude and Slam Dunk on DVD in North America.[3] However, due to low sales, the DVD's went out-of-print and the deal was terminated within a year and a half.[4]
In 2005, the Toei Animation licenses that were distributed by Cloverway Inc. were transferred to Toei Animation Inc. for requirement, leaving Cloverway alone with the licenses of the other Japanese producers with which it intermediated until August 2007 (due to economic problems). As a consequence of this, there has been a chain of irregularities, such as the loss of master tapes of many series, with the Latin American versions being the most affected for this change in distribution.
Anime
editDistributor
edit- Air Gear (sub-distributed by Funimation (later Crunchyroll) for U.S.)
- Dragon Ball franchise (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005 and sub-distributed by Funimation (later Crunchyroll) for U.S.)
- Digimon franchise (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005 and distributed directly for U.S. since 2017 originally distributed by Saban Entertainment, BVS Entertainment and Saban Brands. The first two seasons of the franchise and the first three movies are currently sub-distributed by Discotek Media in the U.S.)
- Dr. Slump (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- GeGeGe no Kitaro franchise
- 1996's series (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- 2018's series
- Magical Doremi franchise (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- Mazinger Z (distributed directly for Latin America since 2012)
- Ghost Sweeper Mikami (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- Hell Teacher Nūbē (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- Ashita no Nadja (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- One Piece (4Kids version, distributed directly for Latin America and sub-distributed by Funimation (later Crunchyroll) for U.S.)
- Pretty Cure franchise
- Futari wa Pretty Cure (distributed directly for Latin America since 2008)
- Glitter Force (distributed directly for Latin America and U.S. since 2017)
- Glitter Force Doki Doki (sub-distributed by Saban Brands (later Hasbro Entertainment) for U.S. and Latin America)
- Saint Seiya franchise (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- Sailor Moon franchise (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005 and sub-distributed by Viz Media for U.S. since 2014)
- Sailor Moon Crystal (distributed directly for Latin America since 2017 and sub-distributed by Viz Media for U.S.)
- Slam Dunk (distributed directly for Latin America since 2005)
- Toriko (distributed directly for Latin America since 2012 and sub-distributed by Funimation (later Crunchyroll) for U.S.)
- World Trigger (sub-distributed by Sentai Filmworks in partnership with Crunchyroll for home video rights in U.S.)
Original productions
editReferences
edit- ^ "20th Anniversary Feature Film One Piece Stampede Gallops Into North American Theaters This Fall". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ a b "About Us". Toei Animation USA. Toei Animation Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ "Geneon Entertainment Signs Distribution Agreement With Toei Animation" (Press Release). Anime News Network. November 11, 2004. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ "Toei DVDs Cancelled". Anime News Network. September 18, 2006. Retrieved March 11, 2024.