Type of site | News and database |
---|---|
Available in | English, French |
Headquarters | United States |
Owner | Kadokawa Corporation |
Created by | Justin Sevakis |
URL | www |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Required for use of forums or contributing information |
Launched | August 21, 1998 [1] |
Current status | Active |
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and other editorial content, forums where readers can discuss current issues and events, and an encyclopedia that contains many anime and manga with information on the staff, cast, theme music, plot summaries, and user ratings. [2]
The website was founded in July 1998 by Justin Sevakis, and operated the magazine Protoculture Addicts from 2005 to 2008. Based in the United States, [3] it has separate versions of its news content aimed toward audiences in five separate regions: the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, [4] Southeast Asia, [5] and India.
The website was founded by Justin Sevakis in July 1998. [3] In May 2000, CEO Christopher Macdonald joined the website editorial staff, replacing editor-in-chief Isaac Alexander. On June 30, 2002, Anime News Network launched its Encyclopedia, a collaborative database of anime and manga titles also including information about the staff, cast, and the companies which were involved in the production or localization of those titles. [6]
On September 7, 2004, the Sci Fi Channel online newsletter Sci Fi Weekly named ANN the Web Site of the Week. [2] On September 18, 2004, the editorial staff at ANN became formally involved with the anime magazine Protoculture Addicts ; the magazine began publishing under ANN's editorial control in January 2005. [7]
In January 2007, ANN launched a separate version for Australian audiences. [4] On July 4, 2008, ANN launched its video platform with a library of anime trailers as well as its own news show ANNtv. [8]
On August 7, 2017, a hacker took control of Anime News Network's domain (animenewsnetwork.com), and compromised some of the site's Twitter accounts, including the personal accounts of ANN's CEO Christopher Macdonald and Executive Editor Zac Bertschy. The site was temporarily live at animenewsnetwork.cc until the staff regained control of the original domain. [9] In an article a few days after the loss of the domain, Macdonald published the full story on how the domain was stolen. [10]
On November 1, 2022, Kadokawa Corporation announced an agreement to acquire a majority of Anime News Network's media business through a new subsidiary Kadokawa World Entertainment. Christopher Macdonald, the president of ANN, was appointed as the publisher of Kadokawa World Entertainment. Macdonald and Bandai Namco Filmworks retain minority shares in the new company. [11] [12]
Anime News Network stories related to anime and manga are researched by the ANN staff. Other contributors, under staff discretion, also contribute news articles. [3]
The website maintains a listing of anime and manga titles, as well as people and companies involved in the production of those titles, which it dubs an "encyclopedia". [2] The site has hosted several regular columns, including a question-and-answer column "Hey Answerman", a review column entitled "Shelf Life", a column on old and forgotten media called "Buried Treasure" written by Sevakis. [13]
ANN also hosts forums, [2] [14] and includes threads to accompany each news item for purposes of discussion. Anime News Network hosts an IRC channel on the WorldIRC network, #animenewsnetwork.
Mobile Fighter G Gundam, also known in Japan as Mobile Fighting Legend G Gundam, is a 1994 Japanese animated television series produced by Sunrise and the fifth installment in the long-running Gundam franchise. The series is set in the "Future Century", where space colonies representing countries have agreed to hold an organized fighting tournament known as the "Gundam Fight" every four years to settle their political differences in place of war. Each colony sends a representative fighter piloting a giant, humanoid mecha called a Gundam to battle on Earth until only one is left, and the winning nation earns the right to govern over all the colonies until the next tournament. The events of G Gundam follow Domon Kasshu, the pilot of Neo Japan's Shining Gundam during the 13th Gundam Fight. Domon's mission is to both win the tournament and to track down his older brother, who is believed to have stolen the mysterious Devil Gundam from the Neo Japan government.
Outlaw Star is a Japanese media mix primarily consisting of an anime television series produced by Sunrise and a corresponding seinen manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Itō. The series takes place in the "Toward Stars Era" universe in which spacecraft are capable of traveling faster than the speed of light. The plot follows protagonist Gene Starwind and his motley crew of an inherited ship dubbed the Outlaw Star, as they search for a legendary outer space treasure trove called the "Galactic Leyline".
The Heroic Legend of Arslan is a Japanese fantasy novel series written by Yoshiki Tanaka. It was published from 1986 to 2017, with sixteen novels and one side-story in the official guidebook Arslan Senki Dokuhon. The story and setting is inspired by the history and mythology of ancient Persia.
Newtype is a monthly magazine originating from Japan covering anime and, to a lesser extent, manga, seiyū, science fiction, tokusatsu, and video games. It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, and has since been released in Japan on the 10th of every month.
Protoculture Addicts was a Canadian-based anime and manga themed magazine published by Protoculture Inc., an Anime News Network company. The term "Protoculture Addicts" was also used by the Zentradi to refer to all the races that have been in contact with Protoculture.
Enterbrain (エンターブレイン), formerly Enterbrain, Inc., is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987 as ASCII Film Co., Ltd.. Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan, with a paid-in capital of 410 million yen. Enterbrain's current president is Hirokazu Hamamura.
Roujin Z is a 1991 Japanese animated science fiction action thriller film directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo. The animation for Roujin Z was produced by A.P.P.P. in association with other companies including Movic, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Aniplex and TV Asahi.
Brain Powerd is a Japanese anime television series created by Sunrise. It was directed and written by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino and features mecha designs by Mamoru Nagano, character designs by Mutsumi Inomata, and music by Yoko Kanno. The 26 episodes of the series originally premiered on the satellite channel WOWOW between April and November 1998. The series was also aired across Japan on the anime network Animax, which also later broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Animax aired Bandai Entertainment's localization, the series' English language television premiere. The anime series was licensed by Bandai and distributed across the region on DVD under the title Brain Powered.
Seiji Mizushima is a Japanese anime director who is known for such series as Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Un-Go, Concrete Revolutio, and Beatless. His first directorial film project, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, won the 60th Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film. In 2015, he won the Individual Award at the 20th Animation Kobe Awards.
Otaku USA is a bimonthly magazine published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle from an American perspective. The issues were accompanied by a DVD featuring three anime episodes but as of 2009 the DVD feature was dropped and the double sided poster feature of the Magazine was also dropped starting with the February 2010 issue.
Natsumi Takamori is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Pro-Fit. Some of her major roles are Mei Misaki in Another, Miku Maekawa in The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, Nikka Edvardine Katajainen in Brave Witches, Ellery Himeyuri in Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, Konatsu Toro in Gokujyo, Hiotan in Denkigai no Honya-san, and Misaki Kamiigusa in The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. She also goes by the name of Yūka Kotorii on adult video games.
Overlord is a Japanese light novel series written by Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin. It began serialization online in 2010, before being acquired by Enterbrain. Sixteen volumes have been published since July 2012. A manga adaptation by Satoshi Ōshio, with art by Hugin Miyama, began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Comp Ace from November 26, 2014. Both the light novels and the manga are licensed in North America by Yen Press since 2016.
Ultimate Teacher is a 1981 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsuji Yamamoto. A 1988 OVA directed by Toyoo Ashida was produced by J.C.Staff. It was released on February 6, 1988, and was released in English by Manga Entertainment and Central Park Media.
In Another World with My Smartphone, also known as IseSuma (異世スマ) for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Patora Fuyuhara and illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka. It began serialization online in 2013 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō until it was acquired by Hobby Japan for publishing the print edition as a light novel. J-Novel Club has licensed the series for an English release, releasing each novel in six weekly parts since February 2017. A manga adaptation by Soto began its serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace in November 2016. The manga is licensed in English by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation by Production Reed aired from July to September 2017. A second season by J.C.Staff aired from April to June 2023.
Midnight Occult Civil Servants was a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yōko Tamotsu. The manga has inspired a novelization by Masumi Suzuki, and an anime television series adaptation by Liden Films aired from April 7 to June 23, 2019. The anime series is licensed in North America under a Crunchyroll-Funimation partnership. The series follows Arata Miyako, a newly recruited staff member of the Shinjuku Ward Nocturnal Community Relations Division (NCRD) who possesses the "Ears of Sand", giving him the ability to understand the languages of supernatural creatures called the Anothers. His main role with the Shinjuku Ward NCRD is to maintain relations with the Anothers.
THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an anime review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including OVAs and ONAs. The website offers reviews, editorial content and hosts forums.
Kazuyuki Fudeyasu is a Japanese anime screenwriter. He debuted in 1997 and has worked on numerous series since, including Black Clover, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and By the Grace of the Gods. Fudeyasu usually spells his name with kanji. However, he will also credit his name in hiragana on some occasions.