Funimation cherry pick releases from Geneon USA, ADV Films

With the Los Angeles’ Anime Expo in full swing this weekend, several announcements are either forthcoming or have already been made. Worthy of note so far has been the activity of Funimation, who have managed to strike huge deals to acquire dozens of new anime series from Geneon USA and ADV Films.

1. Funimation’s deal with the Sojitz Corporation is of vital importance to our readers as not only does it affect the US industry, but the UK industry too. Essentially, the Sojitz Corporation, which had previously intended to release these anime series worldwide with ADV Films, has instead transferred them to Funimation. These 30+ anime series (a full list can be found on our forums) includes the likes of Coyote Ragtime Show, Devil May Cry, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV, Kanon, Utawarerumono and Welcome to the NHK. Many of the series on this list have been already\are partially released in the UK by ADV Films, and it remains to be seen how they will be dealt with in the future.
2. All of this follows-on from last night’s announcement that Funimation will be taking on rights to “manufacture, sell, and distribute” many of the most popular anime series from anime license holder and former publisher Geneon USA in North America. This deal includes the likes of Ergo Proxy, Hellsing Ultimate, Black Lagoon and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Also, it should be noted that this probably won’t affect the UK industry as much, as Funimation’s control of these series extends only to North America.