Viz Media
While other anime and manga publishers didn’t have the smoothest ride in 2007, Viz just kept comfortably cruising along. The Shonen Jump line remains a guaranteed hit factory, with Bleach, Naruto, and Death Note all racking up big sales and buzz in bookstores and on TV.
At the same time, though, Viz didn’t rest on its laurels. Some of those big bucks went into the new Viz Pictures label, under which the company released some surprisingly fine live-action films. If you haven’t checked out flicks like Kamikaze Girls and Linda Linda Linda yet, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. Viz’s Signature line also continued to release fine manga series like Monster and Golgo 13, while its main imprint published a keeper in the form of the huge Tekkonkinkreet omnibus edition.
Funimation
Funimation had its first big hit in Dragon Ball Z, which has now passed its high point of popularity. DBZ has been supplanted by the almighty Naruto juggernaut. Then the publisher had Fullmetal Alchemist, which peaked and moved on over the first half of 2007 or so. Now comes the dreaded question in a hit-driven industry – what’s next?
Though ADV’s undoubtedly tops in this department, Funimation was among the more acquisitive American companies in 2007. Those big hits funded plenty of what might be the hits of the future – Darker than Black, Ouran High School Host Club, Ghost Hunt, One Piece, XXXHOLiC. Host Club in particular has a chance to win over the same young female audience that made Fruits Basket a huge success. The company also got behind the upcoming CG feature film Vexille, from the director of the live-action hit Ping Pong and the production muscle behind the Appleseed movies.
While a few iffy earnings reports from mid-year and a brief series of layoffs raised questions about the company’s financial health, Funimation presently expects a successful fourth quarter to carry it into 2008.
ADV Films
ADV stayed alive this year, which is becoming an achievement, considering the casualties of this year and the last. So did its notable side ventures, like the Anime Network and Newtype USA. The ADV Manga line came back to life, bringing back series like Gunslinger Girl and Yotsuba&! after spending a couple of years in limbo.
Meanwhile, the company picked up a list of licenses as long as your arm, some of which it was able to rapidly turn around into 2007 releases. 009-1, Pumpkin Scissors, Welcome to the NHK! , The Wallflower, Xenosaga, and Red Garden all made a pretty rapid turnaround from announcement to arrival on American retail shelves. At any rate, we’ve come a ways from the age when licenses could sit on the shelf long enough to expire.
Building on the acquisitions of 2007, ADV’s primed for a great 2008. It’ll kick off the year with some pretty promising titles in Devil May Cry, Moonlight Mile, and Gurren Lagann. The Evangelion revival movies are waiting in the wings too, although no American company has officially called dibs on those yet.
Geneon USA
Sadly, there’s no Geneon anymore, at least not on this side of the water. The company formerly known as Pioneer ended its 15-year run with a bang, though, releasing the glorious blood opera of Black Lagoon and several other fan-favorite series – Fate: Stay Night, When They Cry, Kamichu!, Ergo Proxy, and Shakugan no Shana.
Perhaps the company’s finest release of the year was one of its least-known, though. The naval adventure turned time-slip drama Zipang finished up just under the deadline of Geneon’s departure from the American market, and it’s highly recommended to any fans of a thoughtful, serious, finely-made military story.
Geneon left several licenses hanging after its final releases in November. Funimation has already taken an interest in Black Lagoon, Sailor Moon, and the Hellsing UltimateOVA series. One of 2008’s more interesting stories will be what becomes of those shows, as well as others like Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha.
Media Blasters
Though Media Blasters kept its operations on a relatively small scale this year – and partially stepped back from releasing the boys’-love-type titles that were a popular slice of its catalog for a while – it stepped things up towards the end of 2007. In particular, the company’s making a pretty big bet on Kite Liberator, sequel to the popular action OVA that remains a productive entry in its back catalog.
Animeigo
The original fan-focused anime company has found itself a pretty solid business model. There’s a big following outside anime fandom for its live-action movie output – the remastered Shogun Assassin DVDs were crossover hits – which helps to support the occasional totally off-the-wall anime project. Animeigo shocked just about everyone who heard the news by announcing plans to bring over Yawara!, the classic ’80s sports series about the eponymous Fashionable Judo Girl.
Tokyopop
The company that started this whole manga boom in the first place continued to release a broad, diverse catalog of titles this year. Huge hits like Fruits Basket continued to lead the charge, but the number of titles Tokyopop cranks out besides those few is pretty staggering when you take a look at it.
One of the company’s first original serials, Svetlana Chmakova’s Dramacon, came to its planned conclusion amid positive reviews. More importantly, it sold quite well, with volumes comfortably cracking the Bookscan top 50 graphic novels list.
Source: IGN
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