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Urban Vision Entertainment Inc. was an American-based production/distribution company created in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
formed in July 1996 by Mataichiro Yamamoto to help introduce the animation medium known as
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
to the American mainstream.


History

Urban Vision Entertainment was formed in July 1996 by Mataichiro Yamamoto to help introduce the alternative animation genre known as
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
to mainstream media. The company primarily produced and acquired Japanese animation for direct-to-home video release. Urban Vision founder Mataichiro Yamamoto helped pioneer the anime genre in the US with the computer-generated theatrical release, Golgo 13: The Professional in 1983. Urban Vision worked closely with the world-renowned Studio Madhouse animation studio in Tokyo, Japan ( Wicked City,
Ninja Scroll is a 1993 Japanese animated ''jidaigeki''- ''chanbara'' film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, starring the voices of Kōichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko Seki and Shūichirō Moriyama. The film was a ...
,
Vampire Hunter D is a series of novels written by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983. As of April 2022, 40 novels have been published in the main series, with some novels comprising as many as four volumes. They hav ...
). The company's initial release, another Madhouse project, was
Bio Hunter is a Japanese manga series authored by Fujihiko Hosono. It tells the story about two molecular biologists, Koshigaya and Komada who take on humans with strange viruses that make them less human and more demonic. It was serialized in the Sco ...
, released on home video in July 1997. Additional Urban Vision releases included
Gatchaman is a Japanese animated franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman ...
,
Twilight of the Dark Master is a Japanese manga by Saki Okuse, and an OVA adaptation. The OVA was produced by Masao Maruyama, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, and the screenplay was written by Duane Dell'Amico and Tatsuhiko Urahata. It was distributed and licensed in 1997 b ...
,
Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
, Psycho Diver: Soul Siren and Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. In the mid-2000s Urban Vision shifted its focus from anime to live-action movies with the launch of two sub-labels, Ciudad for
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
-language films and AsiaVision for Japanese-language films.


Decline

Urban Vision became inactive since the late 00's, not acquiring any more titles. On September 7, 2010, the online retailer
Right Stuf Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...
removed all of their Urban Vision catalog due to the distributor not shipping out orders to them. The following day, Urban Vision released a statement saying that the company had been restructuring itself and were halting their home video production unit and focusing on digital distribution. In November 2016, the company was shut down. Currently, a majority of their titles have since been re-licensed and re-released by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
and
Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
.


Films licensed by Urban Vision Entertainment


Anime

* ''
Bio Hunter is a Japanese manga series authored by Fujihiko Hosono. It tells the story about two molecular biologists, Koshigaya and Komada who take on humans with strange viruses that make them less human and more demonic. It was serialized in the Sco ...
'' * '' Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes'' * '' DNA Sights 999.9'' * '' Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals'' * ''
Gatchaman is a Japanese animated franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman ...
'' (1994) (now licensed by
Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
) * '' Golgo 13: Queen Bee'' * ''
Hurricane Polymar is a Japanese anime and OVA series produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The show was created by Tatsuo Yoshida, who had produced many of Tatsunoko's series. Other romanizations of the name include ''Hurricane Polymer'', and ''Hariken Polymar' ...
'' (now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * '' Ninja Scroll: The Series'' (now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * ''
Pet Shop of Horrors ''Pet Shop of Horrors'' is a Japanese horror manga created by Matsuri Akino. The series focuses on the eccentric Count D, proprietor of a mysterious pet shop located in the heart of Chinatown, and the numerous patrons who visit his shop. T ...
'' (now licensed by
Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
) * '' The Professional: Golgo 13'' (from
Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...
, now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * '' Psycho Diver: Soul Siren'' * ''
Strange Dawn is a 13-episode anime television series created by Hal Film Maker for Pioneer LDC (now Geneon) in 2000. The series follows the adventures of Eri and Yuko after they are transported to a strange world where all the people are very short. The ...
'' (Lil' Vision) * ''
Space Adventure Cobra is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Buichi Terasawa. Set in the far future, the series tells the story of Cobra, who lives an adventurous life until his enemies begin to hunt him down. Cobra surgically alters his face a ...
'' (from
Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...
, now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * '' Tekkaman Blade II'' (now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * ''
Twilight of the Dark Master is a Japanese manga by Saki Okuse, and an OVA adaptation. The OVA was produced by Masao Maruyama, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, and the screenplay was written by Duane Dell'Amico and Tatsuhiko Urahata. It was distributed and licensed in 1997 b ...
'' * ''
Goku Midnight Eye is a manga series by Buichi Terasawa about a detective named who gains a cybernetic eye implant that can control any computer system on the planet. The manga has been published in English by ComicsOne and DrMaster. Reception Helen McCarthy ...
'' (now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * ''
The Cockpit The Cockpit can refer to: * Cockpit Theatre, a 17th-century theatre in London (also known as the Phoenix) that opened in 1616 * The Cockpit, a theatre in London, England that opened in 1970 * ''The Cockpit'' (OVA), a three-part anime series made ...
'' * ''
Wild 7 is a Japanese manga series by creator Mikiya Mochizuki that debuted on 1969 on ''Weekly Shōnen King'' where it ran until 1979. The creation of the manga had been based on the condition that Japan and other non-communist countries were fac ...
'' (from
Enoki Films was a Japanese studio based in the Enoki Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo.Company Profile
. Enoki Films US ...
) * '' Vampire Hunter D'' (from
Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...
, now licensed by
Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
) * '' Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'' (now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
) * '' Wicked City'' (from
Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...
, now licensed by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
)


Live action (AsiaVision)

* ''
Azumi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yū Koyama. Its story concerns the title character, a young woman brought up as part of a team of assassins, charged with killing the warlords that threaten the uneasy peace in Feudal Jap ...
'' * '' Azumi 2: Death or Love'' * ''
Curse, Death & Spirit is a 1992 three-part anthology of Japanese ghost stories from director Hideo Nakata. The DVD version is being licensed and distributed by AsiaVision. Story The movie consist of three storylines. The Cursed Doll: Satomi is being called by ...
'' * '' Kill Devil'' * ''
Kokkuri or is a Japanese game popular during the Meiji era that is also a form of divination, partially based on Western table-turning. The name ''kokkuri'' is an onomatopoeia meaning "to nod up and down", and refers to the movement of the actual ''kok ...
''


Live action (Ciudad)

* '' Black Wind'' * '' By My Side Again'' * ''
Doña Bárbara ''Doña Bárbara (Lady Bárbara)'' is a novel by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, first published in 1929. It was described in 1974 as "possibly the most widely known Latin American novel".Shaw, Donald, "Gallegos' Revision of Doña Bárbara 1 ...
'' * ''Espaldas Mojadas'' * ''Fugitives'' * ''
Glue Sniffer ''Glue Sniffer'' () is a 1999 Spanish-language film directed by Elia Schneider. It was an international co-production between Spain and Venezuela. It was Venezuela's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but ...
'' * '' Oro Diablo'' * '' Siciaro'' * ''
Survive Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
'' * '' The Hidden One''


Miscellaneous

* ''Slammin' Sammy: The Sammy Sosa Story'' (American animation; Lil' Vision)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Anime companies Defunct film and television production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles Mass media companies established in 1996 Mass media companies disestablished in 2016 1996 establishments in California 2016 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles