Cloverway Inc. (abbreviated as CWi, also branded as Cloverway) was a media licensing agency based in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

which specialized in Japanese animation and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

licensing, and they were best known for being the

representative office A representative office is an office established by a company or a legal entity to conduct marketing and other non-transactional operations, generally in a foreign country where a branch office or subsidiary is not warranted. Representative offices ...

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

for the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, mostly distributing Toei properties for syndication and home video. They were also acting as an intermediary agent between Japanese companies (

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with its headquarters in their Tama, Tokyo, Tama City studio and an administrative office in the Ginza district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō. Nippon Animation is known for prod ...

, etc.) and local companies both in the U.S. market ( Viz Communications,

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...

, Pioneer Entertainment,

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

, and

Bandai Entertainment was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

) and the

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n market (

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as so ...

, Cisneros,

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized in all caps) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...

, PlayTV), for film distribution or manga publishing of their contents in the continent, to various TV channels in each country, regionally and pan-regionally as well as arranging publishing deals with several manga publishers in English, Portuguese and

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

History

The company was founded in 1991. In 1992, the first anime series distributed by Cloverway for

was the '' Knights of the Zodiac'' TV series, first broadcast in Mexico and Brazil. It was followed by ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

'' and ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

'' some time later. In 1995, ''Dragon Ball'' was re-dubbed by Cloverway, after Bandai failed distributing their first episodes and a movie, dubbed under the title of "Zero y el Dragón Mágico" ("Zero and the Magic Dragon", based on the Harmony Gold version). Generally, Cloverway commissioned

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

for the Spanish versions to the company (until its closure in 2005, later on to Optimedia Productions in 2006) in Mexico, and the Brazilian versions to (with exceptions like ''Sailor Moon'', '' Yu Yu Hakusho'' and '' Mirmo'') in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil, while some other works were dubbed into Spanish through Cloverway's arrangements with Televisa's owned in Mexico. Other Cloverway's arrangements were made with International Telefilms Inc. for first-run syndication broadcasting in Chile ( ETC TV and CHV) and Spanish dubbing recorded by in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. As for the series owned by TMS, Spanish versions were already dubbed by VDI Multimedia in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and previously distributed by other companies, but Brazilian versions were never produced and Cloverway couldn't get a deal for them to be dubbed and broadcast in Brazil. Also, Spanish versions of '' Kimba'' (

Tezuka Productions is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as ''Marvelous Melmo'', the Astro Boy (1980 TV series), 1980 and Astro Boy (2003 TV series), 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and ''Black Jack ...

) and Nippon Animation series distributed by Cloverway, were formerly dubbed and licensed by other companies, so Cloverway just distributed and offered them for reruns or inside TV programming packages. Parallel in the United States, Cloverway tried to distribute the same series by himself as in Latin America, but due to the regulations that led to the series censorship, they delegated licenses to local distributors who managed the production of English localization,

and distribution. However, '' Sailor Moon S'' and '' Sailor Moon SuperS'' were the only two licenses whose English versions were produced by Cloverway, dubbed in association with Optimum Production Services in Canada. As for the U.S. Hispanic market, Cloverway syndicated the series '' Tenchi Universe'' to

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

(Univision and Telefutura networks) and ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...

'' to

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

networks. When

became a joint owner of Viz Communications in 2002 and with the subsequent merger with ShoPro in 2005, Cloverway eventually lost the representation of Shueisha (for N.A. and L.A.) and

(for L.A.) for publishing licensing in the

. The company's representation of

in America ceased, due to Toei's decision to start licensing and distributing directly since 2004, thus ending the contracts with their agents Tokyo Business Consultants in Europe and Cloverway in America, and launching their own offices in 2004 ( based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and Toei Animation Inc. based in

). In 2005, the Toei Animation licenses arranged by Cloverway were transferred to Toei Animation Inc. as a requirement, leaving Cloverway only with the catalog of the other Japanese producers they licensed. As a consequence of this, there has been a chain of irregularities, such as the loss of master tapes of many series formerly distributed by Cloverway, with the Latin American versions being the most affected for this change in distribution. After losing Toei's successful catalog, Cloverway continued representing and distributing anime from other Japanese companies, adding new properties and selling most of their new catalog to Cartoon Network L.A. and other local TV stations in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...

. At the middle of 2006, Cloverway licensed an Anime Free-TV

programming block Block programming (also known as a strand in British broadcasting) is the arrangement of programs on radio or television so that those of a particular genre, theme, or target audience are united. Overview Block programming involves scheduling a ...

titled "Otacraze" to Brazilian broadcaster PlayTV who begun airing the block in March 2007, including the series ''

Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected in 38 volumes by Shogakukan. The story revolves a ...

'', '' Samurai Champloo'', ''

Trigun is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. It was first serialized in Tokuma Shoten's manga magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Captain'' from March 1995 to December 1996, until the magazine ceased its publication; ...

'', and '' Love Hina''. Due to economic problems, Cloverway closed its operations in August 2007.

Licensed titles

The following list features the anime and live action series licensed by the company:

Anime

* ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' – Distributor * '' Ashita no Nadja'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' Betterman'' – Distributor * '' Bikkuriman'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' Captain Tsubasa J'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' Sakura Card Captors'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Cardcaptor Sakura: The Sealed Card'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' Cooking Master Boy'' – Distributor (Unreleased) * '' Crush Gear Turbo'' – Distributor (Unreleased) * '' Cyber Cat Kurochan'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * ''

Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994; its chapters are collected in 107 ...

'' – Distributor * '' Digimon Digital Monsters'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Digimon Digital Monsters 02'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Digimon Digital Monsters 3'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Digimon Season 4'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * ''

DNA² is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from August 1993 to July 1994, with its chapters collected in five volumes. A 12-episode ani ...

'' – Distributor * '' Dr. Slump'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' New Dr. Slump'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * ''

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** ''

Dragon Ball GT is a Japanese anime television series based on Akira Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' manga franchise that ran from February 1996 to November 1997. Produced by Toei Animation, the series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV and ran for 64 episodes. Unl ...

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball: The Path to Power'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Return of Cooler'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' Flone on the Marvelous Island (La Familia Robinson)'' – Distributor * ''

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is a spin-off season of '' Full Metal Panic!'' by Gonzo. The series takes place between the first and the second season. Markedly different in tone to the first series, ''Fumoffu'' emphasizes the high school romantic comedy aspects of ''Full ...

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor (Licensed to

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

) * '' GeGeGe no Kitaro'' (1995 version) – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' GS Mikami'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) * '' Gulliver Boy'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * ''

Gundam Wing ''Mobile Suit Gundam Wing'', also known in Japan as , is a 1995 Japanese mecha anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It is the sixth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, taking place in the "After ...

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' Gungrave'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' .hack//Sign'' – Distributor (Licensed to

) * '' Heat Guy J'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * ''

Kinnikuman is a Japanese manga series created by the duo Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada, known as Yudetamago. It follows Suguru Kinniku, a superhero who must win a wrestling tournament to retain the title of prince of Planet Kinniku. ...

'' (First season) – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) * '' Knights of the Zodiac'' (Los Caballeros del Zodiaco/Os Cavaleiros do Zodíaco) – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' Love Hina'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' Magic Knight Rayearth'' – Distributor * '' Magical Doremi'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Magical Doremi Sharp'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Magical Doremi Forte'' – Distributor (Unreleased) * ''

Marmalade Boy is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi. It was published in Shueisha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Ribon'' from May 1992 to October 1995 and collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series was adapt ...

'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) * '' Nube'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' Peter Pan and Wendy'' – Distributor * ''

'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) ** ''

'' – Brazilian version producer and Distributor ** ''

'' (First movie) – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** ''

'' (Second movie) – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' Rave Master'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * ''

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor ** '' Sailor Moon R'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor *** '' Sailor Moon R: The Movie'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor ** '' Sailor Moon S'' – English, Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor *** '' Sailor Moon S: The Movie'' – English and Spanish versions producer and Distributor ** '' Sailor Moon SuperS'' – English, Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor *** '' Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie'' – English and Spanish versions producer and Distributor ** ''

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars ''Sailor Moon Sailor Stars'', or simply ''Sailor Stars'', is the fifth and final season of ''Sailor Moon'', a Japanese magical girl anime series based on the ''Sailor Moon'' manga series by Naoko Takeuchi; the season was directed by Takuya Igar ...

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * ''

Sally the Witch , originally titled , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's monthly ''Ribon'' magazine from July 1966 to October 1967. Its 1966 anime adaptation was one of the most popular ...

'' (1989 version) – Spanish version producer and Distributor * '' Samurai Champloo'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * ''

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor * ''

Tenchi Muyo! is a Japanese anime, light novel and manga franchise. The original series began with a six-episode Original video animation, OVA called . This original series was created by Masaki Kajishima and directed by Hiroki Hayashi, and it was rel ...

'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) ** '' Tenchi in Tokyo'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) ** '' Tenchi Muyo! Mihoshi Special'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) ** ''

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki , known as simply ''Tenchi Muyo!'' in North America, is a collection of Japanese Original video animation, OVAs created by Masaki Kajishima and animated by Anime International Company, AIC. Initially released in 1992, it marked the begin ...

'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) ** '' Tenchi Universe'' – Spanish version co-producer and Distributor (Dub co-produced by ) * '' Tico and Friends'' – Distributor * ''

'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor * '' Vandread'' – Distributor (As well as The Second Stage) * ''

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter (video game), Virtua Fighter'' was released in December 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential ...

'' – Distributor * '' Yamato Takeru (Maxbot)'' – Distributor * '' Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files'' – Spanish and Brazilian versions producer and Distributor

Japanese tokusatsu

* '' Kamen Rider Kuuga'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor (only first 25 episodes) * '' Ultraman Tiga'' – Spanish version producer and Distributor

References

External links