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(abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music,
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 ...
, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of
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 ...
within Japan. The company was founded in March 1981 by
Pioneer Corporation commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair s ...
as LaserDisc Corporation, a
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
player production company. In 1989, the company was renamed Pioneer LDC, Inc. as it branched into the anime, music, and film industries, and later Geneon Entertainment Inc. (after being acquired by
Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...
in 2003). In 2008, Geneon merged with Universal Pictures Japan to form Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan, LLC; in 2013, the company changed its name to the current NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. Some of the well-known anime series the company has produced are ''
A Certain Magical Index is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, which has been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004 in a total of three sepa ...
'', ''
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''. Set in ancient Persia, it is loosely based on the ...
'', '' Danganronpa: The Animation'', ''
Golden Kamuy is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Satoru Noda (artist), Satoru Noda. It was serialized in Shueisha's Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from August 2014 to April 2022, with its chapters collected in thirt ...
'', and ''
Seraph of the End is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto with storyboards by Daisuke Furuya. The series is set in a world that allegedly comes to an end at the hands of a "human-made" virus, ra ...
'' among many others. Their North American branch (founded as Pioneer Entertainment, later Geneon USA) specialized in translating and distributing anime and related merchandise, such as
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
s across the region. After declining fortunes, it was shut down in 2007. After its shutdown, they licensed their titles out to other anime distributors for distribution, such as
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
. At one point, they distributed their titles directly in Australia through Universal Pictures and
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's home video joint venture, but they have stopped. Despite the name, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan does not distribute
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
films theatrically in Japan;
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
(through Toho-Towa) exclusively distributes them for Japanese theaters.


History


Founding

Pioneer Corporation commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair s ...
founded the in March 1981 to produce LaserDisc players in Japan. The LaserDisc Corporation changed its name to in 1989 as part of an attempt to branch off into the anime,
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, and
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
industries. The first anime title they released was ''
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 ...
'' in 1992. Its North American division was later renamed again to Pioneer Entertainment. On July 21, 2003, the company was acquired by Japanese advertising and marketing company firm
Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...
and renamed to , while its North American division, Pioneer Entertainment, was renamed Geneon USA. Geneon is a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsNBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE), who planned to merge the company with its Universal Pictures Japan division—which had no longer theatrically distributed Universal Pictures films in Japan, having delegated its theatrical distribution tasks to
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
subsidiary Toho-Towa since the dissolvement of
United International Pictures United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...
Japan in 2007—to form a new company. The merger later closed, with the new company known as . On December 9, 2013, the company once again changed its name to NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC. On February 17, 2013, they made a partnership with Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to distribute their anime titles directly in Australia and New Zealand.


Purchase of Paramount Japan

On January 1, 2016, Paramount Japan was purchased by NBCUniversal and dissolved shortly afterwards. This was due to
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
establishing a joint-venture with Toho-Towa named Towa Pictures Company Limited, which would distribute Paramount's films in Japan. On July 12, 2017, they announced a partnership with
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
to co-produce anime with "international appeal".


Geneon USA


Beginnings

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
(then known as Viz Video) made a deal with Geneon (then known as Pioneer) to release Viz's properties to DVD, such as ''
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 into 38 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan. The st ...
'' before Viz began producing their own DVDs. Pioneer also worked with
Bandai Entertainment was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, 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 f ...
before they started to produce their own DVDs. On November 11, 2004, they signed a deal with
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. Slump'', ' ...
to distribute some of their titles into the North American market. Launching titles included ''
Air Master is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yokusaru Shibata. It was serialized in Hakusensha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Young Animal'' from 1996 to 2006, with its chapters collected in twenty-eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. The st ...
'', ''Interlude'', and ''
Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as 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 one ...
''. However, on September 18, 2006, the deal ended and all of the released titles went out of print. In 2006, they were named "Best Anime Company" by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. On March 5, 2007, they became the exclusive North American distributor for Bandai Visual USA.


Shutdown

Four months later, it was announced that
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 Gre ...
would take over the distribution, marketing, and sales of their properties in the United States, starting October 1, 2007. According to the announcement, they would continue to acquire, license, and produce English subs and dubs of anime for release in North America. However, the deal was canceled in September before it was implemented, with neither company giving details as to why beyond stating they were "unable to reach a mutual agreement." On September 26, 2007, they announced that they would close distribution operations, with titles solicited through November 5 shipped. Titles that were in mid-release or licensed but unreleased were left in limbo. The Bandai Visual USA titles that were being distributed by Geneon were not affected by this closure, though some were delayed while Bandai Visual found a new distributor. Another North American anime company,
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
, began negotiating with them to distribute some of the company's licensed titles. In July 2008, a formal arrangement was announced and Funimation acquired the rights to "manufacture, sell, and distribute" various Geneon anime and live-action titles.


Afterwards

Several of their former titles were re-licensed by other companies, such as Funimation,
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 ...
,
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
Nozomi Entertainment 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 ...
.


Other ventures

The company is also a
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, which means they handle music distribution for multiple musicians, like
fripSide fripSide is a Japanese pop and trance duo originally formed by composer Satoshi Yaginuma (Sat) and singer Nao in February 2002. History In a 2008 interview, Satoshi said that he was a fan of TM Network and its member Tetsuya Komuro in his elem ...
and Kotoko. Their first major live event was called the "NBCUniversal Anime x Music festival", and was held in 2018. They also use their music as soundtracks for their anime productions. One example of that is the band fripSide performing the first opening for ''
A Certain Scientific Railgun is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Motoi Fuyukawa, which began serialization in the April 2007 issue of ASCII Media Works' ''Dengeki Daioh'' magazine. The manga is a spin-off of Kamachi's ''A Certa ...
''. As Pioneer LDC, they developed and published several
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
for the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
and
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
, such as games based on ''
Magical Girl Pretty Sammy is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series produced by AIC and Pioneer LDC, and released from 1995 to 1997 as three videos. It features character Sasami from the ''Tenchi Muyo!'' series as a magical girl, and is noted for recasting ...
'', ''
Tenchi Muyo! is a Japanese anime, light novel and manga franchise. The original series began with a six-episode OVA called created by Masaki Kajishima and directed by Hiroki Hayashi, and released in Japan on September 25, 1992. The series was relea ...
'', and ''
Serial Experiments Lain ''Serial Experiments Lain'' (stylized as ''serial experiments lain'') is a Japanese anime television series created and co-produced by Yasuyuki Ueda, written by Chiaki J. Konaka and directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura. Animated by Triangle Staff ...
''. They also opened an anime cafe in
Akihabara is a common name for the area around Akihabara Station in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan. Administratively, the area called Akihabara mainly belongs to the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts in Chiyoda. There exists an administrative district ca ...
, which featured items themed towards their series, such as ''
A Certain Magical Index is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, which has been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004 in a total of three sepa ...
'', ''
Is the Order a Rabbit? , often abbreviated as , is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Koi. The series has been serialized in Hōbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara Max'' magazine since March 2011 and the chapters collected into ten ''tankōbon ...
'', and ''
Yuyushiki is a Japanese yonkoma, 4-panel manga series written and illustrated by Komata Mikami, which began serialization in Houbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara'' magazine from April 2008 issue. An anime television adaptation by Kinema Citrus aired in Jap ...
''. Some examples of these items were a drink with a hand inside, hot chocolate and spaghetti, and curry pizza.


References


External links

* * * * * * {{Authority control 2003 mergers and acquisitions 2008 mergers and acquisitions 2016 mergers and acquisitions Entertainment companies of Japan Mass media companies based in Tokyo Anime companies Entertainment companies established in 1981 Mass media companies established in 1981 Japanese companies established in 1981 Former Vivendi subsidiaries NBCUniversal Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies Universal Pictures subsidiaries Japanese record labels