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Company Profile: Manga Entertainment UKWebsite: http://www.manga.co.uk/
What The Company Says About Themselves
Manga Entertainment Inc. is an entertainment company specializing in the production, marketing and distribution of Japanese animation for theatrical, television, Internet, DVD and home video release worldwide (ex-Asia). The company is headquartered in Chicago with offices in Los Angeles, London and Tokyo.
Manga is a division of IDT Entertainment, a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company. IDT Entertainment is a vertically integrated entertainment concern that develops, produces and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content, with a particular focus on high-quality animation. Manga痴 Chief Executive Officer is Marvin Gleicher.
Manga Entertainment originally opened in London in 1991 and set the stage for European distribution of anime. The U.S. arm debuted in July 1994 and quickly defined itself as an industry leader in America. Now operating internationally from Chicago, Manga has become a prominent force in distributing Japanese animation around the world outside of Asia.
Over the past 10 years, Manga has aggressively marketed Japanese animation with great success releasing over 200 selections on VHS and DVD to retail and rental stores. The company's revered anime catalog includes such renowned titles as Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, Blood: the Last Vampire, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Street Fighter Alpha, Perfect Blue, X, Macross Plus, Dead Leaves and Read or Die. With continued focus on releasing high quality anime titles over quantity, Manga films have been instrumental in making the anime genre one of the most popular and growing entertainment trends of the new millennium.
Manga has also cultivated the international theatrical market for Japanese animated feature films. Since 1994, Manga has distributed critically acclaimed and award winning anime features including The Wings of Honneamise, Patlabor 1 & 2, and the smash anime sci-fi feature Ghost in the Shell, bringing top-quality anime to the big screen. Additional theatrical successes included Satoshi Kon's animated psychological thriller Perfect Blue, Madhouse Studio's X, and the highly popular, fully digital anime from Production IG Blood: The Last Vampire.
Manga's Ghost in the Shell gained widespread acclaim and recognition with critics and audiences alike. The film single-handedly pushed anime痴 popularity into the mainstream of pop culture. Ghost in the Shell won top awards at The 1996 World Animation Festival for Best Theatrical Film and for Best Director of a Theatrical Feature Film. When released to home video, Ghost in the Shell was the first and only Japanese animated film to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top 40 Video Sales chart (August 24, 1996).
Articles on Manga films have appeared in a wide variety of print and electronic media including: Time, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen International, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Movieline, Wired, Video Business, Spin, Vibe, Urb, The Source, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, MTV, VH1 and CNN. Manga Entertainment was named "The Premiere U.S. Arm for Anime" by TIME Magazine (November 22, 1999) and has been called "The Disney of Japanimation" by The Boston Globe (February 17, 1995).
Chief Executive Officer, Marvin Gleicher, oversees Manga Entertainment's worldwide operations. Gleicher was named President of Manga痴 U.S. operations in July 1994 and was appointed CEO in November 1995. His tenure at Manga follows an extensive career in the U.S. music industry - a career that included positions at Geffen, PolyGram and Elektra. He also served as President for Island Records' Chicago label, Smash Records from 1990 to 1994. Mike Egan is the General Manager of Manga. Egan is also a marketing veteran from the entertainment industry who served 15 years in the record business at major labels. New acquisitions and productions are coordinated through Manga's Tokyo office by Kaoru Mfaume.
The Manga Video logo is now an established, respected and valued brand in the anime marketplace. Manga DVD and VHS releases are sold at the majority of UK retailers including Blockbuster, Game, HMV, MVC, Silverscreen and Virgin and many more more. Manga releases can also be found at a variety of independent video specialty retailers and comic book stores including Comic Showcase, Diamond, Forbidden Planet and Sheffield Space Centre.
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