Toho Acquires Anime Limited

Date: 2025 December 20 11:46

Posted by Joe

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have revealed big news about the company being acquired by Toho.

In the deal Toho have acquired 100% equity share of Anime Limited from Plaion Pictures. The company will be a standalone subsidiary of Toho Global and will be led by Anime Limited Founder Andrew Partridge with the full Anime Limited Staff.

The press release also mentions that Toho Global's Regional Office will be based in London. The press release does not reveal how much Toho paid for Anime Limited, but does mention that they're entering into strategic alliance with Plaion Pictures to extend Toho's distribution capabilities in Germany, Italy, and other European markets.

In the west Toho are best known as the creators of the Godzilla franchise as well as the producers and distributors of Akira Kurosawa's movies. Anime wise they've also go a strong pedigree being the producers and/or distributors of Studio Ghibli and Makoto Shinkai's movies.

The acquisition of Anime Limited marks further consolidation of anime companies in the UK. Anime Limited was acquired by Plaion Pictures in 2022, before it was acquired by Toho this December 2025. While Funimation purchased Manga Entertainment UK in 2019 it eventually got absorbed into Crunchyroll (which is owned by Sony).

Although it was produced by Toho, Makoto Shinkai's most recent movie Suzume was distributed by Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures, and Wild Bunch International. We suspect that by expanding in Europe Toho hope to be able to distribute more titles themselves or through their regional subsidiaries.

Full Story

Press release as follows:

TOHO LAUNCHES EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION THROUGH ACQUISITION OF ANIME LIMITED FROM PLAION PICTURES

TOHO GLOBAL REGIONAL OFFICE TO BE BASED IN LONDON
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ANIME LIMITED FOUNDER ANDREW PARTRIDGE TO HELP LEAD ANIME LIMITED AS A STANDALONE SUBSIDIARY OF TOHO GLOBAL
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ADDITIONAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE AGREED BETWEEN TOHO GLOBAL AND PLAION PICTURES FOR PAN-EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION



Tokyo, December 19, 2025 - Japanese entertainment leader TOHO Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "TOHO") announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire a 100% equity share of UK-based distribution company Anime Limited from PLAION PICTURES GmbH (hereinafter "PLAION PICTURES"). The company will be operated as a subsidiary of Toho Global, Toho's consolidated subsidiary overseeing overseas business.

The new subsidiary company has retained Anime Limited founder and Managing Director Andrew Partridge and the full Anime Limited staff. This acquisition will provide Toho with immediate film distribution, home video, TV sales, and merchandise and licensing capabilities in the UK and France.

This acquisition aligns with the Toho Group's long-term management strategy, 'TOHO VISION 2032,' which identifies 'Overseas' and 'Animation' as key growth drivers. It follows the company's aggressive global expansion in late 2024, including the acquisition of the U.S.-based distributor GKIDS, INC. in October and the launch of Toho Entertainment Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore in November. Toho will establish its European regional headquarters in London within this year. With this move, Toho has now successfully secured bases in all major regions: Asia, North America, and Europe.

In tandem with the sale of Anime Limited, Toho and PLAION PICTURES have agreed to establish a strategic alliance, with PLAION PICTURES extending Toho's distribution capabilities in Germany, Italy, and other European markets.

The expansion comes at a time of rapid growth for the industry. The European anime market is estimated at approximately $4.77 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach nearly $9.05 billion by 2030, growing at an annual average rate (CAGR) of 11.2%. Toho aims to capture this demand by combining its direct distribution capabilities in the UK and France with PLAION PICTURES' extensive network across the region."

Anime Limited was founded in 2012 and is one of the UK's leading Japanese content distributors as well as a top e-commerce provider through its ALL THE ANIME online store. Toho and Anime Limited have worked together for many years on such hits as Makoto Shinkai's Your Name and Weathering With You, Studio TRIGGER's Promare, the Toho-produced Godzilla Minus One. Additional Anime Limited distributed titles include Naruto, Bleach, Attack on Titan. Anime Limited also has a 15-year history of cooperation with the US based GKIDS, now a Toho subsidiary.

By combining the strengths of TOHO Global, Anime Ltd, and PLAION PICTURES, We aims to maximize the value of IP, such as anime and Godzilla, in Europe.

Dec 19, 2025