Page 1 of 1

Sojitz to dissolve ARM Subsidiary for anime overseas

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:33 pm
by Roy Mustang
Sojitz to dissolve ARM Subsidiary for anime overseas


ANN wrote:The Japanese general trading company Sojitz Corporation has announced on Wednesday that it will dissolve ARM, the subsidiary that promoted anime licensing and distribution in North America, by next February. Sojitz explained in its announcement that it does not expect earnings to grow in this marketplace as it originally expected when ARM was established in 2006. As a result, it is "redistributing its management resources." ARM's dissolution is not expected to affect its licenses with the North American anime distributor FUNimation Entertainment.

When Sojitz indirectly invested in 20% of the American distributor A.D. Vision through the Japan Contents Investment Business Limited Partnership (JCI) in 2006, JCI established ARM to handle licensing. After what A.D. Vision CEO John Ledford described as a "breakup" with Sojitz, ARM transfered the rights to more than 30 of its titles to FUNimation.

JCI established ARM as a wholly owned subsidiary in April of 2006 with 492,092,500 yen (about US$5 million) in capital. JCI was itself established by Sojitz (64%), the Development Bank of Japan (28%), and The Klockworx Co., Ltd. (8%).


[font="Book Antiqua"]
[color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

Sojitz's dissolution of ARM to not affect FUNimation

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:42 pm
by Roy Mustang
Sojitz's dissolution of ARM to not affect FUNimation


ANN wrote:Update: The North American anime distributor FUNimation Entertainment has told ANN that Sojitz Corporation's planned dissolution of its ARM licensing subsidiary will not affect FUNimation's titles. Spokesperson Jackie Smith said, "FUNimation no longer deals with ARM or Sojitz regarding the titles we acquired over the summer. Each title was transferred to us and we have been in direct contact with the licensers."

This past summer, ARM transfered the rights for the following titles to FUNimation:

* 009-1
* Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy
* Air Gear
* Air (movie)
* Air (TV)
* Blade of the Phantom Master
* Comic Party: Revolution
* Coyote Ragtime Show
* Devil May Cry
* Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV
* Jing, King of Bandits: Seventh Heaven
* Jinki:Extend
* Kanon
* Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora (Shattered Angels)
* Le Chevalier D'Eon
* Magikano
* Moeyo Ken TV
* Moonlight Mile
* Murder Princess
* Nerima Daikon Brothers
* Pani Poni Dash!
* Project Blue Earth SOS
* Pumpkin Scissors
* Red Garden
* Sgt. Frog 1st & 2nd
* Tokyo Majin
* UFO Princess Valkyrie
* Utawarerumono
* Venus Versus Virus
* The Wallflower
* Welcome to the NHK
* Xenosaga


[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]