Sentai Filmworks

Sentai Filmworks, LLC
Privately held company
Industry Multimedia entertainment
Genre Anime
Predecessor A.D. Vision
Founded 2008 (2008)
Founder John Ledford
Headquarters Houston, Texas, United States
Area served
 North America, Central America, South America, United Kingdom, Ireland
Owner AEsir Media
Website sentaifilmworks.com

Sentai Filmworks is an American anime licensing company based in Houston, Texas, specializing in Japanese animation and film. The company was formed in 2008 by John Ledford, formerly of A.D. Vision.

Some of Sentai's notable licensed anime series include Clannad, K-On!, Highschool of the Dead, Angel Beats!, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, WataMote, Akame ga Kill!, Parasyte -the maxim-, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? and Made in Abyss; as well as the films Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, Grave of the Fireflies, Ninja Scroll, The Garden of Words and Children Who Chase Lost Voices.

Name

When asked by a fan on Facebook what the reason was for calling the company "Sentai", chief executive officer Matt Greenfield responded, "It's a multi-layered pun, mostly for the benefit of the Japanese. Although Sentai can be translated as Squadron, Regiment or Flotilla, it basically means a team or group assembled with specific training and equipment for a specific purpose. Plus, Sentai was formed to help keep the anime industry alive in the U.S., so the superhero aspect is a double-play on that that Americans can get."

History

Beginning in 2008, Sentai had started releasing their first titles, which included Clannad, Princess Resurrection, Indian Summer, Appleseed and Mahoromatic (formerly licensed by Geneon).[1] Their titles were initially distributed by ADV Films.[2] On September 1, 2009, A.D. Vision had closed their doors and sold off their assets, which included transferring distribution rights to Section23 Films.[3]

Sunrise & Tatsunoko deals

On July 4, 2013, during their industry panel at Anime Expo, Sentai Filmworks announced their plans to release a number of classic titles from Tatsunoko Production.[4] The current list of released titles from the partnership include the original Gatchaman series and movie, Time Bokan: Royal Revival, and Casshan, with more titles to follow.

Sunrise announced a licensing deal with Sentai Filmworks that included a number of titles from Sunrise’s library that were formerly licensed by Bandai Entertainment during their Otakon panel on August 8, 2013.[5]

Localization and dubbing

Sentai's anime titles were initially localized and produced by Seraphim Digital. Certain titles such as Queen's Blade Rebellion and Persona 4: The Animation were produced by NYAV Post and Bang Zoom! Entertainment, respectively. In 2014, Sentai Filmworks had opened their in-house localization and recording facility, Sentai Studios.[6]

Toonami broadcasts

On June 1, 2015, Sentai made an announcement on their website that Akame ga Kill! has been picked up by Adult Swim and will air during its Toonami block, almost one week after its announcement at MomoCon 2015.[7][8] The show began airing on August 8, 2015, and set a new record for having the highest audience count for a Toonami premiere.[9] Another licensed title, Parasyte -the maxim-, has aired on Toonami as well,[10] and Sentai has promoted the time that the two shows air as "#SentaiHour" on social media. Children Who Chase Lost Voices aired on Toonami during the 1st week of the Intruder III event on November 5, 2016 at 3AM because of the time change.

Anime Strike deal

In March 2017, Sentai signed a deal with Amazon.com to stream the majority of their new licenses exclusively on the anime-specific Amazon Video channel Anime Strike and the Canadian version of Primevideo.com, starting with the spring 2017 season..[11]

Hidive

After the discontinuation of Anime Network Online, Hidive LLC, a new company which is not affiliated with Anime Network, Section23, or Sentai Filmworks, acquired the service's assets and spun them off into a new streaming service called Hidive.[12][13] Former subscriptions for Anime Network Online were migrated over to Hidive.[14]

On July 21, 2017, Hidive announced that the service will start to offer selected anime titles with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.[15]

Hidive is the exclusive carrier of selected licensed titles from Sentai and Section23, including English dubs, in addition to simulcasts, live-action titles, and older series. Following the closure of Anime Strike, Hidive began streaming titles that were previously exclusive to the former service.[16][17]

Foreign distribution

Sentai Filmworks does not directly release its properties in non-North American (English-speaking) markets as opposed to its predecessor, A.D. Vision. Instead it sub-licenses to other companies such as Manga Entertainment, MVM Entertainment, Anime Limited and Animatsu Entertainment in the United Kingdom and Siren Visual, Madman Entertainment, and Hanabee in Australia and New Zealand. In 2011, MVM licensed Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful after Sentai's re-release of the series, and has done the same to Broken Blade,[18] Dream Eater Merry, Rozen Maiden and Bodacious Space Pirates for release in the UK.

In Latin America, Sentai Filmworks sub-licenses their titles to companies like Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime Video. On July 21st, 2017, Hidive distributes selected Sentai Filmworks and simulcast titles with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.[19] On March 2018, it was revealed that Sentai Filmworks holds distribution rights to the film No Game, No Life Zero that the company gave to the Mexican distributor Madness Entertainment. It was revealed that they directly commissioned a Spanish dubbed version for the movie.[20] On March 15 of the same year, Sentai Filmworks announced the acquisition of the anime Alice or Alice to Spain and Portugal, making the first official announcement on Sentai's side of an anime title in these countries.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Half-Season Princess Resurrection, Clannad Sets Slated". Anime News Network.
  2. ↑ "ADV Films to Distribute Anime for Sentai Filmworks". Anime News Network. October 20, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  3. ↑ "ADV Films Shuts Down, Parent Transfers Assets to Other Companies". Anime News Network. September 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Signs Deal with Tatsunoko Production". Anime News Network. July 4, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Adds Sacred Seven, Big O, Kurokami, More". Anime News Network. August 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Sentai Filmworks (3 September 2015). "Ask Sentai #18: Nozaki-kun Box Sets and Sentai Studios". SentaiFilmworks.com. Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Sentai Filmworks (1 June 2015). "Akame Ga Kill! Infiltrates Toonami". SentaiFilmworks.com. Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Adult Swim's Toonami to Run Akame ga Kill, Michiko & Hatchin".
  9. ↑ Sentai Filmworks (13 August 2015). "AKAME GA KILL! BECOMES MOST WATCHED SERIES PREMIERE IN TOONAMI™ HISTORY". SentaiFilmworks.com. Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Sentai Filmworks (11 July 2015). "Anime Expo 2015 Announcements Rundown". SentaiFilmworks.com. Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Anime Strike Spring Season Schedule". Twitter. AnimeStrike. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  12. ↑ "HIDIVE Anime Streaming Service Launches With Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Update 3)". Anime News Network.
  13. ↑ "New Anime Streaming Service, HIDIVE, Launches as Beta with Dubs, Live-Chat, and More". Hidive. News. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  14. ↑ "Anime Network Streaming Website Switches to Cable, Video on Demand Only (Updated)". Anime News Network.
  15. ↑ "HIDIVE News". Hidive. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  16. ↑ "HIDIVE Streams 4 Former Anime Strike-Exclusive Titles". Anime News Network. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "HIDIVE Adds Armed Girl's Machiavellism Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  18. ↑ "MVM Licenses Broken Blade". Anime News Network.
  19. ↑ "HIDIVE News". Hidive. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  20. ↑ "Animes en HIDIVE - Catálogo Completo". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  21. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks' Acquires the Adorable Slice of Life Series ALICE or ALICE". Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
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