Anime seems to be big business again. Business website Reuters reported yesterday sonyEntertainment and technology group considering multimedia purchases KadokawaJapanese entertainment giant. The report is not an official announcement, but two sources familiar with the matter informed about the potential deal. Negotiations are ongoing but a deal could be reached in the coming weeks, according to two sources.
Sony continues to invest in animation as a global business.
A potential acquisition of Kadokawa is nothing new for the global giant, which has held stakes in the anime industry for years. entertainment company Anne PraxIts logo and song will be familiar to anime fans, having been created by Sony in 1995 as a way to enter the Japanese anime market. Sony also holds partial shares in animation giants Toei Animation and Madhouse Studios. For at least the past three decades, Sony has viewed anime as a smart investment.
Such investments have emerged in North America over the past decade. It started in 2017 when the company acquired Dallas-based anime distributor Funimasin. The acquisition will result in Sony acquiring rival Funimation Crunchy Roll Company In 2022, the two companies eventually merged to form Crunchyroll. Sony continues to increase the popularity of anime by widely releasing animated films, even previewing upcoming Crunchyroll movies at this year’s CinemaCon. Clearly, this is an industry that technology and entertainment giants value.
What does it mean to buy Kadokawa?
So why acquire Kadokawa – Sony currently holds 2% of Kadokawa’s shares? Kadokawa’s ownership would provide Sony with a potential new foothold in many North American markets. This Reuters article trumpets Elden’s Ringa game published by FromSoftware and owned by Kadokawa. There’s no doubt that Elden Ring, which has sold 25 million copies, is a big deal. This year’s expansion The shadow of the Ed tree, Sold over 5 million copies Within 3 days. It would be a smart move for Sony to acquire the company that has owned one of the most popular video game studios for decades.
But Kadokawa is a company involved in many entertainment industries besides games. Anime, movies (they own Dayong Home of Gamera, Guardian of the Universe) and the publishing industry. Currently, Sony-owned companies do not have any book or magazine publishing operations other than music publishing, which is unusual for a company of this size. Acquiring a company like Kadokawa would certainly solve this problem. Doing so would give them access to the lucrative North American manga and light novel market. Kadokawa currently holds a majority stake (51%) in the manga and light novel giant Yen Press (another 49% is owned by French publisher Hachette) and owns Japanese novel cluba company that translates light novels. This is further proof that when Sony sees an opportunity, it seizes it.
Ugly consolidation rears its ugly head again
However, a big concern with this potential deal is media consolidation and what it could mean for the North American anime market. Sony doesn’t have a complete monopoly on the anime market and now potentially the manga market, but it will have a larger share of both markets. Additionally, while Yen Press published many of Kadokawa’s comics, it did not publish them all.
Consolidation of publishing intellectual property rights into a parent company is common in North America. disney Bringing the majority of their licensed intellectual property back “in-house” Miracle. once Kodansha Entering the North American market, books such as Ghost in the Shell and cardcaptor sakura Leaving their American publisher, they were published under the newly formed Kodansha America division. Sony may take a similar approach to Kadokawa Books, which other U.S. publishers currently have in North America.
For many in North America, the biggest question related to the acquisition may be the fate of the site Anime News Network. Known for its reliable anime and manga coverage, ANN was acquired by Kadokawa in 2022. Sony may not be so generous. The site remains a valuable resource for many, and losing it will certainly create a vacuum in their reporting.
Regardless of the possible outcome, neither company has confirmed or denied that any deal has occurred. This is still a possibility now. This has the potential to change animation and comics in North America, for better or worse.
Thanks to Beat writers Adam Wescott and Joel Savill for their insights on this topic.
