ICv2 reports this morning that a Japanese holding company, the Sojits Corporation, has made a substantial investment in ADV through two of its subsidiaries.
Why?
Shinichi Uchiyama, Senior Vice President of Sojitz’ New Business Development Group, said of the investment, “Anime has become a global phenomenon, and the North American and European markets are slated for sustained growth. As the market leader, A.D. Vision is the best partner to realize that growth.”
So naturally, this is about anime, but manga is in the mix as well:
The investment will allow ADV Films to raise its output of new anime titles, which had dropped in 2006, back to previous levels or above. And an ADV spokesperson told ICv2 that in the wake of this new agreement, “ADV has big plans for its manga business.”
Emphasis mine. If this pans out, it’s obviously good news for all the fans who have been complaining over the last few weeks about their favorite series disappearing.
One wonders, though. It seems the problems came about the first time because ADV had big plans; people more knowledgeable than I feel that they overextended themselves, bringing out too many titles too quickly. I think we’d settle for a modest stream rather than a flood, perhaps finishing out some of the more popular series before starting anything new.
Volume 4 of Yotsuba&! would be an excellent start.
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Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.
I don’t have to take this anymore. Del Rey, Viz, TP, Dark Horse, and a bunch of smaller companies are all capapble of doing a better job than ADV. I will take notice though if they can change, maybe they can win me back 2 years from now.