Animax

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For the animation studio, see Animax Entertainment.

Animax アニマックス
Type	Anime satellite television network
Founded	May 20, 1998 [1]
Headquarters	Minato, Tokyo, Japan [1]
Key people	Masao Takiyama, President & Representative Director [1]
Industry	Anime broadcasting and production
Parent	Sony Corporation
Website	Animax's official website

Animax (アニマックス, Animakkusu^?) is a Japanese anime satellite television network, established and owned by Sony Corporation, and dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, its shareholders include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sunrise Inc., Toei Animation Inc., TMS Entertainment Inc., and Nihon Ad Systems Inc. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Operating across Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America, Animax is the first and largest 24-hour network dedicated to anime in the world. ^{[7] [6]} Its title is a portmanteau of the words anime (アニメ, anime^?) and max (マックス, max^?).^[8]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Japan 1.2 Asia 1.3 Latin America 1.4 North America 2 Programming 2.1 Translation and dubbing teams 3 See also 4 Notes and references 5 External links 5.1 Official sites

[edit] History

[edit] Japan

Established on May 20, 1998 by Sony, Animax Broadcast Japan Inc. (株式会社アニマックスブロードキャスト・ジャパン, Kabushiki-gaisha Animakkusu Burōdokyasuto Japan^?) originally premiered in Japan on June 1, the same year, across the SKY PerfecTV! satellite television platform.^[1] Headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and presided by Masao Takiyama, Animax's shareholders and founders include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sunrise Inc., Toei Animation Inc., TMS Entertainment Inc., and Nihon Ad Systems Inc. Its founders also include noted anime producer and production designer Yoshirō Kataoka. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Animax also exhibits affiliations with anime pioneer Osamu Tezuka's Tezuka Productions company, Pierrot, Nippon Animation, and numerous others. ^[5] It has been involved in the production of several anime series, such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex ^[9], Ultra Maniac, Astro Boy, Hungry Heart: Wild Striker, Aishiteruze Baby, Shakugan no SHANA, and many others. ^[10]

Noted Japanese celebrities and personalities to have appeared on Animax include actress Natsuki Kato and seiyū Yukari Tamura, among numerous others. Animax also hosts and organizes several anime-based events and concerts across Japan, such as the annual Animax Summer Fest (アニマックスサマーフェス, Animakkusu Samāfesu^?), an annual live concert during which renowned Japanese bands, artists and seiyū perform to a live audience, often held at ZEPP Tokyo, ^[11], and the Animax Taishō (アニマックス大賞, Animax Taishō^?), an annual anime scriptwriting competition offered by Animax since 2002 to honour the best original anime scripts and storylines of the year. Recent recipients of the award include: the fourth, winner in 2005, Lily to Kaeru to (Ototo) (リリとカエルと（弟）, Riri to Kaeru to (Ototo)^?), produced by Toei Animation, the third, winner in 2004, Hotori ~ Tada Saiwai wo Koinegau (ほとり～たださいわいを希う。～, Hotori ~ Tada Saiwai wo Koinegau^?), produced by Sunrise, the second, winner in 2003, Azusa, Otetsudai Shimasu! (アズサ、お手伝いします！, Azusa, Otetsudai Shimasu!^?), produced by TMS Entertainment, and the first, winner in 2002, Super Kuma-san (スーパークマさん, Super Kuma-san^?), produced by Toei Animation. ^[12]

[edit] Asia

Animax launched separate Asian versions of the channel featuring its anime programming within separate networks and feeds in the respective regions and languages beginning in 2004. The first one was launched in Taiwan on January 1, 2004, and in Hong Kong on January 12, 2004. A week later, Animax launched a Southeastern Asian feed on January 19, 2004, featuring its programming within feeds in English audio, as well as Japanese audio, with English subtitling, and other languages in the region. ^[13]

On July 5, 2004, Animax started operations in South Asia, featuring its programming within an English-language feed. On April 29, 2006, Animax started its operations in Korea, featuring its programming within a separate Korean feed. On August 31, 2006, Animax launched a Malaysian feed of Animax.

[edit] Latin America

For Animax Latin America's predecessor, see Locomotion

Animax launched a Latin America network on July 31, 2005, operating across the entire region and broadcasting its anime programming in separate Spanish and Portuguese feeds across Spanish-speaking countries in the region and Brazil respectively, becoming the region's largest anime television network. The network replaced Locomotion.

[edit] North America

Animax has sponsored several anime-based events across North America, including hosting an anime festival, in association with other anime distributive enterprises such as Bandai Entertainment and VIZ Media, across Sony's San Francisco-based entertainment shopping complex Metreon in October 2001, during which it aired numerous of its anime titles across the centre, including special Gundam, The Making of Metropolis, and Love Hina screenings. ^[14]

The noted international business newspaper The Financial Times, reported, in September 2004, of Sony planning and being "keen" to launch Animax across the United States and North America, after Sony had signed an agreement with the largest cable company in the United States, Comcast, with whom it had co-partnered in a US$4.8 billion acquisition of legendary Hollywood studio MGM, to bring at least three of Sony's television networks across the region.^{[15] [16]}

[edit] Programming

Main article: List of programs broadcast by Animax

Animax's programming is dedicated to anime, and it has been acknowledged as the largest 24-hour anime-only network in the world ^[7]. It has broadcasted numerous anime series, including Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex ^[9], Cowboy Bebop, InuYasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka 7, Honey and Clover, Kyou Kara Maou!, Rurouni Kenshin, Blood+, the DragonBall series, Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa Chronicle, Vision of Escaflowne, YuYu Hakusho, The Law of Ueki, Wolf's Rain, Future Boy Conan, Haikara-san ga Tooru, and Tweeny Witches, as well as several OVA series and anime films, such as Steamboy, Ghost in the Shell, Nasu: Summer in Andalusia, Blood: The Last Vampire, Escaflowne and many others.

[edit] Translation and dubbing teams

Animax have translated and dubbed numerous anime series themselves via its original English translation and dubbing teams for broadcast across its English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, some of which were not licensed by North American distributors and do not have any English adaptation counterparts, such as Detective School Q, Dokkiri Doctor, Twin Spica, Zettai Shonen, Clamp School, Emma - A Victorian Romance, Conan: The Boy in Future, the highly-rated Honey and Clover and Jigoku Shoujo series, and numerous others. Animax have also produced and aired uncensored English versions and dubs of anime series, among the most notable of them being their dub of Cardcaptor Sakura, which was shown uncensored and retained all of the original names, plot details and dialogue, and numerous others.

For broadcast across its English-language networks, Animax have also broadcast English dubs produced by other enterprises, such as Bandai Entertainment, The Ocean Group, Bang Zoom, Geneon Entertainment, VIZ Media, Central Park Media, and numerous others, airing their dubs of Cowboy Bebop, Witch Hunter Robin, Mobile Suit Gundam, Brain Powerd, Please Teacher!, Galaxy Angel, Arjuna, Jubei-chan, Tsukikage Ran, Angel Tales, Saber Marionette, Appleseed, Alien 9, the InuYasha films, Fullmetal Alchemist, and several others.

[edit] See also

• Animax Taishō
• List of programs broadcast by Animax
• Locomotion

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

• Animax's official website (Japanese)
• Animax Asia (English)
  • Animax Taiwan (Chinese)
  • Animax Hong Kong (Chinese)
  • Animax India (English)
  • Animax Korea (Korean)
• Animax Latin America (Spanish)
  • Animax Brazil (Portuguese)