The holder of some of the world’s biggest anime properties is getting a fresh injection of capital with Cool Japan Fund investing $30 Million USD into Sentai Holdings, the parent company of Sentai Filmworks. Sentai, which has recently made the news after the announcement that Marvel’s the Russo Brothers would be adapting their anime property, Battle of the Planets (aka Gatchman), into a feature film. Sending us a press release, the union between this initiative and Sentai Filmworks is sure to have a significant impact in spreading awareness of anime across the world!
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The Cool Japan Fund, for those who don’t know, is a fund that was created by the Japanese government, created specifically to spread awareness when it came to the country of Japan and the products and merchandise that the country makes. By giving $30 Million USD into Sentai, Cool Japan is looking to spread anime across the United States through a series of actions which requires a cash infusion.
CEO of Sentai Filmworks, John Ledford who already has 27 years within the anime industry as a whole, had the following to say about the partnership between the the company and the government:
“We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done at Sentai to bring great anime storytelling, experiences, characters and collectibles to fans around the world for more than a decade. The investment by Cool Japan Fund allows us to further our potential by expanding and deepening our long-running support of the Japanese anime industry.”
Anime has been significantly growing around the world, especially in this past decade, with Hollywood taking serious notice as to all the new properties that are dropping from Japan. Netflix, Amazon, and streaming services are fighting over the hottest new properties, keeping an eye out for which shows may resonate with fans both old and new. You couldn’t ask for a better time for an initiative such as Cool Japan Fund to begin as folks are becoming more and more interested in the medium.
Sentai has also established a GoFundMe to assist in supporting Kyoto Animation that folks can still contribute to if they would like to help the studio out following the recent arson incident.
What do you think of this union between Sentai Holdings and Cool Japan Fund? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime!
Sentai Filmworks supplied us with the following description of their company:
“Sentai Filmworks is a leading global supplier of anime and official anime merchandise, distributing, and curating one of the industry’s most diverse libraries of top trending and classic titles. Offering thousands of hours of content across both traditional and digital platforms, Sentai is dedicated to bringing captivating stories and iconic characters directly from Japan. With hit series that include Made In Abyss, and Parasyte -The Maxim-, Sentai’s catalog continues to grow with new favorites like Bloom Into You, Revue Starlight and Devil’s Line, as well as classic anime series such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes and The Big O.”
