AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. Founded in 1988 by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III, the company was one of the first in North America dedicated to licensing anime and helped give anime a noticeable following in the region. Over its history, the company has released many anime titles, such as Urusei Yatsura, You're Under Arrest, Vampire Princess Miyu, Otaku no Video, the original Bubblegum Crisis OVA series, and Kimagure Orange Road.
Their name is a portmanteau of "anime" and "eigo" (英語), the Japanese word for the English language.
History
The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York, by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III while they were working on Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna as a joke. Their first release was Metal Skin Panic Madox 01. The company later relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina, where it was run by Natsumi Ueki, Woodhead's wife. In July 2003, the company signed a deal with Koch Entertainment to help market and distribute their titles in the United States and Canada.
Between 2010 and 2013, the company lost a lot of its titles. For example, in February 2010, they announced they lost the rights to the Oh My Goddess! OVAs. In April 2010, the company announced they were unable to license the remaining episodes of Yawara!. They later lost the rights to the episodes they had previously licensed. In February 2011, the company announced they had lost the rights to Urusei Yatsura, one of their more popular titles. The company also lost the rights to the You're Under Arrest and Battle Royal High School anime series, as well as the Zatoichi, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Portrait of Hell live action movies.*
In October 2013, AnimEigo launched their first Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund a new release, specifically to re-release Bubblegum Crisis as a limited edition Blu-ray. The Kickstarter was successfully funded in October 2013, and the Blu-ray was subsequently released in December 2014. They also successfully kickstarted re-releases of Otaku no Video, Riding Bean, A.D. Police Files, Gunsmith Cats, Megazone 23, Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01, and Macross II: Lovers Again.*
In February 2024, MediaOCD, a post-production firm owned by Anime News Network founder Justin Sevakis, acquired AnimEigo's video distribution business. Woodhead and Ueki stayed on to assist in the transition and oversaw the completion of existing projects before they retired.
Distribution The company streams their titles on Hoopla, RetroCrush, Tubi, and CONtv.* Some of their titles were on Hulu and VRV (via VRV Select), but they have been removed.
The company is well known for the quality of its translation and subtitles, and pioneered such techniques as multi-color subtitles, overlapping dialogue, and supertitles that explain important cultural, linguistic and historical tidbits. They also include comprehensive cultural and linguistic liner notes with their releases. Alert viewers will often find subtle references to pop culture and current events hidden in the subtitles when they match what the characters are actually saying. Sometimes the references are blatant; in episode 18 of Super Dimension Fortress Macross, the dying Roy Fokker not only repeats the famous words of Mr. Spock from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few..." but adds Captain Kirk's reply – "or the one".
They also licensed two Lupin III films: Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy and Lupin III: Legend of the Gold of Babylon. Because of legal issues surrounding the Lupin name, which was used by author Monkey Punch without permission from the estate of Maurice Leblanc, the titles were released as Rupan III, which is the romaji pronunciation of Lupin. Even after the Lupin name passed into public domain in the 1990s, they continued to distribute the films as Rupan III.
Since 2024 AnimEigo has a partnership with Anime Sugio, which distributes their titles in the German speaking area (Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
Productions Releases are only listed if the subtitling, dubbing, or other (localization) production work was handled by AnimEigo; rather than being licensed or redistributed from prior versions.
In print +In printTitleReleaseMediumDub producerNotesSubtitleDubA.D. Police Files19931995Show (3)Southwynde StudiosAlternate dubBubblegum Crash19921994Show (3)Southwynde StudiosBubblegum Crisis19911994Show (8)Southwynde StudiosBushido—Movie—Eleven Samurai—Movie—Graveyard of Honor (1975)—Movie—Metal Skin Panic: MADOX-0119901995Show (1)Swirl FilmsAlternate dubOnimasa—Movie—Otaku no Video1993—Show (2)—Revenge—Movie—Revenge of a Kabuki Actor—Movie—Samurai Vendetta—Movie—Shinobi no Mono—Movie—Shinobi no Mono 2: Vengeance—Movie—Shinobi no Mono 3: Resurrection—Movie—Shinsengumi Chronicles—Movie—Sleepy Eyes of Death 1: The Chinese Jade—Movie—Sleepy Eyes of Death 2: Sword of Adventure—Movie—Sleepy Eyes of Death 3: Full Circle Killing—Movie—Sleepy Eyes of Death 4: Sword of Seduction—Movie—Sleepy Eyes of Death 5: Sword of Fire—Movie—Sleepy Eyes of Death 6: Sword of Satan—Movie—Sword of Desperation—Movie—The Blind Menace—Movie—The Clone Returns Home—Movie—The Dagger of Kamui1995—Movie—The Great Samurai—Movie—The Loyal 47 Ronin—Movie—The Samurai I Loved—Movie—The Secret of the Urn—Movie—Vampire Princess Miyu (OVA)1996Show (4)Swirl FilmsAlternate dubYou're Under Arrest (OVA) 19951995Show (4)Coastal Studios
Out of print +Out of printTitleReleaseMediumDub producerNotesSubtitleDub13 Assassins (1963)—Movie—Arcadia of My Youth1993—Movie—Ashura2007MovieCoastal StudiosBaoh: The Visitor19951995Show (1)Coastal StudiosBattle Royal High School19961996Show (1)Southwynde StudiosBattle of Okinawa—Movie—Black Rain—Movie—Crusher Joe: The Movie19971997MovieCoastal StudiosAlternate dubCrusher Joe: The OVAs19971998Show (2)Coastal StudiosGenesis Survivor Gaiarth19931995Show (3)Swirl FilmsGrowing Up With Hello Kitty2012Short (16)Coastal Studios12 episodes dubbedIt's Tough Being a Man—Movie—Kimagure Orange Road—Show (48)—Kimagure Orange Road OVA—Show (8)—Kimagure Orange Road: The Motion Picture—Movie —Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy19951995MovieCoastal StudiosAKA Rupan III: The Fuma ConspiracyMiyamoto Musashi—Movie—Oh My Goddess!19942001Show (5)Coastal StudiosShogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage2007MovieCoastal StudiosShogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls of Gold2008MovieCoastal StudiosShogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell2008MovieCoastal StudiosShōnan Bakusozoku—Show (13)—3 episodes subtitledSpirit of Wonder: Miss China's Ring19961996Show (1)Coastal StudiosThe Ballad of Narayama—Movie—The Geisha—Movie—The Razor—Movie—The Razor 2—Movie—The Razor 3—Movie—The Wolves—Movie—Tora-san, His Tender Love—Movie—Tora-san's Cherished Mother—Movie—Tora-san's Grand Scheme—Movie—Urusei Yatsura (Those Obnoxous Aliens)1992-20061995Show (195)Southwynde Studios2 episodes dubbed Alternate dubUrusei Yatsura 1: Only You19952003MovieSwirl FilmsUrusei Yatsura 3: Remember My Love19952004MovieSwirl FilmsUrusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever19952004MovieSwirl FilmsUrusei Yatsura 5: The Final Chapter19952004MovieSwirl FilmsUrusei Yatsura 6: Always My Darling19962005MovieSwirl FilmsWakeful Nights—Movie—Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl—Show (124)—40 episodes subtitledYou're Under Arrest (TV)20022002Show (47)Coastal StudiosZatoichi meets Yojimbo—Movie—Zatoichi the Outlaw—Movie—
References
External links Official website