Anime News Network

Anime news website

Anime News Network

Type of site

| News and database
Available in| English
Headquarters|

United States

Owner| Kadokawa Corporation
Created by| Justin Sevakis
URL| www.animenewsnetwork.com
Commercial| Yes
Registration| Required for use of forums or contributing information
Launched| 21 August 1998; 26 years ago (1998-08-21)[1]
Current status| Active

Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and other editorial content, forums where readers can discuss current issues and events, and an encyclopedia that contains many anime and manga with information on the staff, cast, theme music, plot summaries, and user ratings.[2]

The website was founded in July 1998 by Justin Sevakis, and operated the magazine Protoculture Addicts from 2005 to 2008. Based in the United States,[3] it has separate versions of its news content aimed toward audiences in five separate regions: the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand,[4] Southeast Asia,[5] and India.

## History

[edit]

The website was founded by Justin Sevakis in July 1998.[3] In May 2000, CEO Christopher Macdonald joined the website editorial staff, replacing editor-in-chief Isaac Alexander. On 30 June 2002, Anime News Network launched its Encyclopedia, a collaborative database of anime and manga titles also including information about the staff, cast, and the companies which were involved in the production or localization of those titles.[6]

On 7 September 2004, the Sci Fi Channel online newsletter Sci Fi Weekly named ANN the Web Site of the Week.[2] On 18 September 2004, the editorial staff at ANN became formally involved with the anime magazine Protoculture Addicts; the magazine began publishing under ANN's editorial control in January 2005.[7]

In January 2007, ANN launched a separate version for Australian audiences.[4] On 4 July 2008, ANN launched its video platform with a library of anime trailers as well as its own news show ANNtv.[8]

On 7 August 2017, a hacker took control of Anime News Network's domain (animenewsnetwork.com), and compromised some of the site's Twitter accounts, including the personal accounts of ANN's CEO Christopher Macdonald and Executive Editor Zac Bertschy. The site was temporarily live at animenewsnetwork.cc until the staff regained control of the original domain.[9] In an article a few days after the loss of the domain, Macdonald published the full story on how the domain was stolen.[10]

On 1 November 2022, Kadokawa Corporation announced an agreement to acquire a majority of Anime News Network's media business through a new subsidiary Kadokawa World Entertainment. Christopher Macdonald, the president of ANN, was appointed as the publisher of Kadokawa World Entertainment. Macdonald and Bandai Namco Filmworks retain minority shares in the new company.[11][12]

## Features

[edit]

Anime News Network stories related to anime and manga are researched by the ANN staff. Other contributors, under staff discretion, also contribute news articles.[3]

The website maintains a listing of anime and manga titles, as well as people and companies involved in the production of those titles, which it dubs an "encyclopedia".[2] The site has hosted several regular columns, including a question-and-answer column "Hey Answerman", a review column entitled "Shelf Life", a column on old and forgotten media called "Buried Treasure" written by Sevakis.[13]

ANN also hosts forums,[2][14] and includes threads to accompany each news item for purposes of discussion. Anime News Network hosts an IRC channel on the WorldIRC network, #animenewsnetwork.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Whois Record for AnimeNewsNetwork.com". Whois.DomainTools.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
2. ^ a b c d Dellamonica, A.M. (7 September 2004). "Site of the Week – Anime News Network". Sci Fi Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
3. ^ a b c "FAQ". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
4. ^ a b Macdonald, Christopher (25 January 2007). "Anime News Network Australia". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
5. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (29 October 2015). "Welcome to Anime News Network Southeast Asia!". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
6. ^ DeLorme, Daniel (14 January 2003). "2002 – The Encyclopedia in Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
7. ^ "Anime News Network and Protoculture Addicts Join Forces". Anime News Network. 18 September 2004. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
8. ^ Sevakis, Justin (4 July 2008). "New media, new horizons, and a new video player". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
9. ^ "Update: What's Going On with Anime News Network?". Anime News Network. 8 August 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
10. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (11 August 2017). "How ANN Was Hacked". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
11. ^ "KADOKAWA Announces Acquisition of Anime News Network's Media Business". Anime News Network. 1 November 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
12. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (1 November 2022). "About Kadokawa's Investment in ANN". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
13. ^ Bertschy, Zac (26 October 2006). "New Column: Buried Treasure with Justin Sevakis". Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
14. ^ Cho, Hyerim; Schmalz, Marc L.; Keating, Stephen A.; Lee, Jin Ha (June 2017). "Information Needs for Anime Recommendation: Analyzing Anime Users' Online Forum Queries". 2017 ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL). pp. 1–3\. doi:10.1109/JCDL.2017.7991602. ISBN 978-1-5386-3861-3. S2CID 32903728. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Anime News Network at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

* v
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Kadokawa Corporation

Publishing|

* Kadokawa Future Publishing
* ASCII Media Works
* Enterbrain
* Fujimi Shobo
* Kadokawa Shoten
* Media Factory

Other|

* Anime News Network
* Doga Kobo
* Dwango
* Niconico
* GeeXPlus
* GeeXProduction
* ENGI
* Glovision
* Kadokawa Gempak Starz
* Kadokawa Daiei Studio
* Tokorozawa Sakura Town
* Yen Press (51%)
* J-Novel Club
* BookWalker
* Kinema Citrus (31.8%)

Video games|

| Developers|

* Acquire
* FromSoftware (69.6%)
* Gotcha Gotcha Games
* Spike Chunsoft

|

Franchises|

* Akiba's Trip
* Armored Core
* Conception
* Danganronpa
* Derby Stallion
* Echo Night
* Elden Ring
* Fire Pro Wrestling
* King's Field
* Lost Kingdoms
* Mystery Dungeon
* Otogi
* Panzer Front
* RPG Maker
* Shadow Tower
* Shinobido
* Tenchu
* Twilight Syndrome
* Way of the Samurai
* Zero Escape

Defunct|

* ASCII Corporation
* Chunsoft
* Daiei Film
* MediaWorks
* Niwango
* Spike

Former subsidiaries|

* Asmik Ace
* Mages

Related items|

2024 cyberattack on Kadokawa and Niconico
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