Ask John: Why do Different American Companies Own the Same Anime Series?

Question:
Why are the Magic Knight Rayearth tapes being given out by two different companies? I only have 2 or 3 Rayearth tapes and they’re from AnimeWorks. The ones that I saw in the store were from Manga. You think you could clear this up for me?

Answer:
Media Blasters/Anime Works owns the US translation and distribution rights to the 49 episode Rayearth TV series. Manga Entertainment owns the translation and distribution rights to the Rayearth OAV series, which is a completely different continuity and story than the TV series. Breaking up series rights between different US distribution companies isn’t anything new. Software Sculptors originally obtained the US rights to the Slayers TV series while AD Vision licensed the movies and OAVs. Media Blasters owns the domestic rights to the Rurouni Kenshin TV series while AD Vision holds the movie and OAV rights. AnimEigo owns the distribution rights to the third and fourth Lupin III movies while Manga Entertainment owns the second film and, for a long time at least, Streamline Pictures owned the first film.

Licensing the American translation and distribution rights to anime series is much more complex than most layman anime fans realize. In some cases, a Japanese studio may place stipulations on their agreement to license a particular series, for example Sunrise’s long documented resistance to allow any Gundam to be licensed for American distribution unless television exposure was also included, and AIC’s combination of the Ah! My Goddess television series and movie rights as a single package. Another example is Gainax Studio’s demand for a separate, new licensing agreement for the American rights to the Japanese home-video version of the Evangelion TV series, including the 10 minutes or so of new footage exclusive to the Japanese home-video releases. Furthermore, it’s only natural to expect a company to want to maximize their profit on a property. Licensing TV series separately from its movie or OAV counterparts allows a Japanese studio to earn the biggest profit possible out of a single anime franchise. This explains why certain anime productions have not yet become available in the US. Just a few examples include the Silent Mobius movies (movie 1 was released in America in the 1990s but is now long out of print), Blue Seed 2, the Bakuretsu Hunter (Sorcerer Hunter) OAV series, the remainder of the Utena TV series and movie, the remainder of the Aika OAV series, the remainder of the Zenki TV series and OAV, the Sakura Wars second OAV series and TV series, and so on. Many of these stragglers may be licensed and made available in the US in the future, but many of them probably will not ever become available in the US because the original series were not successful enough in the US to warrant an American company investing in a totally new licensing agreement for these continuing installments and series.