ADV Films to Distribute Anime for Sentai Filmworks

[Koby]

he ICv2 retail news website reports that A.D. Vision, a 16-year veteran of the North American anime industry, will localize and distribute titles for the licensing company Sentai Filmworks. Their new partnership is highlighted by Kyoto Animation's 2007-2008 television adaptation of the Clannad visual novel franchise. Their other planned releases for 2009 include Indian Summer, Mahoromatic, Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful, Tsukihime, Pet Shop of Horrors, and Jewel BEM Hunter Lime. Matt Greenfield, Senior V.P. of Content and acquisitions, and voice actor Chris Ayres had announced that ADV Films will be releasing Clannad at last month's Sogen Con in South Dakota. The first of six DVD will ship on April 21, 2009.

ADV Films had also announced at August's Otakon 2008 convention that it will release the three-part Indian Summer (Koharu Biyori) anime adaptation of Takehito Mizuki's manga. The complete comedy anime series about a cosplaying robotic maid will ship on March 10, 2009. Geneon Entertainment (USA) had previously released Mahoromatic, Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful, and Tsukihime before its Japanese corporate parent decided to cease in-house sales and distribution in North America. ADV Films' complete collections of these three series will ship on January 13, February 17, and January 20, respectively. Urban Vision had released the Pet Shop of Horrors supernatural suspense anime on DVD in 2001, and Media Blasters had released the Jewel BEM Hunter Lime risque comedy in 2001.

A.D. Vision CEO John Ledford told ICv2 that his company has more titles planned with Sentai Filmworks and other partners, including the new live-action film licensing company, Switchblade Pictures. A.D. Vision currently has 30 full-time employees and a smaller number of contractors, as well as freelancing voice actors and translators. The changes at A.D. Vision had accelerated with this year's industy downturn and "breakup" with Sojitz.