Toei Animation

Toei Animation projects the celebration of dragon ball store ’s 30th Anniversary as a major event for deals, promotions, activations, and product launches.

Dragon Ball Z’s journey from its humble beginnings from a Japanese anime series to the most popular anime worldwide is something that is so nice to look back.

Dragon Ball, created by Akira Toriyama is an anime series that tells the story of Goku’s childhood to adulthood and how he copes and befriend the people here on Earth as they fight villains that are trying to destroy their home. Dragon Ball Z is the sequel of this original series.

It was April 26, 1989, when Dragon Ball Z was first aired on Japanese television. It took several years for Dragon Ball Z to reach Western television but that time was so worth it since the series was popularized worldwide.

Funimation Entertainment Company was founded by Gen Fukunaga in 1994 with the goal of licensing the franchise of Dragon Ball. This company holds the majority of property rights of Dragon Ball in the United States and in Canada. These property rights include the broadcast, toys and home video.

Bringing the anime series in North America was challenging in the ’90s. Animation in the United States during that time is for younger audiences. Dragon Ball Z was patronized by adults and has mature content. American broadcasters are hesitant to air the anime series.

In a statement, Lisa Yamatoya, marketing, and licensing senior manager of Toei Animation said that it is indeed a challenge to bring the anime series on television due to the practices and standards of different networks. They knew that the anime series has mature contents so they find editing as the solution to this challenge. They made versions for different viewers. They also translated the series to local languages to suit the needs of the networks.

Yamatoya added that in Japan, viewers of all age sees manga with mature contents. In the United States, they think of animation as a thing for kids.

According to Masayuki Endo, president, and chief executive officer of Toei Animation, Japanese animation was difficult to be on broadcast television. They are lucky during the 1990s when Japanese animation was known worldwide. Licensees, broadcasters and distributors approached them for the rights to Japanese animation.

The next challenge for the team is the advancement in technology. The series was illegally downloaded.

Solutions were made but still, challenges are part of the journey to success.

Toei Animation celebrates 2019 as the year of Dragon Ball Z. They are looking forward to releasing updates not just on the anime series but also in other merchandise. More license deals will be announced with Dragon Ball Z’s 30th Anniversary Celebration.

The team also acknowledge that Goku’s character captured the attention of the fans that it was the series that was sustained for several years. We can get inspiration on how Goku works so hard to empower himself as a defendant of Earth.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *