Kadokawa Acquires Anime News Network’s Media Business

North American media news outlet Anime News Network announced Kadokawa will acquire its media business. The news came directly from the website, which featured a statement from both the President of Anime News Network (or ANN) Christopher Macdonald and President of Kadokawa Takeshi Natsuno. The acquisition will finalize sometime by the end of 2023. An amount was not disclosed in the statement.

Both parties express excitement regarding the acquisition, with Macdonald stating that “all of ANN’s staff remain entirely dedicated to the standards of professional, exhaustive, and editorially independent journalism that ANN is already known for and we believe that Kadokawa‘s resources will be a great benefit to ANN’s journalism and our readers.”

Any potential immediate changes to Anime News Network were not mentioned in the announcement. Only that Kadokawa believes that the acquisition will “strengthen” Kadokawa’s marketing efforts and presence within the North American region. Additionally, Kadokawa also noted that this is an opportunity for Anime News Network to also extend its reach. And to also highlight it’s content and community.

Anime News Network was founded in 1998. It quickly rose to prominence as one of the outlets providing coverage of Japanese-based media. This has included visual novels, anime, and manga. As mentioned by Macdonald, Anime News Network will continue to be dedicated to independent journalism despite the acquisition of its media business.