Anime News Network

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]

Anime News Network

Type of site	News and database
Available in	English
Headquarters	Canada
Owner	Kadokawa Corporation (sale pending)
Created by	Justin Sevakis
URL	www.animenewsnetwork.com
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Required for use of forums or contributing information
Launched	August 21, 1998; 24 years ago (1998-08-21)^[1]
Current status	Active

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

History

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 June 30, 2002, Anime News Network launched its Encyclopedia, a collaborative database of anime and manga titles also including information about the staff, cast, and companies involved in the production or localization of those titles.^[6]

On September 7, 2004, the Sci Fi Channel online newsletter Sci Fi Weekly named ANN the Web Site of the Week.^[2] On September 18, 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 July 4, 2008, ANN launched its video platform with a library of anime trailers as well as its own news show ANNtv.^[8]

On August 7, 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 November 1, 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, will be appointed as the publisher of Kadokawa World Entertainment upon the deal's closure. Macdonald and Bandai Namco Filmworks will retain minority shares in the new company.^[11][12]

Features

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

1. "Whois Record for AnimeNewsNetwork.com". Whois.DomainTools.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
2. Dellamonica, A.M. (7 September 2004). . Sci Fi Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
3. "FAQ". Anime News Network. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
4. Macdonald, Christopher (25 January 2007). "Anime News Network Australia". Anime News Network. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
5. Macdonald, Christopher (29 October 2015). . 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. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
7. "Anime News Network and Protoculture Addicts Join Forces". Anime News Network. 18 September 2004. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
8. Sevakis, Justin (4 July 2008). "New media, new horizons, and a new video player". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
9. "Update: What's Going On with Anime News Network?". Anime News Network. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
10. Macdonald, Christopher (11 August 2017). "How ANN Was Hacked". Anime News Network. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
11. "KADOKAWA Announces Acquisition of Anime News Network's Media Business". Anime News Network. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
12. Macdonald, Christopher (1 November 2022). "About Kadokawa's Investment in ANN". Anime News Network. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
13. Bertschy, Zac (26 October 2006). "New Column: Buried Treasure with Justin Sevakis". 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): 1–3. doi:10.1109/JCDL.2017.7991602. ISBN 978-1-5386-3861-3. S2CID 32903728.

External links

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