Gonzo (company)

Gonzo K.K. (æ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾ã‚´ãƒ³ã‚¾, Kabushiki-gaisha Gonzo) is a Japanese anime studio established on September 11, 1992 by former Gainax staff members. Gonzo is a member of The Association of Japanese Animations.

History

September 1992: GONZO Inc. established by former Gainax members.
May 1996: Digimation K.K. established.
May 1999: GONZO Inc. changed its company name to GONZO K.K.
February 2000: GDH established.
May 2000: Creators.com K.K. established.
April 2002: GONZO K.K. and Digimation K.K. merge; the combined company is renamed GONZO DIGIMATION K.K.
November 2003: Future Vision Music K.K. established.
July 2004: Gonzo Dijimation K.K. changed its company name to GONZO K.K.; Creators.com K.K. changed its name to G-creators K.K.; GONZO DIGIMATION HOLDING changed its company name to GDH K.K.
July 2005: GONZINO K.K. established.
September 2005: Warp Gate Online K.K. becomes subsidiary.
December 2005: GDH CAPITAL K.K. established and Warp Gate Online K.K. changed its company name to GONZO Rosso Online K.K.
February 2006: GK Entertainment established.
April 2009: GDH K.K. merged with its subsidiary, GONZO K.K., and changed its name to GONZO K.K.

Financial issues

The studio had a financial problem in their closing account in the 2008-2009 term and stated its deficit was estimated over 30 million dollars. The Tokyo Stock Exchange announced that on July 30, 2009 Gonzo would be delisted from the exchange. This delisting is the conclusion of a notification made to investors in March 2008 that the studio's financial liabilities exceeded its total financial assets. Since Gonzo was unable to reverse this, paperwork for delisting was filed at the end of June.

The studio is still able to operate, and its parent company GDH has absorbed it in an effort to consolidate management. The combined company now simply refers to itself as Gonzo. By April 2009, the merger was complete.

As part of the restructuring, GDH also sold the Gonzo Rosso game development subsidiary, GDH Capital financing subsidiary, and remaining shares of Tablier Communications initially acquired in March 2006. Gonzo Rosso K.K. was sold to Chushou service kikou kabushikigaisha (division of Incubator Bank of Japan, Limited) on 2009-03-31.

Since this deficit, Gonzo has started to post better earnings due to the release of titles such as Rosario Vampire to Western online streaming websites such as Netflix. The marketing of these products to western audiences has returned Gonzo to financial stability, and Gonzo posted higher than expected profit margins in the April-September 2012 period.

Works

TV series

2000

April - Gate Keepers
October - Vandread

2001

July - Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School
October - Final Fantasy: Unlimited
October - Hellsing
October -Vandread the Second Stage

2002

January - Full Metal Panic!
February - Pandalian
March - Tai Master of Characters
April - Gate Keepers 21
July - Saikano
October - Kiddy Grade & Gravion

2003

February - Digigirl Pop! STRAWBERRY&POP MIX FLAVOR
April - Kaleido Star, Last Exile & Gad Guard
October - Peacemaker Kurogane
November - Chrono Crusade

2004

January - Gravion Zwei
April - Gantz & Burst Angel (Bakuretsu Tenshi)
June - Samurai 7
October - Desert Punk (Sunabouzu) & Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

2005

April - Basilisk, Speed Grapher & Trinity Blood
July - Transformers: Cybertron (with Sunwoo Entertainment)
Fall - G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
Densha Otoko Opening animation.
October - SoltyRei (with AIC) & Black Cat

2006

April - Glass Fleet & Witchblade
July - Welcome to the N.H.K.
October - Red Garden & Pumpkin Scissors

2007

January - Afro Samurai & Getsumen to Heiki Mina
March - Tenshi Sairin (Burst Angel: Infinity)
April - Romeo Ã— Juliet, Bokurano, Kaze no Stigma, & Seto no Hanayome (with AIC)
October - Dragonaut -The Resonance-

2008

January - Rosario + Vampire
April - The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk, Special A, Blassreiter
July - Strike Witches
October - Rosario + Vampire Capu2.., Linebarrels of Iron

2009

January - The Tower of Druaga: the Sword of URUK
April - Saki, Shangri-La

2011

July - Nyanpire
October - Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing

2012

March - Ozuma (with LandQ Studios)

2013

April - Zettai BÅei Leviathan
July - Inu to Hasami wa TsukaiyÅ
July - A Town Where You Live

2014

April - Blade & Soul

Streamings

October 2001 Zaion: I Wish You Were Here

OVAs

1998-2000 Blue Submarine No. 6
1999-2000 Melty Lancer THE ANIMATION
2001 Zaion: I Wish You Were Here
2002-2005 Sentou Yousei Yukikaze
2004 Kaleido Star Aratanaru Tsubasa Extra Stage
2007 Bakuretsu Tenshi -Infinity, Strike Witches, Red Garden: Dead Girls

Films

January 2006 Gin-iro no Kami no Agito AKA Origin: Spirits of the Past
July 2006 Brave Story
July 2007 Kappa no Coo to Natsuyasumi
January 2009 Afro Samurai: Resurrection
November 2013 Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

Games

1996: Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (playstation / Sega Saturn) - contributed anime sequences
1997: Silhouette Mirage - contributed anime sequences
1998: Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (playstation / Sega Saturn) - contributed anime sequences
1998: Radiant Silvergun - contributed anime sequences
1999: Genso Suikogaiden Volume 1: Swordsman of Harmonia contributed intro FMV and character stills
2001: Genso Suikogaiden Volume 2: Duel at Crystal Valley - contributed intro FMV and character stills
2001: SkyGunner - contributed anime sequences
2002: Suikoden III - contributed intro FMV
2009: BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger - contributed anime sequences in home version
2010: Super Street Fighter IV - contributed anime ending sequences
2010: Blazblue: Continuum Shift- contributed anime sequences in home version

Music videos

2004: "Breaking the Habit" by Linkin Park
2007: "Freedom" by Blood Stain Child
2008: "Forsaken" by Dream Theater

Shorts

2013: The Midnight Animals

Manga

2001: Vandread
2002: Vandread (Vandread Special Stage)
2003: Kiddy Grade (Kiddy Grade Versus)
2003: Kiddy Grade (Kiddy Grade Reverse)
2004: Bakuretsu Tenshi (Angel's Adolescence)
2005: Gankutsuou
2005: Speed Grapher
2007: Romeo x Juliet
2007: Red Garden
2007: Getsumen to Heiki Miina
2008: Blassreiter - Genetic

International Distribution

Many of Gonzo's titles were licensed for North American distribution by Geneon, ADV Films, and Funimation Entertainment. ADV Films UK branch was the UK distributor for Gonzo titles licensed by ADV, with the exception of Gantz, as it was licensed by MVM Films. Gad Guard, Hellsing, and Last Exile, which were titles originally licensed by Geneon, were also licensed by ADV Films UK, although they're no longer licensed since the company's closure. MVM Films was the UK licensee for the majority of Gonzo titles licensed by Funimation in the US, with the exception of Afro Samurai, which was initially distributed directly in the UK by GDH and later by Manga Entertainment UK who also licensed Strike Witches (season 1), Origin: Spirits of the Past, and recently Last Exile and Hellsing. Welcome to the N.H.K., Pumpkin Scissors, and Red Garden, which were originally licensed by ADV Films UK, were re-licensed by MVM Films.

In June 2006, it signed a long-term output deal with the anime television network, Animax, which saw Animax broadcasting all of Gonzo's anime titles across all of its networks around the world, including Japan, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Latin America and from November 2007 on Southern Africa's DSTV satellite network. As of 2008 they decided to stream some of their airing anime on video sites such as: YouTube, Crunchyroll, and BOST.

References

^ Gonzo Establishes Subsidiary in Okinawa - Anime News Network
^ "Tokyo Stock Exchange to Delist Gonzo on July 30". [Anime News Network]. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-29.Â
^ "GDH to Absorb Its Gonzo Subsidiary, Adopt Gonzo's Name". [Anime News Network]. 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2009-06-29.Â
^ Gonzo's Parent Company to Sell Off Game Subsidiary. (Updated)
^ Anime/Game Studio Gonzo Posts Higher Earnings, Profit - Anime News Network
^ ^a ^b http://www.rosa-vam.com
^ "Gonzo Makes Leviathan Moe Fantasy Mobile Game's TV Anime". Anime News Network. 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-04.Â
^ "Gonzo Makes TV Anime of A Town where you live Manga". Anime News Network. 2013-03-08.Â
^ Suikoden III credits
^ "AFRO SAMURAI". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 22 November 2011.Â
^ "AFRO SAMURAI". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 22 November 2011.Â
^ Animax Asia Signs New Output Deal with GDH - Animax press release, Anime News Network, June 21, 2006.
^ Gonzo Works to be Streamed Simultaneously with Airing -(pizza) Anime News Network, March 21, 2008.

External links

GONZO Official Website (Japanese)
Gonzo at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Gonzo (company)

History

Financial issues