Anime News

FUNimation Cleans Up in About.com's 2005 Anime Awards
Date: 3/9/2005
FUNimation Properties Receive Eight of the Top 11 Awards


FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2005--FUNimation? Productions, Ltd. today announced that several of its properties Dragon Ball GT?, Dragon Ball Z?, Fullmetal Alchemist(TM), Case Closed(TM) and Yu Yu Hakusho(TM) swept the "Best of Anime" awards in the inaugural 2005 Anime Awards at About.com.
Four properties from FUNimation won eight of the eleven 2005 Best of Anime awards. Dragon Ball GT won Best New Anime Movie and Best Anime Theme Song; Fullmetal Alchemist won Best New Anime Series; characters from Dragon Ball Z won Best Lead Male Character (Goku), Best Anime Villain (Cell) and Best Anime Action Figure of 2004 (Gogeta SS4); a character from Yu Yu Hakusho won Best Supporting Male Character (Kurama); and a character from Case Closed won Best Supporting Female Character (Rachel Moore).

"We are very excited about these awards because they are chosen by fans," said Gen Fukunaga, president of FUNimation. "They nominated and picked the winners and these awards really show the strength of our properties."

Kate Luther, the anime guide at About.com, developed the awards to coincide with this year's Academy Awards. Fans selected the winners from thousands of nominations that were sent in. "Characters and storylines with staying power seem to be what it's all about," explains Luther. "There's some really amazing anime out there, both new and old and I'll be the first to admit I'd have a hard time picking just one show or character over the others." Luther has been the anime guide for close to three years and she is already looking forward to next year's awards.

"About.com is a wonderful source of information on the Internet and the Anime Guide at About.com is a great resource for anime," continues Fukunaga.

About.com has great reach and an extensive viewership of over 20 million users -- connecting to more women than iVillage.com, more men than ESPN.com and more teens than MTV.com. About.com offers a unique Guide System that features 23 content channels and promotes original content from more than 475 topical advisors or "Guides."

About FUNimation

FUNimation Productions, Ltd. is a brand management company and one of the nation's leading independent home video entertainment companies. FUNimation often manages all aspects of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.

FUNimation is known for its brand management and home video distribution success with brands primarily targeted to children and young adults. These brands include Dragon Ball Z?, Fullmetal Alchemist(TM), Yu-Gi-Oh! (TM), Code Lyoko(TM), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?, Dragon Booster?, Arthur?, Case Closed(TM), Yu Yu Hakusho(TM), Degrassi: The Next Generation(TM), Beyblade(TM), Braceface(TM), Cabbage Patch Kids(TM), Sonic X(TM), Shaman King(TM), Time Warp Trio(TM), Fruits Basket(TM), Tenchi Muyo! GXP(TM), Blue Gender(TM) and Lupin the 3rd?.

The Company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and has become one of the leading brand management companies in the industry. For more information on FUNimation or any of its properties, contact Jeff Dronen at 817-788-0627, ext. 251 or jeff.dronen@funimation.com.
Source: Yahoo! News