Crunchyroll and VIZ Media Europe announce anime distribution deal

The two anime titans Crunchyroll and VIZ Media have announced a partnership to combine their respective expertise, bringing more of that otaku stuff we love to wider audiences. In particular, the VIZ Media Europe Group will be sharing its distribution know-how with Crunchyroll and its 50 million plus registered users.

Joanna Wage, General Manager of Crunchyroll, made the following statement about the partnership:

Crunchyroll and VIZ Media Europe Group will bring together significant expertise, capabilities, and dedication to grow and promote our respective licensed and original content. We look forward to learning from and collaborating with our new colleagues in Paris, Lausanne and Berlin, so we can continuously create the most engaging experiences for anime and manga communities around the world.

In short, this is firing up the hopes of anime fans for more US licenses coming to European regions and vice versa. VIZ has a definite gap in Crunchyroll’s catalogue at the moment, so the States may even benefit from shows like Death Note, One Punch Man and Ranma 1/2 coming to the site in the not so distant future. 

Otter Media, which owns Crunchyroll, certainly seems to have high hopes too. Its CEO Tony Goncalves said of the agreement, “Together, we aim to create connections for passionate anime fans across Europe and beyond”.