Madman Entertainment

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Madman's Logo

Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that specialises in the distribution of Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. They are the most successful and well-recognised distributor of anime in the region.

According to current market research, Madman accounts for 97% of the total Japanese anime DVD market. During the past 10 years, Madman has secured the local release rights to a number of very popular titles including Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, and almost all of Studio Ghibli's catalogue. In addition to DVD sales, Madman also manages the theatrical release of some of their titles, particularly the Studio Ghibli movies.

Some of their DVD releases have been jointly mastered with Britain's MVM Films to save costs, and are therefore dual-region (Region 2 and Region 4). A few DVD titles from Madman, such as the Oh My Goddess! OVAs, are all-region or multi-region DVDs in the NTSC format, imported from the US and repackaged for sale in Australia and New Zealand (which use PAL color).

A growing selection of manga titles translated by TOKYOPOP in the United States and Chuang Yi in Singapore are being imported and distributed through Madman Entertainment.

Madman launched in 1996 solely as an anime distribution company, but has since expanded exponentially. They now also manage the distribution of live-action titles through their labels Madman Films, Directors Suite, Madman Sports, Madman Laughs and Eastern Eye and have a theatrical distribution arm called Madman Cinema.

The company is owned by the ASX listed Funtastic Limited. It employs 130 people and has an annual turnover of around $AU50 million. ^[1]