| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | multimedia entertainment |
| Genre | anime, East Asian films, hentai, manga, manhwa, yaoi |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder(s) | John O'Donnell |
| Defunct | April 27, 2009 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
| Area served | U.S. |
| Owner(s) | John O'Donnell |
| Divisions | US Manga Corps, Software Sculptors, Asia Pulp Cinema, CPM Press, Adult 18 |
| Website | centralparkmedia.com |
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York, that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga and manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009. It was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.[1][2]
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Central Park Media was founded in 1990 by John O'Donnell as an anime supplier, with Project A-Ko and Dominion Tank Police as its first two anime titles, which were sub-licensed to CPM by Manga UK who also provided the dubs. Together with AnimEigo, U.S. Renditions and Streamline Pictures, CPM pioneered the distribution of anime for mature viewers in North America.
During its heyday, CPM incorporated MD Geist as part of its U.S. Manga Corps logo. Curiosity by anime fans seeing the "corporate spokes mecha" in CPM's titles resulted in MD Geist becoming one of the company's bestselling titles. In 1996, CPM commissioned MD Geist creator Koichi Ohata to write and direct a sequel; at the same time, Ohata made a director's cut of the first title, adding new scenes and expanding the storyline.[3]
In 1992, CPM - through its Anime 18 division - released Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, which became the first animated film to be given the NC-17 rating. Since its release, Urotsukidoji has become a cult classic among fans of anime, science fiction and horror genres, while at the same time, being one of the first anime titles to introduce the western public to the hentai genre. It was released in theaters across the United States in both subtitled and dubbed formats.[4]
In the mid-1990s, CPM expanded to distributing manga and manhwa (Korean manga) through CPM Manga and CPM Manhwa, respectively. CPM Manga also featured adaptations of MD Geist, Armored Trooper Votoms and Project A-Ko by American writers and artists.
On May 26, 2006, Central Park Media laid off many of its employees, and rumors erupted that the company was planning to declare bankruptcy, supported by a statement from a representative at the Anime Boston convention. The following Monday, the company's managing director issued a statement acknowledging the lay-offs and attributing the cost-cutting to creditor problems following the January bankruptcy of the Musicland group.[5]
The previous year, in 2005, CPM had discontinued its CPM Manga and CPM Manhwa line, also due to monetary problems. But CPM representatives have said that they have had relaunched their Manga and Manhwa lines in January 2006.[6]
On March 19, 2007, Japanese Yaoi Publisher Libre posted a notice on its website saying that CPM's Be Beautiful division was illegally translating and selling its properties. The titles in question were originally licensed to CPM by Japanese publisher Biblos which was bought out by Libre in 2006 after a bankruptcy.[7]
Central Park Media filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 27, 2009, and liquidated with a debt of over US$1.2 million.[8] Officially, the company had plans to re-release some older titles in the future.[9] Right up until its bankruptcy, CPM still licensed its anime titles for American television and VOD, despite having not released anything on video for over a year. Many of its titles have been shown on the Sci-Fi Channel[10] and are still available through iTunes.[11] Some of its titles were also acquired by various anime companies, such as ADV Films, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, and Media Blasters, and were re-released from 2004 into the 2010s.[12] Some of their titles were either re-dubbed, such as Here Is Greenwood and Area 88 by Media Blasters and ADV Films, respectively, or have retained the original dub. Funimation, which re-licensed Slayers, used the same English dub cast for later installments, with the exception of David Moo, who was then replaced with Michael Sinterniklaas for the role of Xellos. Bandai Entertainment, which re-licensed Agent Aika, later licensed Aika R-16: Virgin Mission and gave it an entirely new English dub via Bang Zoom! Entertainment. Grave of the Fireflieswas later re-licensed by ADV's successor Sentai Filmworks. The film had been included in a distribution deal between Central Park, and ADV that also included Now and Then, Here and There, World of Narue, and MD Geist. Titles released under the distribution agreement included both the Central Park and ADV logo's on the box and at start of the DVD. Currently all three titles are out of print, pending Sentai's release of Grave of the Fireflies.
Asia Pulp Cinema was CPM's East-Asian Live-Action film distribution division.[13]
US Manga Corps was the anime distribution division for Central Park Media, catering to high school students and older audiences.[14] The US Manga Corps mascot is from MD Geist, an obscure OVA from the 1980s.[3]
Another distribution division that specialized in anime-related software,[15] such as screen savers featuring Ranma ½ and Bubblegum Crisis. They also released several anime titles under this product line, most notably The Slayers.[16]
CPM Press (originally CPM Comics, then CPM Manga) was the manga and manhwa publication division.[17][18][19] Manga titles were published under the label CPM Manga, and manhwa under CPM Manhwa. CPM also had an adult division under CPM Press known as Bear Bare Press, which largely published Americanized versions of some of their Anime 18 releases such as La Blue Girl. This division started in 1996 and folded the same year releasing only La Blue Girl and Demon Beast Invasion. Some of these titles were published under the Manga 18 imprint (see Anime 18).
Anime 18 was Central Park Media's distribution division for pornographic anime.[20] A18 released its titles under several labels, with the main label - Anime 18 - used for hentai anime, Manga 18 for manga and manhwa pornography, and Be Beautiful Manga for yaoi manga. Some A18 titles were also being re-released under the Anime HotShots label. When Central Park Media went bankrupt in 2009, the licenses for some of Anime 18's products and movies were transferred to Critical Mass.[21]