Funimation
From Dragon Ball Encyclopedia
Funimation (formerly known as Funimation Productions and Funimation Entertainment), usually stylized as FUNimation, is an American entertainment company that was formed by Gen Fukunaga in the early 1990s in order to produce, merchandise, and distribute anime and other entertainment properties in the United States and international markets.
History[edit]
The company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005. The company is headquartered and based in Flower Mound, Texas.
FUNimation rose to prominence by acquiring the rights to the Dragon Ball anime (licensed early- to mid-1990s), Dragon Ball Z (licensed in the early- to mid-1990s), and Dragon Ball GT (licensed between 2003–2004). By 1998, they were able to get widespread television exposure via Cartoon Network's Toonami block and the Dragon Ball phenomenon quickly grew in the United States as it had elsewhere. (Two previous attempts by FUNimation to release Dragon Ball to network television had previously been canceled before the series and company found success on the Cartoon Network.) In the UK, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT ran on a twined channel called Toonami, a channel that aired many anime shows as well as a few American cartoons.
The Dragon Ball Z episodes were dubbed by different voice casts by Funimation. The episodes dubbed by Ocean Productions are known as the Ocean Group dub. The episodes dubbed by FUNimation's in-house talents are known as the FUNimation dub.
Now licensed by Funimation[edit]
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball Z
- Dragon Ball GT
- Dragon Ball Z Kai
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- One Piece
- Soul Eater
- Slayers
- Slayers Next
- Slayers Try