| Company type | Private[1] |
|---|---|
| Genre | Anime[1] |
| Founded | 1995[2] |
| Founder | Gene Field[1] |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Headquarters | , United States[3] |
Key people | Gene Field John Oppliger[1] |
| Divisions | AN Entertainment[2] RentAnime.com[4] |
| Website | www |
AnimeNation was an American business that included RentAnime.com, a discussion forum, anime industry news, and a column called "Ask John".[1][4][5] It was previously a retailer of anime and manga products until 2014 and an anime licensing and distribution company under the name AN Entertainment.[1][4][6]
AnimeNation was founded in 1995 by Gene Field in Clearwater, Florida.[1][2] After the company's initial success, they opened a retail location.[1] They considered licensing shows in 1998 including Berserk and Cyber Team in Akihabara, but did not move forward until the company's stability improved.[5][7] In 1999, the company built a 15,000-square-foot facility in the Lynmar Commerce Park, Tampa, Florida.[1][8][9] As of 2004, AnimeNation was one of the top two online anime specialty retailers in the United States.[1] The site also features a regular column, "Ask John", where AN employee John Oppliger answers reader questions about anime. As of 2005, Oppliger had written over 1,070 articles.[5] The AnimeNation online store closed in 2014,[4][6] though the "Ask John" blog and forums continue to operate as of July 5, 2023.[10]
In 2002, AnimeNation entered the anime market due to increased licensing and retail competition.[2][11] The name AN Entertainment comes from AnimeNation (AN), and Entertainment was chosen to possibly allow other shows (including live action) to be licensed.[2] They chose to finish one title before licensing another in order to produce the highest quality product.[12] Small staffing numbers also influenced the decision.[7]
The first title the company licensed was Risky Safety with Bang Zoom! Entertainment producing the dub and ADV Films distributing the release.[8][13][14][15] AN Entertainment used a script created by fansub group Sachigumi with modifications for its Risky Safety release and also acquired the TV broadcast rights.[2][8][16] AN Entertainment acquired Miami Guns, but not TV broadcast rights, and the dub was produced by Phoenix Post Sound (Coastal Studios).[12][17][18] Haré+Guu was licensed by AN Entertainment (including TV broadcast rights), and co-produced with Bang Zoom! Entertainment.[11][12][19] Bang Zoom! produced the dub and Funimation distributed Haré+Guu.[11][20][21] They also licensed Haré+Guu Deluxe, but did not license Haré+Guu FINAL.[7][22] The original ending for the Haré+Guu TV show could not be used due to a licensing problem involving Bandai.[7][20] Haré+Guu was the first show aired on the Funimation Channel that was not a property of Funimation.[23] AN Entertainment's license for Risky Safety expired in Fall 2007.[24]
AnimeNation also ran RentAnime.com, a DVD-by-mail service similar to Netflix, that specialized in anime.[1][3][25] The service suffered from mailing issues with the Tampa United States Postal Service, but they were later resolved.[3] RentAnime.com continued to operate despite the closure of AnimeNation's online store, until it closed at the end of 2015.[4][26]