Kazé
 | |
| Company type | Distributor of anime |
|---|---|
| Founded | 21 September 1994 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Products | DVDs of anime |
| Parent | Viz Media Europe |
| Website | www.kaze.fr |
Kazé is a French publishing company that specializes in anime. Its head office is in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.[1] Founded in 1994, the company debuted by publishing Chronicles of Lodoss War on VHS.
After 15 years, Kaze became Kazé in 2010, in hopes that the addition of an accent allowed for a better pronunciation of its name. It published numerous series of Japanese animations in French and became one of the largest independent publishers of video and manga in Europe.
In 2005, Kazé launched its music label, Wasabi Records, specializing in J-Pop. In the last few years, the company has diversified its activities by publishing Japanese animated feature films, such as Appleseed, Origin and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. In 2007, Kazé released Shinobi, its first live-action film, to theaters in France, and in July 2009, Kazé launched its own television channel, KZTV (Kazé TV), devoted to anime.
On August 28, 2009, Kazé announced its acquisition by Viz Media Europe, a subsidiary of Shogakukan and Shueisha.[2]
Prior to the purchase, the company's manga was published under the Asuka imprint. Since January 2010, only yaoi titles have been released under the Asuka imprint; the majority of titles were moved to the company's new Kaze imprint, including later volumes of non-yaoi series started under the Asuka imprint. Asuka's current licenses include a broad spectrum of manga: popular shōnen and shōjo series such as After School Nightmare, more mature seinen and josei titles such as Bokurano, and classic manga such as Black Jack and works by Osamu Tezuka. They also publish a number of yaoi and yuri titles, including a French edition of Be x Boy magazine.
The company also publishes in Germany, Italy, in UK and Spain.
In May 2012, Cedric Littardi, the founder and long-time head of the company, announced his departure.
Italian dubs
In 2012, the French company has received criticism from Italy regarding the publication of Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail (series OVA), Mardock Scramble: the First Compression, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices. Instead of giving the job to an Italian dubbing studio, as with previous releases, Kazé opted for a French dubbing studio named Wantake, which used amateur voice actors of Italian-French nationality. The resulting performance was regarded as poor. Criticism was also directed towards the menu systems on the DVDs, which featured inaccurate translations. On Amazon.com, titles have received numerous negative reviews owing to these perceived failings, and the company was flooded with negative comments via Twitter and Facebook.[3]
Manga
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Anime published in France
Anime published in UK
- Bakuman (Sub-only release)
- Berserk: The Golden Age Arc
- Black Lagoon
- Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
- Bleach (Movies 3 and 4, and Memories of Nobody)
- Code Geass (Both seasons)
- Future Diary
- Magi
- Mardock Scramble
- Nisekoi
- One Punch Man
- Persona 4 The Animation
- Princess Jellyfish
- Tiger and Bunny
- Trigun: Badlands Rumble
- Un-Go
- World Conquest Zvezda Plot
Anime published in Germany
Anime published in Spain
Anime published in Italy
References
- ^ "Mentions Légales." Kazé. Retrieved on June 6, 2017. "le siège social est situé : 14 Bd Haussmann 75009 Paris France. "
- ^ Rice, Brad. "Viz does Eurotrip: Parent companies acquire Kaze and Anime Virtual". Japanator. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ "Nuovi doppiaggi Kazé: l'ira dei fan" (in Italian). AnimeClick.it. 2012-07-15.
- ^ "Black Rose Alice". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved December 11, 2014.
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