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Bushiroad Forms Partnership With Broccoli, Purchases 3.89% of Company
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Bushiroad announced on Friday that it has concluded a contract with media company Broccoli for a partnership between the two companies. Bushiroad stated that its reason the partnership is part of its overall mission to "create a new era of entertainment" as an IP developer.
Prior to the partnership, Bushiroad purchased 341,100 shares of Broccoli between September to December 2019, and now holds 3.89% of the company's shares.
The first project as part of the new partnership is a collaboration between Di Gi Charat and Bushiroad's Lost Decade smartphone game, as part of an overall plan to "reboot" Broccoli's Di Gi Charat franchise. Bushiroad released the smartphone game on September 21, and characters from Di Gi Charat will appear the game for a limited time.
Takaaki Kidani founded Broccoli in 1994. Broccoli is known for its media franchises Di Gi Charat, Galaxy Angel, Aquarian Age, Z/X Zillions of enemy X, Uta no Prince Sama, and Kamigami no Asobi, all of which have inspired anime adaptations. The company was also involved in the production for such anime as Pita-Ten, H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~, Psychic Force, and Sister Princess, among others. The company has also produced manga, video games, and card games. Broccoli previously owned the "GAMERS" retail chain in Japan before selling it to Animate in 2011. The company also had retail and publishing operations in the United States through its Broccoli International USA subsidiary, which shut down in 2008.
Takaaki Kidani founded Bushiroad in 2007. The company owns a number of cross-media franchises, some of which originate from its card games. Bushiroad's Cardfight!! Vanguard and Future Card Buddyfight series have both inspired long-running television anime series, and its Luck & Logic card game inspired two television anime series. Bushiroad also owns the Weiß Schwarz anime crossover card game. The company owns the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes franchise, as well as the BanG Dream! franchise, both of which have television anime series. The company also owns the Revue Starlight franchise, and both BanG Dream! and Revue Starlight have active smartphone games. Additionally, the company owns the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. Bushiroad acquired 8.2% of SANZIGEN Animation Studio in December 2019, and Bushiroad and Kadokawa each acquired a third of the shares of the studio Kinema Citrus in December 2019.
