News
Akatsuki, DMM.com, The Anime Times Company, Kadokawa Invest in MyAnimeList
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Anime database website MyAnimeList announced on Monday that entertainment company Akatsuki Inc., video distribution company The Anime Times Company Inc., electronic commerce company DMM.com LLC, and media conglomerate Kadokawa Corporation will collectively underwrite 311 million yen (about US$2.835 million) of MyAnimeList stock through a third-party allotment.
The stock is part of the 1.2 billion yen (about US$11.33 million at the time) in shares the company issued in February. Japanese publishing companies Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan invested the money in MyAnimeList through a third-party allotment. The companies, together with MyAnimeList parent company Media Do, implemented the third-party allotment and underwrote half of this amount.
MyAnimeList plans to invest the funds from February's third-party allotment to accelerate expansion of its platform, focus on accessibility for new and returning users, promote information exchange, increase server robustness, and advance interconnection between fans and businesses. The company's immediate plans to achieve these goals include implementing infrastructure changes to increase speed and support advanced UI/UX features, multi-language support for databases and user lists, iOS and Android application improvements such as dark mode and social functions, and upgraded user communication tool enhancements for increased information sharing.
MyAnimeList launched in 2005, and DeNA purchased the site in 2015. Media Do Holdings later acquired the site from DeNA in January 2019.
The site opened a digital manga store in partnership with Viz Media and Kodansha Comics in March 2018. DeNA previously partnered with Anime Consortium Japan (ACJ) to stream anime on MyAnimeList by embedding videos from ACJ's now-defunct Daisuki streaming service. MyAnimeList later added anime embedded from Hulu and Crunchyroll. HIDIVE formed a partnership with MyAnimeList in September 2019.
ORENDA and Umi no Magnet Education Committee produced a new Santa Company anime film titled Santa Company: Manatsu no Merry Christmas (A Merry Christmas in Summer) that debuted worldwide online through MyAnimeList on January 28.
Source: MyAnimeList (link 2)
