MediaWorks (publisher)

MediaWorks
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Publishing
Founded	October 15, 1992; 34 years ago
Founder	Tsuguhiko Kadokawa
Defunct	April 1, 2008
Fate	Merged with ASCII to form ASCII Media Works
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Area served	Japan
Products	Magazines, light novels, manga, video games, anime production
Parent	Kadokawa Group
Website	dengeki.com

was a Japanese publishing company within the Kadokawa Group, recognized for its distinctive brand of magazines and book imprints. Among its prominent titles were Dengeki Daioh, Dengeki G's Magazine, and the principal light novel imprint, Dengeki Bunko. On April 1, 2008, the company merged with ASCII to create ASCII Media Works. Its core audience consisted mainly of Japanese male otaku, with content spanning anime, light novels, manga, plastic model kits, and visual novels. Additionally, MediaWorks published three magazines aimed at female readers—Comic Sylph, Dengeki Girl's Style, and Character Parfait—which served as special editions linked to other publications. The firm also hosted annual contests encouraging submissions of original novels and manga, notably the esteemed light novel Dengeki Novel Prize.

In addition to its publishing activities, MediaWorks developed and released visual novels associated with well-known Japanese media franchises such as Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, Shakugan no Shana, and Strawberry Marshmallow. The company was also engaged in producing anime television series and original video animation projects.

History

In 1992, as Haruki Kadokawa, president of Kadokawa Shoten, shifted his focus toward film production, his brother Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, then vice-president responsible for magazines, resigned to establish MediaWorks on October 15 of that year. He brought along numerous staff members from Kadokawa Shoten. Previously, Tsuguhiko had directed Kadokawa Media Office, which published video game magazines like Comptiq and manga targeting male otaku audiences centered around "media mix" franchises.

The following year, inspired by the Tokyo Shock Boys (), MediaWorks introduced the Dengeki magazine series by rebranding several titles inherited from Kadokawa Media Office such as Dengeki Super Famicom, Dengeki PC Engine, and Dengeki Comic Gao!. In 1993, after Haruki Kadokawa was arrested on charges related to cocaine smuggling, Tsuguhiko took over as president of both Kadokawa Shoten and MediaWorks. In 2002, MediaWorks became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten and joined the Kadokawa Group Holdings. Within the group, competition emerged between MediaWorks' Dengeki lineup and Enterbrain's Famitsu series, particularly concerning coverage of bishōjo games. By 2001, MediaWorks had refocused its efforts on publishing light novels, manga, video games, and their associated magazines. The company ultimately merged with ASCII on April 1, 2008, resulting in the formation of ASCII Media Works.

Magazines published

Publishing imprints

Dengeki Bunko: Established in June 1993 as a light novel imprint aimed at male readers, it is renowned for fostering emerging writers through initiatives like the annual Dengeki Novel Prize. The imprint celebrated its one-thousandth novel with the eighth volume of Kino's Journey in October 2006. In April 2007, three animated films based on Dengeki Bunko light novels—Kino's Journey, Shakugan no Shana, and Inukami!—were released.

Dengeki Comics: This manga imprint caters primarily to a male demographic and includes a sub-label called Dengeki Comics EX that features a smaller selection of titles. Many works under this label originate from serializations in Dengeki Daioh.

Dengeki G's Bunko: Launched in 1997 as a light novel imprint focusing on adaptations of bishōjo games for male audiences. Managed by Mizuhito Akiyama, Hideyuki Kurata, and Masanori Date, it ceased operations in 2003 and was succeeded by Dengeki Game Bunko.

Dengeki Game Bunko: Initially started in 1994 concentrating on tabletop role-playing games, it was discontinued in 1997 but revived in 1999 to publish light novels related to computer games. This imprint replaced Dengeki G's Bunko.

Sylph Comics: A manga label targeting female readers with titles serialized in the shōjo magazine Comic Sylph. Bound volumes under this imprint have been published since March 21, 2008.

Contests

Dengeki Comic Grand Prix: Since 2001, MediaWorks has annually presented the , an award recognizing original one-shot manga. Originally, the competition featured separate categories for original works and anthologies; however, from the sixth edition onward, it was reorganized to include a Daioh/Gao! category focusing on seinen manga and a Sylph category for shōjo manga. The prize structure consists of a Grand Prix (1 million yen), Semi-Grand Prix (500,000 yen), Excellence Award (200,000 yen), and Honorable Mention (100,000 yen). Additionally, a Dengeki Moeoh Grand Prize category was conducted twice.

Dengeki hp Tanpenshōsetsu Shō: Presented annually between 2000 and 2006, this award honored exceptional short stories and novellas linked to MediaWorks' former light novel magazine Dengeki hp. In its initial years, winners were determined by reader votes published in the magazine; in later editions, selections were made by a judging panel.

Dengeki Taishō: Since 1994, ASCII Media Works has held the , which is divided into two main sections: the Dengeki Novel Prize, targeting light novels under the Dengeki Bunko imprint, and an illustration division. Both categories offer awards including the Grand Prize (1 million yen), Gold Prize (500,000 yen), and Silver Prize (300,000 yen). Previous iterations of the contest also featured divisions for game design and a manga category named .

Video games

MediaWorks has developed and published video games inspired by its light novel and manga properties, predominantly focusing on visual novels along with some sound novels. These games were commonly adapted for platforms such as the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. Earlier titles like Emerald Dragon and Ojōsama Express were released on systems including the PC Engine, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation. Franchises such as Shakugan no Shana received game adaptations available on both PS2 and DS. The Nintendo DS Dengeki Bunko division specialized in creating sound novels for the DS platform, converting popular light novels from MediaWorks' Dengeki Bunko label into interactive formats. Notable adaptations include Allison, Baccano!, Inukami!, and Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu.

External links

Dengeki.com