Toei Animation Inc.
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation, Licensing, Distribution |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles , United States |
Area served | North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand |
| Parent | Toei Animation |
Toei Animation Inc. (abbreviated as TAI, and regionally recognized as Toei Animation USA or Toei LATAM) serves as the American branch responsible for licensing and distribution on behalf of the Japanese animation studio Toei Animation. Founded in 2004 with its main office located in Los Angeles, the company oversees the management of Toei's anime catalog licensing throughout North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It collaborates with television broadcasters, DVD distributors, and digital streaming services to broaden its audience reach.
History
In alignment with Toei Animation's approach to manage distribution internally, which began with the establishment of Toei Animation Europe in Paris in 2003, Toei Animation Inc. was launched in Los Angeles in 2004.
By November 2004, Toei entered into a distribution agreement with Geneon USA covering three titles—Air Master, Interlude, and Slam Dunk—for DVD releases in North America. Due to insufficient sales, these DVDs eventually went out of print, leading to the contract’s conclusion within a year and a half.
In 2005, licenses formerly managed by Cloverway Inc. were reassigned to Toei Animation Inc., thereby centralizing Toei's distribution rights across Latin America. This handover resulted in certain challenges, including the loss of master tapes for some Latin American versions.
Distributor
- Air Gear (U.S. sub-distributed by Funimation/Crunchyroll)
- Dragon Ball series (directly distributed in Latin America since 2005; U.S. sub-distribution by Funimation/Crunchyroll)
- Digimon series (directly distributed in Latin America since 2005 and in the U.S. since 2018; initially handled by Saban Entertainment and related entities; early seasons and films sub-distributed by Discotek Media in the U.S.)
- Dr. Slump (direct Latin American distribution from 2005 onward)
- GeGeGe no Kitaro series
- 1996 adaptation (direct distribution in Latin America since 2005)
- 2018 adaptation
- Magical DoReMi series (direct distribution in Latin America since 2005, expanding to the U.S. by 2025)
- Mazinger Z (directly distributed in Latin America since 2012)
- Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Hell Teacher Nūbē, and Ashita no Nadja (all under direct Latin American distribution since 2005)
- One Piece (4Kids version; direct distribution in Latin America and U.S. sub-distributed by Funimation/Crunchyroll)
- Pretty Cure series
- Futari wa Pretty Cure (direct Latin American distribution since 2008)
- Glitter Force (directly distributed in both Latin America and the U.S. since 2017)
- Glitter Force Doki Doki (U.S. and Latin American sub-distribution by Saban Brands/Hasbro Entertainment)
- Saint Seiya series (directly distributed in Latin America since 2005)
- Sailor Moon series (direct Latin American distribution since 2005; U.S. sub-distributed by Viz Media from 2014 onward)
- Sailor Moon Crystal (direct Latin American distribution from 2017; U.S. sub-distributed by Viz Media)
- Slam Dunk (directly distributed across Latin America since 2005)
- Toriko (direct Latin American distribution since 2012; U.S. sub-distribution through Funimation/Crunchyroll)
- World Trigger (U.S. home video sub-distributed by Sentai Filmworks alongside Crunchyroll)