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Kazé

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Kazé
Company typeSociété par actions simplifiée
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedSeptember 21, 1994; 30 years ago (1994-09-21)
FounderCédric Littardi
DefunctOctober 1, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-10-01)
FateAbsorbed into Crunchyroll
Headquarters
Paris
,
France
Area served
Europe
Key people
Kazuyoshi Takeuchi
Products
  • Anime
  • manga
  • films
ParentOtter Media (2019–2021)
Crunchyroll EMEA (Crunchyroll, LLC) (2021–2022)
Head office of Kazé/Crunchyroll France

Kazé was a French publishing company that specializes in anime and manga. Its head office was in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.[1] Founded in 1994, the company debuted by publishing Record of Lodoss War on VHS. It was owned by Sony through the EMEA division of Crunchyroll, LLC, a joint venture anime business between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex.

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: Spirits of the Past 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 Kazé 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 published in Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Russia & Poland.

In May 2012, Cédric Littardi, the founder and long-time head of the company, announced his departure.

On June 1, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that Kazé and its labels will be rebranded as Crunchyroll.[3] The rebranding became effective on October 1, 2022.

Italian dubs

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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.[4]

Anime published

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Anime published in France

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Anime published in UK

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Anime published in Germany

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Anime published in Spain

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Anime published in Italy

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Manga

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Kazé Anime Nights

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Logo of Kazé Anime Nights

Kazé Anime Nights is a cinema event, where Kazé screens anime films and sometimes Asian films across Germany and Austria for one day or multiple days.[6]

Films of Kazé Anime Nights and Asia Nights 2018

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Title[7][8] Release date
Tokyo Ghoul February 2, 2018
Tokyo Ghoul February 27, 2018
The Virgin Psychics March 2, 2018
Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter March 27, 2018
100 Yen Love April 6, 2018
Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess April 24, 2018
Death Note: Light Up the New World May 4, 2018
Detective Conan Episode One May 29, 2018
Persona Non Grata June 1, 2018
Attack on Titan Movie Part 3 June 26, 2018
A Day July 6, 2018
Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry July 31, 2018
Corpse Party August 3, 2018
Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic August 28, 2018
Lu over the Wall September 25, 2018
Night Is Short, Walk On Girl October 30, 2018

Films of Kazé Anime Nights 2019

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Title[6] Release date[6]
Dragon Ball Super: Broly January 29, 2019
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! Take on Me February 26, 2019
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes March 26, 2019
The adventures of young Sinbad April 30, 2019
Mirai May 28, 2019
Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer June 25, 2019
Dragon Ball Super: Broly July 30, 2019
Okko's Inn August 27, 2019
Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie August 27, 2019
One Piece: Stampede September 24, 2019
Penguin Highway October 29, 2019

References

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  1. ^ "Mentions Légales Archived June 14, 2017, at the Wayback Machine." Kazé. Retrieved on June 6, 2017. "le siège social est situé : 14 Bd Haussmann 75009 Paris France. "
  2. ^ Rice, Brad. "Viz does Eurotrip: Parent companies acquire Kaze and Anime Virtual". Japanator. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "ANNONCE : Kazé devient Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll (in French). Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Nuovi doppiaggi Kazé: l'ira dei fan" (in Italian). AnimeClick.it. July 15, 2012.
  5. ^ "Black Rose Alice". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "KAZÉ | KAZÉ Anime Nights". September 23, 2019. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  7. ^ "KAZÉ Anime Nights 2018". www.kaze-online.de. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  8. ^ "KAZÉ Movie lädt zu asiatischen Kinonächten ein". www.kaze-online.de. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
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