(Source:icv2.com)
Who has the rights to Full Metal Panic?
FUNimation Entertainment announced that they will distribute Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, the anime's 3rd season. The DVD, along with "starter sets," is due in stores October 6. FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga says this is only the beginning.
"These are the first steps in a mutually beneficial relationship," he says.
Kadokawa Holdings General Manager Takashi Sakuda appears to agree. "[W]e look forward to working with [FUNimation] again in the future," he announced. Kadokawa Holdings recently opened Kadokawa Pictures USA, the Los Angeles arm of the Japanese company. KH also owns Kadokawa Shoten Publishing, Kadokawa Herald Pictures, Kadokawa Daiei Film Studios and publishes Newtype.
However, ADV, which released the first two seasons of the Full Metal Panic anime, and completed 14 volumes of the associated manga, claims that they have a broad, continuing relationship with Kadokawa.
"We're very proud of our performance as a steward of the Full Metal Panic franchise," said ADV spokesman Chris Oarr, "and we're going to continue to sell Full Metal Panic for the foreseeable future." Oarr did say that, "we wish FUNimation all the best."
What's going on here? Is ADV getting slowly phased out and they don't know it? Or is FUNimation getting one of Kadokawa's better mangas to see what they are capable of? Stay tuned for further details.
