"These awards are a great testament to the popularity of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST in the United States," says Gen Fukunaga, president and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST had a great year in the United States, and we would like to thank our U.S. fans and our Japanese business partners for making this series such a great success."
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST is a series that was created in Japan by Square Enix, Bones and Aniplex. FUNimation Entertainment is the master licensor for the series in the United States.
"FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST is one of our most popular franchises in Japan," says Koji Taguchi, Corporate Executive of Square Enix Co., Ltd. and FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Executive Producer for Square Enix Co., Ltd. "We're so happy the series has become such a hit with the anime audience in America, and wish for its continued success."
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST takes place in a world where alchemy is an accepted part of life with one simple rule of "equivalent exchange" - to gain something, something of equal value must be lost. The series follows 15-year-old Edward Elric, a prodigy known as the "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST." Due to an experiment gone wrong when they were younger, Edward and his brother Alphonse paid a heavy price for disobeying the natural laws of science. Now the brothers are on a quest of the utmost importance: to find the fabled Philosopher's Stone.
The FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST series is one of the top-rated anime series on television, and the sales of its DVDs have led the U.S. anime industry. Fukunaga explains that according to an analysis of Nielsen Video Scan data, all 13 volumes of the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST series and the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST movie were ranked in the Top 50 of the bestselling anime DVDs in the United States for 2006. "Basically, the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST DVDs accounted for 28% of the Top 50 bestselling anime DVDs in the United States," continued Fukunaga.
This year was the inaugural year for the American Anime Awards. The awards are designed to honor the best in anime as voted on by anime fans nationwide. This year's event was held at the New York Comic Con on February 24, 2007.
About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation® Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the market share leader for the home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States. The company's most recent initiative is the FUNimation ChannelSM, a new, 24-hour digital network featuring programming from the top anime brands in the United States. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.
About Square Enix Co., Ltd. and Square Enix, Inc.
Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix), with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, develops, publishes and distributes entertainment content including interactive entertainment software and publications in Asia, North America and Europe. Square Enix brings two of Japan's best-selling franchises &mdash FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 75 million units worldwide, and DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 41 million units worldwide &mdash under one roof. Square Enix is one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world and continues to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation. More information on Square Enix can be found on the Internet at http://www.square-enix.com.
DRAGON QUEST, FINAL FANTASY, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, SQUARE ENIX and the Square Enix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Square Enix Co, Ltd. in Japan and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
