Media Blasters is an American producer, localizer, and distributor of genre media such as anime, manga, Japanese live-action and toku, and horror films (along with the occasional Western animation) based in New York City. It was founded by ex-CPM employee John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz in 1997.
As far as the anime/manga market is concerned, despite managing to license several cash-cow series (Voltron/GoLion, Rurouni Kenshin, Ah! My Goddess, Bible Black), Media Blasters generally focused on more obscure series and never tried to expand as far as its competitors. (Meaning they didn't overextend themselves as much.)
Media Blasters have used several labels for its releases:
- Anime Works — anime and manga.
- Kitty Media — Hentai. Has a tendency to use Parallel Porn Titles.
- Tokyo Shock — Japanese live-action, including Toku.
- Shriek Show — Obscure horror and exploitation.
- Guilty Pleasures — So Bad, It's Good B-movies.
After the anime crash of 2008, they weren't doing too well. On January 10, 2012, it announced it was going freelance and had already laid off 60% of its employees, leaving the actual body of the company comprised of five or six people. A few years afterward, the company also announced their DVDs would now be manufactured on an on-demand DVD-R format (though their Blu-rays will remain commercially pressed). Now surviving mostly on legacy titles and heavily relying upon their hentai releases, post-2008 and particularly after 2012 it became a running theme in anime circles for people to predict that the company would announce its closure "next month". To this day, however, the company is still around, albeit releasing titles at a very, very slow frequency. For the longest time, hentai titles were basically the only thing the company was releasing, as the licenses to most of their non-hentai titles have either expired or been sat on.
However, starting in 2020, things have been changing for the better. In August, the company launched a new Twitter account and teased a number of upcoming releases (which were not entirely just hentai). These include re-releases of some older back content, and more acquisitions and re-releases of non-anime films, including the revival of the Guilty Pleasures label, as well as a greater emphasis on "hidden gem" titles. The company has also moved away from the DVD-R system and returned to professionally pressing their discs, though they've also taken a page from Sentai Filmworks and Discotek Media's books and moved away from DVD entirely in favor of Blu-ray. While they've still got ways to go, the revitalization of Media Blasters has been seen as a welcome surprise, especially considering this move was happening concurrently to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Works released by this company include:
- Ah My Buddha (now distributed by Lucky Penny Entertainment)
- Ah! My Goddess (The first season of the TV series)
- Aki Sora: Yume no Naka (first released sub-only in 2013; will receive an English dubbed re-release)
- Alien from the Darkness
- Atragon
- Bakuman。 (DVD release/English dub canceled after two volumes; now licensed by Viz Media)
- Berserk (1997)
- Bible Black
- Blade of the Immortal
- Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan (now licensed by Discotek Media)
- Cosmo Warrior Zero
- Charger Girl
- Crimson Spell (first 2 volumes)
- Cromartie High School (Live-Action Adaptation film)
- Death Kappa
- Death Stop Holocaust
- Doujin Work (anime and manga)
- Dogora
- Elf Princess Rane
- Eiken (The OVA and manga)
- EL (though the English license was acquired from the original license-holder, NuTech)
- éX-Driver (OVA's only, the movie was licensed by Geneon note )
- Figure 17 Tsubasa & Hikaru
- The Flesh and Blood Show
- Flesh for the Beast
- Frankenstein vs. Baragon
- Frankenstein's Bloody Terror
- Frightmare (1974)
- Fushigi Yuugi (rescued from Geneon with Discotek Media handling the streaming rights)
- Galaxy High
- GaoGaiGar (now licensed by Discotek Media who also licensed GaoGaiGar FINAL)
- Gappa the Triphibian Monster
- Genshiken (First and second series)
- Kujibiki♡Unbalance (TV series; OVAs as extras on the Genshiken discs.)
- Giant Robo (DVD release of series, with both a new dub and the existing U.S. Renditions/Manga Entertainment dub; now licensed by Discotek Media)
- Girls High
- Godzilla:
- Destroy All Monsters (now licensed by The Criterion Collection)
- Godzilla vs. Megalon (now licensed by The Criterion Collection)
- Golden Boy (Re-release of the ADV Films dub, now licensed by Discotek Media)
- Green Green
- Grenadier
- Gun Frontier
- Gunparade March (now licensed by Sentai Filmworks)
- Here is Greenwood (Originally released by Central Park Media; re-dubbed and released on DVD.)
- Holy Knight (was initially released sub-only, was later re-released with a dub by new recording studio MB VoiceWorks note )
- Huntik: Secrets & Seekers
- Ikki Tousen (Licenced the second and third seasons, Dragon Destiny and Great Guardians; first season is licensed by Funimation after rescuing it from Geneon. Media Blasters later lost the third season to FUNi, who also licensed the fourth season)
- Invader Zim (DVDs now discontinued, DVD rights reverted to show producers Nickelodeon through Amazon's print-on-demand service)
- Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (license rescued by Sentai Filmworks)
- Jubei-chan (both seasons, previously licensed by Bandai Entertainment and Geneon respectively)
- Jungle de Ikou!
- Kanokon
- Kashimashi (anime now licensed by Discotek Media; manga is licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment)
- Kekko Kamen (Live-Action Adaptation films)
- Kite (1998)
- Kite Liberator
- Ladies versus Butlers!
- Lady Ninja Kaede
- Latitude Zero
- Loveless
- Magic Knight Rayearth (now licensed by Discotek Media)
- Magic User's Club (now licensed by Nozomi Entertainment)
- Magical Witch Punie-chan
- Maka Maka
- Master of Mosquiton (DVD release of ADV Films' dub and sub)
- Matango
- Metal Fighter Miku
- Mezzo Forte (OVA) (now licensed by Sentai Filmworks under SoftCel Pictures)
- Midori Days note
- Mirage of Blaze
- Moonlight Lady
- Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (rescued from Geneon; later licensed rescued by Viz Media but now Sentai Filmworks has it)
- Mouse
- The Mysterians
- My Wife is the Student Council President (release currently being worked on)
- Otoboku - Maidens Are Falling For Me
- Otogi Zoshi
- Phoenix (1954)
- Princess Princess
- Queen's Blade
- Ramen Fighter Miki
- Rei Rei
- Record of Lodoss War (canceled release; now distributed by Funimation)
- Rio -Rainbow Gate!-
- Rurouni Kenshin (now licensed by Aniplex USA)
- Saber Marionette R (rescued from Bandai Entertainment note , but eventually Media Blasters lost the license too)
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (intended to release it on DVD, but the first volume never came out, and they sat on the license for years until it expired; currently licensed by Nozomi Entertainment)
- Seven of Seven
- Simoun
- Space Amoeba
- Space Pirate Mito
- Squid Girl (Only Season 1 was released on home video; currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks)
- Strawberry Panic!
- Tekkaman Blade (including the Teknoman dub)
- Tweeny Witches
- The Twelve Kingdoms (anime now licensed by Discotek Media; novels were formerly licensed by Tokyopop)
- Ultimate Girls
- Varan, the Unbelievable
- Viper GTS (OVA)
- Voltron (License expired; was later licensed by NBCUniversal under DreamWorks Animation's DreamWorks Classics library, but the rights have since reverted back to World Events Productions)
- Beast King Golion (Uncut sub)
- Warriors of the Wasteland
- Weiß Kreuz (as Knight Hunters)
- Yamito Boushito Honno Tabibito
- Yosuga no Sora
Tropes featured with Media Blasters:
- Fanservice: Many of their titles feature this. Their Kitty Media label brings this up to eleven, as that label mainly focuses on hentai.