Japan's Leading Anime Magazine Newtype Makes English Debut

Posted on July 5, 2002

A.D. Vision, Inc. (ADV), a producer-distributor of Japanese animation in North America, announced the signing of a long term agreement with Japanese publisher and multimedia company Kadokawa Shoten, LTD. to localize, publish and distribute an English language version of Japan's popular anime magazine, Newtype, on an exclusive basis throughout America and the English speaking world.

Newtype USA will make its debut with a special collector's edition "Convention Teaser" at July's Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California and the San Diego Comic-Con International in August. The first newsstand edition of Newtype USA will go on sale this fall, and will be available through subscription and at specialty stores.

"We're absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Newtype to America," ADV President and CEO John Ledford said. "It's a tremendous magazine, and something we've needed here for a long time. American fans have been clamoring fo r years to get a magazine that offered a comprehensive look at the world of anime, up close and in depth. What better way to give them what they want than by bringing over Japan's authority on the subject? This is going to rock the anime industry to its very foundation."

Newtype has a monthly circulation of over 300,000 in Japan. ADV's marketing push for the magazine will reach potential subscribers through the upcoming Newtype website, through ADV's customer database and through subscription cards inserted into the company's DVD titles. ADV forecasts over 1,000,000 new readers within the first two years of publishing.

Newtype USA will be published in the Japanese right-to-left format, instead of the traditional English-language left-to-right format. The Convention Teaser features a cover story on Japan's hottest television anime series, RahXephon, spotlights on popular new American anime imports, feature stories on Japanese culture, behind the scenes interviews with creative talent, the English language premiere of the Full Metal Panic manga, and other features.