It was just a couple of years ago that the popular anime and manga database site, MyAnimeList.net, was acquired by DeNA. Now, Media Do Holdings, a Japanese e-book publishing company, have announced that they have acquired the website from DeNA. Media Do Holdings have named Youichirou Watanabe as the new CEO of MyAnimeList, LLC.
MyAnimeList founder Garrett Gyssler stated that DeNA will continue to be a part of the site for the short-term future, stating that there are still some legal hurdles and business logistics that need to be worked out before the acquisition can be completely finalized. Gyssler said that a brand-new team will take over the site once everything is worked out to carry out their new vision.
One of the new visions is to strengthen MyAnimeList’s footprint overseas through the distribution of e-books as well as a platform for marketing. No other details were shared or hinted that would indicate what the rest of this new vision is.
MyAnimeList.net was created in 2005 and bought by DeNA in 2015. Since then, the site has partnered with VIZ Media and Kodansha to offer their manga titles on an online store. The now-defunct anime streaming service Daisuki ran on the site but now MyAnimeList streams anime from Hulu and Crunchyroll.
