Anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD have released the latest episode of The Anime Business on YouTube. The new installment of the ongoing documentary series about pioneers of the Western anime industry features an in-depth interview with John Sirabella, co-founder of Media Blasters, an important distributor of anime in North America during the 90s and 2000s.
John Sirabella’s unlikely journey into the industry began after he discovered anime in the late 80s at a Creation Star Trek convention, where a fellow vendor passed him VHS copies of Project A-ko, Bubblegum Crisis and Ranma ½. Although he was primarily interested in software design and computer games, Sirabella saw a business opportunity. After meeting John O’Donnell, who founded Central Park Media (and is interviewed in The Anime Business Eps. 1 and 4), and Robert Woodhead, who founded AnimEigo, Sirabella began creating anime screensavers with his company, Software Sculptors.
Sirabella had secured the rights to Slayers and soon began creating dubbed versions of an array of previously fan-subbed titles. With his Software Sculptors partners, Sam Liebowitz, and Henry Lai, Sirabella partnered with CPM and expanded his services into licensing and distribution. This led to the launch of Media Blasters in 1997.
As anime took off in North America in the early 2000s, Media Blasters had tremendous success with the home media releases of Magic Knight Reyearth, Kite, Berserk, Rurouni Kenshin, The Twelve Kingdoms, Invader Zim, live-action titles such as the “pinky violence” movie Zero Woman, and an extensive collection of hentai. The catalog sold exceptionally well at national chains like Suncoast Video, Borders, and The Warehouse, and Media Blasters became a significant player in the burgeoning North American anime market eventually releasing more than 500 titles.
As the popularity of anime exploded, Sirabella recalls the high cost of licensing and producing subtitled and dubbed versions of series that often exceeded $1 million per season. But the unpredictability of retail trends, fluctuating sales, significant marketing costs and the demise of major retailers during the 2007 financial crisis took a toll on the company. Media Blasters continues to operate and release content, albeit as a smaller operation, but Sirabella reflects on the impact that he and his company made on the anime industry with tremendous pride.
Episode 10 is available now on the official AnimEigo YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/@
Source: Press Release
