Broccoli Co. Ltd, the second largest distributor of anime and game merchandise in Japan has invested in California-based Digital Manga.  Established in 1994, Broccoli opened its first character goods store 'Gamers' in 1996.  Currently Broccoli operates 13 retail stores in Japan, and is the second largest retail chain specializing in anime.  Broccoli will help Digital Manga open a retail store in the Los Angeles area by July of 2001, and will supply the store with merchandise from Japan.  Although there are a handful of anime-only stores in the US, this is the first attempt by a Japanese-based company to get involved in retailing here. 

 

Digital Manga also plans to begin licensing Broccoli's character goods in the U.S.  Chief among the Broccoli properties is DiGi Charat, a large-eyed shojo character, who started out as a mascot for the 'Gamers' stores and ended up with her own anime series on Japanese TV.

 

Digital Manga is a California-based company that distributes anime and related merchandise, as well as translating and creating English language versions of Japanese anime.  Currently Digital Manga is working with Japanese anime studio Production I.G. to create an English language version of FLCL, the latest anime released in Japan by Gainax, the studio that brought you the mega-hit, Neon Genesis Evangelion.  In addition Digital Manga is also producing the English version of Tenshi Ni Naru Mon ('I'll Become an Angel' see, 'Anime Addams Family Heads to U.S.'), a delightful shojo title from Studio Pierrot.