On Anime Limited and Business loans

It started off as research for a planned article about the changing face of the UK anime industry, and how anime distributors were being effected by covid 19 and the recent Brexit.

It was then when i came across this news item about UK based anime distributor Anime Limited and their securing of a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan in march of this year.

Okay you say so far so boring – what’s the deal?

What makes this story unusual is the financial situation of the Anime Limited itself.

Lets first look at the “Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan”

This UK based scheme is designed to help small businesses that have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, which has massively affected SME’s across the UK. Under the scheme, 80% of the loan is guaranteed by the government (read: taxpayer) in case the loan is not repaid. This allows banks to loan to companies without taking the majority of the risk.

Now looking at the last set of Anime Limiteds filed accounts sent to Companies House, the UK governments registrar of company records (available to all here) – the striking figure is on page 8 of a document titled Total exemption full accounts ,made up to 31 December 2019 , published in August of 2020. Under the section titled “directors transactions” it states that director Andrew Partridge had taken £170,646 in loans directly from the company (increased from £90,532 in 2018) .

My question is why is Anime Limited lending large sums of money to directors, when it in turn requires external taxpayer-backed loans for operating capital?

It will be interesting to see how the new HSBC loan will affect the trajectory of the business – and i for one will be watching this intently.

Kikis delivery service

[NOTE this is a rerelease of a review previously publish on uk-anime.net. Additioinally, while there is also an American release of this book by random house, for this review I will be covering the UK release by Puffin books]

While many anime fans will know of the 1989 studio Ghibli release of Kikis delivery service, not many would know that it was adapted from a 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono – and indeed, apart from a brief 2003 release by Canadian publishing company Annick press, the film has for many been their only link to her work.

However that changed this year when Random house in the US and Puffin books in the UK simultaneously released a brand new adaptation of Kadono’s classic series. The early episodes tell a story all too familiar to fans of the film – Kiki, a young witch, leaves her family and familiar village to travel to the city of Koriko to complete her years training as a witch and there makes new friends and starts her own business as the titular Delivery service.

However it here we see many differences to the films story – in this, the first of an 8 book series, we get a series of short, interconnected stories, chronicling her time in Kokori city, the people she meets and the adventures she oft times gets entangled in. however originally Kiki never loses her powers [ this a storyline added by Myazaki for the film, and which resulted with Kadono nearly walking out of the project in disgust].

The artwork is one of two sticking points for me with this release – gone is the original, simplistic artwork by Akiko Hayaashi instead replaced by British childrens illustrator Joe Todd–Stanton whose artwork, while able to convey the elements of the story, do tend to come off as more for children than for adult readers.

Which brings me to my other problem – while many fans of the original film, are of the definite older persuasion, it was strangely decided to market the book via Puffin, whoose releases are usually aimed to a younger target audience – add to that the fact that, due to being released by a non manga company, its release may go under the radar of many fans.

Nonetheless though these gripes do nothing to deter me from recommending this book to fans of the films, or fans with little ones who seek a magical series of adventures. add the fact that Puffins parent company Random house has hinted that, depending on the success of the sale, we could see the rest of the series released for the first time in English, I recommend everyone to either find this book for themselves, or arrange a magical early Christmas present for your younger relative.

Don’t let the simplistic artwork fool you – this book will enchant both new readers and fans of the classic Ghibli film.

bothe the US Random house releae and the UK Puffin books release are available from all good physicla and digital retailers.

Chi’s sweet adventures Vol 1

[originally posted on UK-anime network]
Kanata Konami’s Chi’s Sweet Home first premiered in manga form in 2004. This is the story of a small kitten and her adventures and interactions with both her adopted human family, the Yamada’s, and the other felines that inhabit her neighbourhood. Who could have imagined the original story would result in 3 animated adaptations and this sequel manga, published once more in English by Vertical.

Ever inquisitive (and forever getting in trouble for it) Chi’s adventures are split into separate standalone chapters, with each formatted into a 4 panel style called “4 Koma” (a surprisingly old format that this reviewer sees being used far less these days), we follow Chi and the Yamada’s through their everyday lives, all the while seeing things from Chi’s unique cat perspective. This ranges from visiting a forest park, to Chi learning how to act like a cat from fellow felines – the older Blackie and a stray black and white cat that tries to act tough – but secretly enjoys Chi’s company.

The artwork, while basic, benefits from being excessively cluttered – a benefit considering that this series is intended ideally for a younger audience. Also, the writing is of a level ideal for a younger reader to follow along with little help – great for those wanting to introduce manga to younger relatives.

If I had any complaint about the series it’s that, as a continuation of Konami ‘s previous series, the reader is expected to know both the situation and the backgrounds of the characters, with no introductory text to introduce them. That results in the first-time reader largely left wondering who each of the side characters are and how they know Chi.

As a result, Chi’s sweet adventure is a mixed bag – on one hand its innocent family friendly escapades will be ideal for young readers or those less enamoured with more violent works. However, with its simplistic art style and self-contained, drama-free plotlines, it may deter those people looking for more substantial work.