Corporate Profile for Manga Entertainment Inc., dated Oct. 8, 1999

Business Wire, Oct 8, 1999

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

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Published Date:   Oct. 8, 1999

Company Name:     Manga Entertainment Inc.

Address:          727 N. Hudson #100
                  Chicago, IL  60610

Main Telephone
 Number:          312/751-0020

Internet Home
 Page Address
  (URL)           www.manga.com

Chief Executive
 Officer:         Marvin Gleicher

Chief Financial
 Officer:         Howie Lindenbaum

Investor Relations
 Contact:         Lawrence Mestel
 Business number: 212/506-5858
 E-mail address:  larry@islandlife.com

Public Relations
 Contact:         Danielle Opyt
 Business number: 312/751-0020 ext.27
 E-mail address:  danielle@manga.com

Industry:         Japanese animated film and home video company

Company description: Manga Entertainment, Inc., is a Chicago, London and Tokyo-based film and home video company specializing in the international production, distribution and marketing of Japanese animation (anime), international animation, independent films, DVDs, home videos, and CD-ROMs. Manga's Chicago office also oversees theatrical distribution, television licensing and merchandising, and is now the worldwide headquarters for international operations.

Manga is the international animation company under the Palm Pictures umbrella, the audio-visual entertainment company started by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records and Pictures. Blackwell once described Manga as "an audio-visual record label for the 21st century - an exciting new force in home entertainment, filling the void between music and computer games."

Manga Entertainment originally opened its doors in London in 1991. The U.S. arm debuted in July 1994 and has quickly defined itself as an industry leader becoming the largest distributor of Japanese animation in the world outside of Asia. Over the past five years, Manga has aggressively developed the U.S. market for Japanese animation with huge success, releasing over 100 titles with sales over 3 million units. By the end of 1999, Manga Entertainment will have successfully released 133 animated films into the U.S. marketplace with 50 new titles slated for the year 2000, including four theatrical features. The company has been instrumental in making anime one of the most popular and growing youth-culture trends of the 1990s.

Manga gained international acclaim with their co-production of the Japanese animated sci-fi thriller "Ghost in the Shell," the first and only Japanese animated film to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top Video Sales Chart (August 24, 1996). Now approaching 500,000 units on home video and DVD, "Ghost" was the first anime to gain widespread popularity with U.S. critics and mainstream audiences alike helping to make anime a U.S. pop-culture phenomenon.

Manga Entertainment has been instrumental in cultivating a U.S theatrical market for Japanese animated feature films, as well. Since 1994 Manga has theatrically distributed The Wings of Honneamise, Macross II The Movie, Patlabor 2, and the award-winning Ghost in the Shell. The company is currently launching Satoshi Kon's animated psychological thriller Perfect Blue into movie theaters nationwide.

The year 2000 will introduce the highly-anticipated anime films X and Neon-Genesis Evangelion The Movie. Miramax is now gearing up for their entry into anime with an October 1999 release of Princess Mononoke. Variety Magazine (June 15, 1997) makes reference to Manga's groundbreaking efforts: "The upcoming Princess Mononoke aims to duplicate the success of global anime hit Ghost in the Shell."

For 2000, Manga will release "Mononoke" director Hiyao Miyazaki's anime classic "Castles of Cagliostro" on DVD and home video, and license the color episodes of Osamu Tezuka's children's favorite, "Astro Boy" onto U.S. television.

Manga Entertainment has been hugely successful in video distribution with their brand Manga Video. You can find Manga Video DVD and VHS releases at the majority of U.S. retailers such as Musicland, Best Buy, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Tower, HMV, Coconuts, Media Play, Blockbuster, Wherehouse, Camelot and Virgin Megastore. Additionally, Manga videos can be found at a variety of independent video stores and comic book shops. Manga Video is distributed throughout the United States by Ryko Distribution Partners and shipped by Universal Distribution.

Following in the footsteps of Chris Blackwell's 40 years in the entertainment business, Manga Entertainment aims to create long-term relationships of mutual trust with people and companies of similar vision. Its philosophy is not to compete overtly, but rather to innovate and create new trends which others may try to imitate. However, this is just the beginning - Manga's long-term objectives are to cement existing partnerships and to further establish new creative and business alliances, producing new audio-visual software for a worldwide market.