Short answers, pulled from the story.
Manga Entertainment was founded in London in 1991 by Chris Blackwell and Andy Frain, with Laurence Guinness in a key role. It was originally called Island World Communications and operated as a subsidiary of Island Records' Island World Group.
Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and Australia. Despite its name, its principal business was anime distribution, not manga, though it did publish some manga titles such as Crying Freeman under a Manga Books imprint.
Manga Entertainment entered the North American market in 1993 by purchasing a company called L.A. Hero, which became the basis for Manga U.S.
The UK branch was acquired by managing director Colin Lomax on the 26th of February 2015, operating under Platform Entertainment with exclusive rights to the Manga branding in the UK and Ireland. In 2022 it became Crunchyroll UK and Ireland, also known as Crunchyroll Ltd.
Manga U.S. ceased licensing new products after the release of Redline in 2011 and was absorbed into Starz Media. Its website was shut down as of April 2026, with titles such as Ghost in the Shell subsequently rereleased under the main Lionsgate banner.
Crunchyroll owns the Manga Entertainment brand name. Lionsgate licenses the name from Crunchyroll for use in North America, while the UK entity has operated as Crunchyroll UK and Ireland since 2022.