Media Blasters

• 1. Introduction

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  Media Blasters was founded in New York City in 1997 by John Sirabella, a man who had already built and sold one company before deciding to start again from scratch. The titles it brought to North American audiences range from beloved anime series like Rurouni Kenshin and Berserk to horror films, exploitation cinema, and explicit adult anime. What holds all of that together under one roof? The answer runs through one founder's career, a warehouse accident in March 2013, and a rotating cast of divisions each targeting a different corner of the video market. How a small New York company became a significant force in licensing Japanese and Asian media for American audiences is a story of ambition, division-building, and a long, painful fight to survive a market that stopped growing.

• 2. One Founder, Two Companies

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  John Sirabella founded Software Sculptors in 1992, years before Media Blasters existed. When Central Park Media purchased Software Sculptors, Sirabella chose to leave rather than stay on, and in 1997 he incorporated Media Blasters in New York City. That departure from Central Park Media would echo through the company's history. Kitty Media, Media Blasters' adult label, later released several titles that had previously been distributed by Central Park Media's own Anime 18 imprint, meaning Sirabella's new company eventually absorbed a slice of the catalog that had once belonged to his former employer. Sirabella structured Media Blasters not as a single operation but as a cluster of divisions, each aimed at a specific segment of the video market, with licensing, localization, and distribution as the shared backbone across all of them.

• 3. A House of Divisions

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  Anime Works, the company's flagship anime imprint, launched the same year Media Blasters was founded, in 1997. It handled series like Magic Knight Rayearth, The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, Blade of the Immortal, and also licensed non-anime works such as Invader Zim. Through Anime Works, the company produced two original series with director Yasuomi Umetsu: Kite Liberator and Mezzo Forte. Also in 1997, Sirabella launched Kitty Media, an adult label specializing in hentai and pornographic films. Tokyo Shock arrived in 1998 as the Asian cinema division, localizing works like Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman from the Zatoichi franchise, along with films from Toho Co. Ltd and Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. Shriek Show followed in 2001, created specifically to remaster horror titles for DVD release. That division also housed the Fresh Meat line, focused on horror films from new directors, and both were discontinued in 2013. The Guilty Pleasures division, which released B-tier cult-classic films, was also discontinued in 2013, though the company later chose to revive some of those titles in 2021. A Fever Dreams division, focused on original films, drew heavy company attention that same year. In 2004, Media Blasters added manga publishing to its portfolio, starting with shonen titles for older readers and later expanding its yaoi manga line.

• 4. Peak and Collapse

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  At the height of the company's success, Media Blasters released around five titles a month and employed roughly 50 people. Then the market contracted, and the company contracted with it. In January 2012, Sirabella announced layoffs of approximately 10 employees, which represented about 60 percent of the workforce. He said the cuts would not affect production rates. By May 2012, the New York State Department of State had listed Media Blasters as inactive because the company had not filed its taxes properly. The company responded on Facebook, explaining that it had filed extensions for 2009, 2010, and 2011, but that the Secretary of State had acted without notifying them. It also stated that filings had since been completed and that releases would continue. The decisive blow came in March 2013, when a major back accident in their warehouse left the company unable to travel to Japan to acquire new licenses. Business associates began circulating a tax document in Japan that showed Media Blasters as out of business. That document cost the company most of its licensed titles, including three of its most prominent: Rurouni Kenshin, Berserk, and Bakuman.

• 5. Kitty Media and Fakku

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  In 2011, Kitty Media entered a licensing partnership with Fakku to stream select titles, beginning with Immoral Sisters. Six years later, in 2017, Fakku acquired Kitty Media for digital distribution, while Media Blasters retained physical distribution. The arrangement did not hold. In late 2020, Fakku CEO Jacob Grady announced in the company's official forums that Fakku had indefinitely deprioritized streaming of Kitty Media adult anime, citing distribution and copyright issues, and removed some titles from the platform. As of January 2023, Kitty Media was no longer part of Fakku after what Grady's own public statement described as a nearly six-year, unsuccessful venture in legal adult anime video streaming. Full control of the adult label returned to Media Blasters.

• 6. Dubbing, Recovery, and Distribution

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  In January 2015, Media Blasters signed a deal with MB VoiceWorks to produce English dubs in-house. MB VoiceWorks closed in May 2016, but the dubbing operation continued. MB VoiceWorks co-founder Brittany Lauda stayed on to lead the dubbing department and direct dubs for the company. Signs of broader recovery appeared in August 2020, when Media Blasters created a new Twitter account to promote upcoming releases. In November 2020, the company announced it would stop using its DVD-on-demand system. A new opening animation launched in January 2021. The company's titles are streamed on Crunchyroll, Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, RetroCrush, and Midnight Pulp; titles that were previously available on Hulu have since been removed. On the 31st of December 2015, the television network Toku launched, replacing the Funimation Channel, and Media Blasters served as its main anime provider, supplying series including Juden Chan, Ladies versus Butlers!, and Rio: Rainbow Gate! from its catalog.