Déclic Images

Déclic Images
Parent companyManga Distribution
Founded1999
Defunct14 August 2012 Edit this on Wikidata
Country of originFrance
Fiction genresAnime
Official websitedeclic-images.com

Déclic Images is a French company specialized in the translation and sale of Japanese-style comics for the French-speaking world.

The Déclic Images trademark was founded in 1999. By 2002, the company produced nearly half of all new Japanese anime published in France.

The company's mission is to offer popular series that are accessible to all, containing at a minimum, 26 episodes. Déclic Images produces both recent titles (Love Hina, Fruits Basket, etc.) as well as anime classics such as: Heidi, or Masters of the Universe.

History

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In 2002, Déclic Images began offering Japanese copyright holders beneficial license-acquisition offers. Other publishers in the French language anime market, such as Kaze animation and Dybex, were left with the choice between offering competitive prices, falling back on less prestigious titles, or finding undiscovered talent. This was despite the fact that both of the companies' products were distributed by Déclic Images' parent company, Manga Distribution.

At the height of Japanese anime sales in 2005, Déclic Images's sales reached 5.24 million euro. It sold its products in supermarkets, over the Internet and in specialized shops, and in 2004 launched a large marketing campaign that included TV ads. Despite its presence in the market, each product generated only a small profit and Manga Distribution handled its supermarket presence in an unprofitable manner.

After solid growth between 2002 and 2005, with a dozen titles being released per year, the company released Goldorak in August 2005. It was later revealed that Déclic Images did not hold the rights to the title. After extensive judicial travails, a French appeals court confirmed in 2009 a judgment of 4.8 million euro in damages against the company. Several matters remain in the courts, including a 2006 release of Captain Future, about improper licensing rights.[1]

Déclic Images has since gone through a number of restructurings and recovery proceedings, and relies on re-releases of their current library of titles. Déclic was unable to relicense sequels and remakes of previously licensed materials due to eroding relationships with Japanese distributors and producers,[2] such as Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid and Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing. Their last license before they stopped licensing new anime titles was Gakuen Alice. The titles Black Lagoon, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, and X were re-licensed by Kazé in 2012, and the company also licensed Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail. The titles Full Metal Panic! and Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu were re-licensed by Dybex in 2014, and the company also licensed Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid.

Anime

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Over the years, Déclic Images has distributed a number of popular anime series, movies, and OVAs in their network. Déclic Images would either distribute the series through TV or at times become the publisher of the series in France.

References

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  1. ^ "Capitaine Flam (in French)". Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Goldorak-gate (in French)". Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
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