Danica Davidson
February 25, 2025 
Have you ever been curious about the history of anime in North America? The YouTube documentary series The Anime Business, brought to us by anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD, will interview influential people in the North American anime industry. Its first episode, coming in just short of 40 minutes, is available now and interviews John O’Donnell, former managing director of Central Park Media.
The Anime Business – Ep1 – John O’Donnell (Part 1)
O’Donnell talks in detail about his work, summarizes the history of anime on American TV, explains the launch of Central Park Media, and a lot more. Each documentary will not only go into what a person did, but also get their perspectives and thoughts on what happened. O’Donnell also shares difficulties he had in bringing something so culturally different into America, and brings up unusual anecdotes. Even people who are well-versed in the history of anime in North America will probably learn some new facts from watching this.
If you enjoy this first episode of The Anime Business, know that more episodes are in the pipeline. Next month will see the launch of episode two, which interviews Robert Napton, the former Director of Marketing and Producer of US Renditions at Bandai Entertainment. This is followed up a third episode in April with Tim Eldred, the writer and founder of ourstarblazers.com. More episodes are in production, though we’ll have to wait to get additional information on them. Each episode is produced and hosted by MediaOCD founder and AnimEigo CEO Justin Sevakis, who has a long history in the North American anime industry. The episodes are available with English or Japanese subtitles.
MediaOCD is encouraging donations to help them continue to make The Anime Business. If you’re interested and you go here, you can make donations of $5, $10 or $20. Donating also comes with exclusive offers.
Source: Press release
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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