Godzilla is heading for London!
In a major announcement early this morning, the company behind the Godzilla franchise and several massive anime will fully acquire UK anime distributor Anime Limited, owned by PLAION PICTURES GmbH. The company is a major force behind various kaiju and anime releases happening in the UK area, and this acquisition will provide Toho with a new arm to expand into its last key territory needed for global expansion: Europe. The company will be operated as a subsidiary of Toho Global, Toho’s consolidated subsidiary overseeing overseas business, and the entire team – including Managing Director & Anime Limited Founder Andrew Andrew Partridge – will be fully retained and join Toho’s new European headquarters that will be coming to London in the foreseeable future.
In addition, Toho Co., Ltd. and PLAION PICTURES have agreed to establish a new strategic alliance, with PLAION PICTURES extending Toho’s distribution capabilities in Germany, Italy, and other European markets. The sale of Anime Limited has provided Toho immediate opportunities for distribution capabilities across theatrical, home video, TV sales, merchandising and licensing in the U.K. and France, something that kaiju fans based in those territories have waited a long, long time to see become a reality.
Koji Ueda, president and representative director of Toho Global, clarifies more, telling Variety:
“We are excited to welcome Andrew and the Anime Ltd team into the growing Toho family, and to begin our new cooperation relationship with Plaion Pictures. This move accelerates the timeline to realize ‘Toho Vision 2032 Group Management Strategy’ by giving Toho an immediate pan-European distribution capability as well as access to Plaion Pictures’ highly additive infrastructure for merchandise operations.”
Andrew Partridge, Founder & Managing Director of Anime Limited, also shared excitement about the acquisition to Variety:
“Both myself and the team have long loved working together on Toho properties,” Partridge said. “We look forward to becoming part of the Toho family and working closer and more collaboratively with its group companies to expand the interest of anime across our territories.”
This acquisition also aligns with the Toho Group’s long-term management strategy, ‘TOHO VISION 2032,’ which identifies ‘Overseas’ and ‘Animation’ as key growth drivers. This move also follows several strategic initiatives around the world, including the acquisition of the U.S.-based distributor GKIDS, INC. in October and the launch of Toho Entertainment Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore in November, culminating in a brand new anime original Godzilla anime series was announced at Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2025 and GKIDS handling 2016’s Shin Godzilla returning to theatres in the United States.
Stay tuned for more details on this massive new initiative coming to Europe.
About Toho Co., Ltd.
TOHO Co., Ltd. is a leading Japanese entertainment company founded in 1932. Its four main business pillars are the cinema business, which includes production, distribution and exhibition; the theatrical business, which includes production and exhibition; the anime business, which has been expanding globally in recent years; and the real estate business, which focuses on development in urban areas. TOHO’s worldwide acclaimed works include theatrical films such as the “Godzilla” series and SEVEN SAMURAI directed by Akira Kurosawa, and TV anime series such as MY HERO ACADEMIA and JUJUTSU KAISEN. These anime series are produced and distributed through the TOHO animation label, and are delivered to a wide range of audiences around the world.
About Anime Limited
Anime Limited was founded in 2012 and is one of the UK’s leading Japanese content distributors as well as a top e-commerce provider through its ALL THE ANIME online store. Toho and Anime Limited have worked together for many years on such hits as Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name and Weathering With You, Studio TRIGGER’s Promare, the Toho-produced Godzilla Minus One. Additional Anime Limited distributed titles include Naruto, Bleach, Attack on Titan. Anime Limited also has a 15-year history of cooperation with the US based GKIDS, now a Toho subsidiary.
