Media Factory
Media Factory was a Japanese publishing, anime-distribution, music, and media brand that became part of Kadokawa Corporation.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Media Factory was a Japanese media company and later a Kadokawa brand whose activities centered on publishing, anime and video distribution, music releases, manga magazines, and light novels. It was established on December 1, 1986, as a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd., and was headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. The company developed a recognizable position in Japan's character-entertainment and youth-media markets by linking print publishing with anime-related licensing, home-video distribution, music, and adaptations. The company became particularly associated with manga and light novels. Its publishing portfolio included Monthly Comic Alive, Monthly Comic Flapper, Monthly Comic Gene, Da Vinci, and Comic Cune, while its fiction imprints included MF Bunko J, MF Books, MF Bunko DA VINCI, and the Fleur Bunko lines. These imprints supported commercial light novels, literary and genre fiction, manga-related works, and titles designed for adaptation into animation and other media. Properties associated with the wider Media Factory and Kadokawa catalog included series such as No Game No Life, Overlord, High School DxD, Made in Abyss, The Rising of the Shield Hero, and other manga, light-novel, and anime projects. Media Factory also operated in anime distribution and production-related businesses. Its catalog and licensing activities covered television anime, original video animation, films, and home-video releases. The company was closely linked with Pokémon distribution in Japan, including the release of Pokémon-related films and music. From 1997 through 2012, its Pikachu Records label issued Pokémon CDs and soundtracks, making it an important Japanese source for recorded Pokémon music during that period. Media Factory's broader anime-related catalog included works such as RahXephon, Vandread, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, School Rumble, Soul Eater, Slayers, Cardcaptor Sakura, and many other titles. These associations included different combinations of publishing, sponsorship, licensing, distribution, and home-video involvement rather than a single uniform business role. A major corporate turning point came in October 2011, when Kadokawa Corporation acquired Media Factory for ¥8 billion. The transaction brought Media Factory's publishing assets, licenses, imprints, and media operations into Kadokawa's expanding content business. In October 2013, Media Factory ceased to exist as a separate kabushiki gaisha and was reorganized with eight other companies into a brand-company structure under Kadokawa Corporation. The Media Factory name continued to be used for selected publishing and entertainment activities, including important manga and light-novel imprints, even though the standalone corporation had ended. The brand's corporate presence was later reduced further. On August 17, 2021, the Media Factory website was closed and visitors were directed to Kadokawa's website for future products and services. This closure marked the end of the brand's independent web presence, while many of its imprints, titles, and catalog assets remained part of Kadokawa's continuing publishing and media operations. Accordingly, Media Factory is best understood today as a retired standalone company and legacy Kadokawa brand rather than an independent operating corporation.
History
Media Factory was founded on December 1, 1986, in Tokyo as a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd. Its original development took place within Japan's large publishing and media environment, but the company pursued a broader entertainment model than a conventional book publisher. Over time, it combined print publishing with anime licensing and distribution, home-video releases, music, and franchise-related content. Publishing became one of its most visible areas. Media Factory established and operated manga magazines including Monthly Comic Alive, Monthly Comic Flapper, Monthly Comic Gene, Comic Cune, and Da Vinci. It also developed fiction and light-novel imprints such as MF Bunko J, MF Books, MF Bunko DA VINCI, and the Fleur Bunko lines. These labels helped the company participate in the expanding Japanese light-novel and manga markets, where successful properties could move between books, manga, animation, music, and other forms of licensed entertainment. The company also became active in anime-related distribution and catalog management. Its associated works covered television series, original video animation, films, and manga. The catalog included titles such as RahXephon, Vandread, School Rumble, Soul Eater, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Slayers, Cardcaptor Sakura, High School DxD, No Game No Life, Overlord, and Made in Abyss. The precise relationship varied by title: Media Factory could be involved as a publisher, sponsor, distributor, license holder, or home-video distributor. The company was also noted for asking websites not to link to fansubs of anime it had produced, reflecting the copyright and unauthorized-distribution issues affecting Japanese anime businesses. A particularly important part of the company's recorded-media history was Pokémon. Media Factory held Japanese distribution responsibilities for Pokémon-related films and operated Pikachu Records, a label that issued Pokémon CDs and soundtracks from 1997 to 2012. During that period, many Pokémon albums released in Japan appeared through Pikachu Records. This activity connected Media Factory to one of Japan's most commercially significant character properties and strengthened its role in cross-media entertainment. Kadokawa Corporation acquired Media Factory on October 12, 2011, for ¥8 billion. The purchase expanded Kadokawa's position in publishing, anime, light novels, and related intellectual property. Media Factory continued to be recognizable after the acquisition, but its corporate independence was short-lived. On October 1, 2013, it ceased to be a separate kabushiki gaisha and was merged with eight other companies to form a brand-company structure under Kadokawa Corporation. Its name and selected imprints continued within Kadokawa's operations, while the former company no longer functioned as an independent legal entity. The standalone identity was further diminished when the Media Factory website was officially closed on August 17, 2021. Visitors were redirected to Kadokawa's website for information about future products and services. The closure did not erase the publishing imprints or catalog properties associated with Media Factory, many of which remained in Kadokawa's portfolio. Instead, it confirmed the transition from an independent media company into a legacy brand and collection of continuing publishing and entertainment assets.
- 2021
Media Factory website is closed
[1]The official website closes on August 17 and directs users to Kadokawa's website.
- 2013
Standalone corporation is dissolved into Kadokawa's brand structure
[1]On October 1, Media Factory ceases to be a separate kabushiki gaisha and is combined with eight other companies as a Kadokawa brand company.
- 2012
Pikachu Records activity ends
[1]The period identified for Pikachu Records' Pokémon CD and soundtrack releases concludes.
- 2011
Kadokawa purchases Media Factory
[1]Kadokawa Corporation acquires Media Factory on October 12 for ¥8 billion.
- 1997
Pikachu Records begins Pokémon music releases
[1]The Pikachu Records label begins issuing Pokémon CDs and soundtracks in Japan.
- 1986
Media Factory is founded
[1]Media Factory is established on December 1 as a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd., with operations based in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Products and positioning
A Japanese youth-oriented content and publishing brand built around manga, light novels, anime, character franchises, and cross-media exploitation. Within Kadokawa, the name became associated especially with manga magazines, light-novel imprints, anime-related catalogs, and franchise publishing.
Light-novel imprint
MF Bunko J
MF Bunko J was one of Media Factory's principal Japanese light-novel imprints. It helped establish the company's presence in commercially oriented genre fiction and supported properties that could expand into manga, anime, games, and other forms of media. The imprint remained associated with Kadokawa after Media Factory's corporate integration.
Light-novel and fiction imprint
MF Books
MF Books was a Media Factory fiction imprint serving light novels and related genre publishing. It formed part of the company's wider strategy of developing stories and intellectual property with potential for manga and anime adaptation. The imprint was carried into the broader Kadokawa publishing structure.
Manga magazine
Monthly Comic Alive
Monthly Comic Alive was a manga magazine associated with Media Factory and its publishing portfolio. It focused heavily on manga connected to light novels, anime, and genre entertainment, reflecting the company's cross-media approach. The magazine continued as part of Kadokawa's publishing activities after the 2013 reorganization.
Manga magazine
Monthly Comic Flapper
Monthly Comic Flapper was a manga magazine published under the Media Factory publishing identity. Its catalog contributed to the company's manga business and to the development of properties that could appear in other entertainment formats. It became part of the continuing Kadokawa magazine portfolio.
Manga magazine
Monthly Comic Gene
Monthly Comic Gene was one of the manga magazines linked to Media Factory. It represented the company's investment in audience-specific manga publishing and its broader use of magazines as a platform for developing serialized intellectual property. The title continued under Kadokawa after the corporate merger.
Book and culture magazine
Da Vinci
Da Vinci was a book and culture magazine associated with Media Factory's publishing activities. It broadened the company's profile beyond manga and light novels by covering books and literary culture. The title became part of Kadokawa's continuing publishing business.
Character-music label · 1997
Pikachu Records
Pikachu Records was a Media Factory record label devoted to Pokémon CDs and soundtracks in Japan. It operated from 1997 through 2012 and released much of the Pokémon music issued in Japan during that period. The label was retired after Media Factory's acquisition and integration into Kadokawa.
Brand decisions
2021
Closure of the Media Factory websiteStrategyBackground
Media Factory had become a legacy brand within Kadokawa rather than an independent company.
Action taken
Kadokawa closed the Media Factory website on August 17, 2021, and redirected visitors to Kadokawa's website.
Aftermath
The closure ended Media Factory's independent online presence while its remaining imprints and catalog activities continued through Kadokawa.
2013
Integration into Kadokawa's brand-company structureStrategyBackground
Following the 2011 acquisition, Kadokawa reorganized several companies to consolidate its content businesses while retaining recognizable publishing and entertainment brands.
Action taken
On October 1, 2013, Media Factory ceased to be a separate kabushiki gaisha and was merged with eight other companies as a Kadokawa brand company.
Aftermath
The Media Factory name and selected imprints continued, but the standalone corporate entity no longer operated independently.
2013
Retirement of Pikachu RecordsOtherBackground
Pikachu Records had issued Pokémon CDs and soundtracks in Japan for approximately fifteen years.
Action taken
The label was retired following Media Factory's acquisition by Kadokawa and the subsequent reorganization.
Aftermath
The label's historical Pokémon releases remained part of Media Factory's recorded-media legacy, but Pikachu Records no longer operated as an active label.
2011
Kadokawa acquisition of Media FactoryM&ABackground
Media Factory had built a portfolio spanning publishing, anime distribution, music, and licensed entertainment. Kadokawa sought to strengthen its own content and publishing group through the acquisition.
Action taken
Kadokawa Corporation purchased Media Factory on October 12, 2011, for ¥8 billion.
Aftermath
Media Factory's assets and operations entered the Kadokawa group, and the company was later reorganized into a Kadokawa brand-company structure.
Acquisition price. ¥8 billion (October 12, 2011)
Sources1 sources
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