ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works
IndustryComputing, IT
PredecessorASCII Corporation
MediaWorks
FoundedApril 1, 2008; 16 years ago (April 1, 2008)
HeadquartersNishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
ProductsBooks, magazines, manga, video games
Revenue¥493,500,000 (2013)[1]
Number of employees
364[1]
ParentKadokawa Future Publishing
SubsidiariesDatam Polystar
Dengeki Bunko

ASCII Media Works (アスキー・メディアワークス, Asukī Media Wākusu), formerly ASCII Media Works, Inc. (株式会社アスキー・メディアワークス, Kabushiki gaisha Asukī Media Wākusu), is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a merger between ASCII Corporation and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII.[2][3] Despite this, the former president and CEO of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the first president and CEO of ASCII Media Works.[4] It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013.[5]

The company specializes in publishing of books, entertainment and computer magazines, manga, and video games. ASCII Media Works is known for their Dengeki (電撃, meaning electric shock) brand magazines and book imprints which include such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with the company's main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. Most of the company caters to the Japanese male otaku crowd, covering such topics as anime, light novels, manga, plastic modelling,[6] and visual novels. The company also deals with computing and enterprises related to information technology (IT), such as the publication of Weekly ASCII, along with other PC and IT magazines. ASCII Media Works also publishes multiple magazines targeted towards females such as Character Parfait, Dengeki Girl's Style, and Sylph. The company runs yearly contests for original novel and manga submissions, such as the light novel Dengeki Novel Prize contest.

  1. ^ a b "AMW 会社案内" [AMW Company Information] (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  2. ^ Niimura, Hiroshi (February 29, 2008). 角川グループホールディングス、子会社のメディアワークスとアスキーを合併 [Kadokawa Group Holdings, Merging of Subsidiaries MediaWorks and ASCII] (in Japanese). CNET Japan. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  3. ^ Kawamura, Hironari (February 28, 2008). "角川HD: ｢アスキー・メディアワークス｣4月1日発足へ 合併を正式承認" [Kadokawa HD: ASCII Media Works Starting April 1, Official Merging Agreement] (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  4. ^ アスキー + メディアワークス = アスキーメディアワークス [ASCII + MediaWorks = ASCII Media Works] (in Japanese). Yahoo! Japan. March 3, 2008. Archived from the original on February 28, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ANN-merger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Gill, Bill (2000). Pojo's Unofficial Total Gundam Wing. Triumph Books. p. 122. ISBN 1-57243-417-1.