ADV Films

History

In 1992, A.D. Vision was formed in Houston by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Greenfield and David Williams. Its earlier titles were distributed by Central Park Media. The first title was Devil Hunter Yohko. In the mid-1990s, after its distribution deal with CPM ended, ADV formed ADV Films as a subsidiary to handle mostly anime releases.

Throughout the end of the 1990s and the 2000s, ADV dabbled into non-anime, general entertainment releases, such as Farscape, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda and Mutant X.

In August 2007, a notice was sent to retailers stating that ADV Films would be taking over the distribution, marketing, and sales of Geneon properties in the US as of October 1. In preparation, Geneon United States laid off most of its sales division; however, in September the distribution deal was canceled. Dentsu confirmed that the distribution deal was canceled through a press release on September 21, 2007 with no reasons given except that Geneon and ADV were "unable to reach a mutual agreement."

On October 20, 2008, it was announced that ADV had entered into a licensing arrangement with new licensor Sentai Filmworks. The highlight of the new partnership was that ADV would be distributing the anime television adaptation of the popular visual novel Clannad, also they acquired the distribution rights to Koharu Biyori, Mahoromatic, Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful (both were previously licensed by Geneon), Tsukihime (previously licensed by Geneon), Pet Shop of Horrors (previously licensed by Urban Vision), and Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (previously licensed by Media Blasters).

Following the May 2009 bankruptcy and liquidation of original distributor Central Park Media, ADV Films acquired the North American rights of Grave of the Fireflies and re-released it on DVD on July 7, 2009. ADV Films also acquired the licenses of multiple other Central Park Media titles as well.

With declining fortunes in the mid-2000s due to low sales, ADV ceased all of its operations and eventually liquidated their assets in 2009. Sentai Holdings, owner of Section23 Films, Sentai Filmworks, AEsir Holdings, Valkyrie Media Partners, and Seraphim Digital, took over the ADV brand name and still uses it on some of their releases. Most of ADV's former titles have been re-released by other companies. Sentai was subsequently acquired by AMC Networks in 2022. As of 2024, ADV exists as a domiciled shell corporation.

Releases

1998

Catalog number	Title	Country of origin	Original year	Length	Version	MPAA rating	Film format	Tape count	Tape break placement (if applicable)	Color	Released	Note(s)
TK/001U	Tekken: The Motion Picture	Japan	1998	60 min	English dubbed uncut version	N/A	Academy	1	N/A	Color	1998	TBD
VHSLC/003D	Legend of Crystania: Resurrection of the God's King	Japan	1996	60 min	English dubbed version	N/A	Academy	1	N/A	Color	1998	TBD

1999

Catalog number	Title	Country of origin	Original year	Length	Version	MPAA rating	Film format	Tape count	Tape break placement (if applicable)	Color	Released	Note(s)
HH/001D	Sonic the Hedgehog	Japan	1996	60 min	English dubbed version	N/A	Academy	1	N/A	Color	1999	TBD