Dwango (company)
 | |
Native name | 株式会社ドワンゴ |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Dowango |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | August 6, 1997, in Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder | Interactive Visual Systems d/b/a DWANGO |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
Area served | Japan |
Key people | Takeshi Natsuno (president and CEO) |
| Products | Anime Video games Web portals Computer software |
| Services | Niconico GeeXPlus GeeXProduction OpenToonz |
| Parent | Kadokawa Corporation |
| Subsidiaries | Dehogallery Dwango AG Entertainment Dwango Music Publishing FromNetworks GeeXPlus GeeXProduction Project Studio Q Spike Chunsoft Vantan Vaka Virtual Cast Watanabe Amaduction |
| Website | www |
DWANGO Co., Ltd. (株式会社ドワンゴ, Kabushiki gaisha Dowango) is a Japanese telecommunications and media company based in Japan, headed by Nobuo Kawakami. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2014. The company was spun off from a U.S.-based service offering online multiplayer for video games, DWANGO (Dial-up Wide-Area Network Game Operation), which was shut down in 1998. Dwango's majority shareholders until its merger with Kadokawa Corporation included Kawakami himself, Kadokawa Corporation, and Avex Group. Dwango runs the popular Japanese video sharing site Niconico. The company also is the 100% owner of the game developer Spike Chunsoft, which Dwango bought as the companies Spike and Chunsoft in 2005 when they were separated companies, before merging them in 2012. It also owns GeeXPlus, Kadokawa's influencer talent agency which promotes the company's relationship with influencers, and its production division GeeXProduction, and also manages OpenToonz, an open source 2D animation software program.
History
[edit]In November 2013, it was confirmed Nintendo purchased 612,200 or 1.5% shares of the company at the request of Nobuo Kawakami.[1][2]
On May 14, 2014, it was announced that Dwango and Kadokawa Corporation would merge on October 1, 2014, and form the new holding company Kadokawa Dwango Corporation. Both Kadokawa and Dwango became subsidiaries of the new company.[3][4]
In February 2019, Kadokawa Dwango announced that Dwango would stop being their subsidiary to be a direct subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation in a reorganization of the company.[5]
In July 2019, Mages was acquired by its CEO concept studio Chiyomaru Studio and stopped being a subsidiary of Dwango and part of the Kadokawa Group.[6]
Subsidiaries
[edit]- GeeXPlus
GeeXPlus is Kadokawa's talent agency division that was founded on July 1, 2019, with the goal of "connecting Japanese brands to global influencers by providing promotion planning, production, and distribution."[7][8] Talents affiliated with the Kadokawa-owned agency include The Anime Man, CDawgVA, Daidus, Emirichu, OniGiriEN, Gigguk, Ohara, Minori, Sydsnap, and TheGamingBeaver as of April 3, 2024.[9]
GeeXProduction
GeeXProduction was announced by GeeXPlus in 2025 during the Anime Expo, which produces and also promotes animated content across a number of social media platforms. It is the production division of Kadokawa's talent agency division GeexPlus. Alongside the launch announcement, it also announced three projects which are produced by Gigguk,[10] DillonGoo,[11] and OtakuVersus.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Amano, Takashi (November 15, 2013). "Nintendo Rises After Buying Stake in Web Company Dwango". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ "dwango co ltd (3715:Tokyo)". Bloomberg Businessweek. November 15, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ Schilling, Mark (May 14, 2014). "Kadokawa and Dwango to Merge". Variety. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ "Publisher Kadokawa, Internet firm Dwango complete merger". The Japan Times. October 1, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ Ressler, Karen. "Nobuo Kawakami Steps Down as Kadokawa Dwango President". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ "Game Director Chiyomaru Shikura Buys Out MAGES., Goes Independent". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ^ "About Us" (in Japanese). BookWalker. December 2005. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- ^ "GeeXPlus brings anime YouTubers to Japan". The Japan Times. February 3, 2020. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- ^ "GeeXPlus | Tokyo-based talent management and global media company". GeeXPlus, Inc. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ "GeeXPlus' New GeeXProductions Division Produces Gigguk's Bâan -The Boundaries of Adulthood- Anime Short Movie". Anime News Network. July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
- ^ dillongoo (July 3, 2025). SOUL MART - OFFICIAL TRAILER. Retrieved July 4, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ www.crunchyroll.com https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2025/7/4/geexplus-ip-division-launch-gigguk-dillongoo-otaku-vs-anime. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
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External links
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