News
Founder of Viz's French Distributor Kazé Steps Down
posted on by Kimberly Grace
Kazé, Viz's French anime distribution arm, announced that founder Cedric Littardi resigned from his position as president of the company effective Wednesday, May 16.
Littardi founded the company 18 years ago and contributed to bringing such works as Grave of the Fireflies and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time to French audiences. He also founded the music label Wasabi Records, TV station KZTV, and KZPLAY.fr (the first French simulcast site). He will be succeeded by Hyoe Narita, president of Viz Media Europe. No reason was given for the departure. In Littardi's farewell message, he stated plans to begin several new projects after leaving Kazé.
In 2009, Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha announced the joint acquisition of Kaze and Anime-Virtual of Germany. Like other anime distributors, both Kaze and Anime-Virtual produce localized versions of Japanese-animated works with subtitles and dubbing.
