History Creator / ADVFilms

** Maiden Japan, founded by Matt Greenfield and Toru Iwakami, licenses anime, usually female-driven titles. Originally, they released a couple small niche titles quietly on bare bones, sub-only releases, but has now moved into licensing more mainstream titles onto bilingual DVD and Blu-ray, including some rescues like the ''Anime/VampirePrincessMiyu'' TV series and ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' franchise. They are distributed by Section 23 Films.

Originally called "A.D. Vision" ("A.D." was mentioned on early covers to stand for "Animation Dubbing") when it was founded in 1992 by [[PromotedFanboy hardcore otaku]] John Ledford, David Williams, and Matt Greenfield, ADV Films was one of the pioneers of importing and dubbing anime television series for American audiences until its liquidation on September 1, 2009. This UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}-based production house made its debut with the release of ''Anime/DevilHunterYohko'' in 1993. After establishing their own ADR studio in West Houston one year later, ADV began dubbing their shows, eventually earning a reputation for producing some of the best dubs in the North American market. At their height in 2005, ADV was the undisputed market leader (of an admittedly small niche), boasting the largest catalog of any anime company - including popular fan-favourite titles like ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', and plenty more. They also licensed and published {{manga}} (including a few series they didn't have anime rights to), and were the publishers of otaku magazine Newtype USA. They also created and ran The Creator/AnimeNetwork, which continues to operate (albeit in heavily truncated form) to this day.

* MagicalGirl: Aside from 4Kids, ADV were a leading licensor in the otherwise neglected genre (long before [[MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction the boom of a new subgenre]] that ''does'' get licensed and released with regularity) following their brief licensing of the first two seasons of the 90's ''Anime/SailorMoon''. This died out with the commercial failure of ''Manga/WeddingPeach'' in North America and their inability to get ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' the TV deal that would have allowed them to release the series at all.

Originally called "A.D. Vision" ("A.D." was mentioned on early covers to stand for "Animation Dubbing") when it was founded in 1992 by [[PromotedFanboy hardcore otaku]] John Ledford, David Williams, and Matt Greenfield, ADV Films was one of the pioneers of importing and dubbing anime television series for American audiences until its liquidation on September 1, 2009. This UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}-based production house made its debut with the release of ''Anime/DevilHunterYohko'' in 1993. After establishing their own ADR studio in West Houston one year later, ADV began dubbing their shows, eventually earning a reputation for producing some of the best dubs in the North American market. At their height in 2005, ADV was the undisputed market leader (of an admittedly small niche), boasting the largest catalog of any anime company - including popular fan-favourite titles like ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', and plenty more. They also licensed and published {{manga}} (including a few series they didn't have anime rights to), and were the publishers of otaku magazine Newtype USA. They also created and ran The Creator/AnimeNetwork, which continues to operate (albeit in heavily truncated form) to this day.

|| DVD Production|| Seraphim Digital Studios ||

* '''DVD Production:''' Seraphim Digital Studios acquired Amusement Park Media, ADV's Bintliff production studio. All of Section 23's DVD and Blu-ray production were done here, as well as most of the dubbing until their operations moved to Sentai Filmworks's studio at 5373 West Alabama Street in 2015.

Because of a total lack of any sort of voice actor pool in Texas at the time, ADV drew heavily from the local theatre scenes in Houston and Austin. Over the next dozen years, the studio groomed a large crop of voice actors, several of whom became regular faces on the convention circuit. A few have gone on to become directors and producers themselves. Among the actors who got their voice-acting start at ADV (some still live in Houston and continue to record the occasional dub for ADV's successor) are Creator/AmandaWinnLee, Creator/JessicaCalvello, Creator/SpikeSpencer, Creator/TiffanyGrant (ADV's first voice actress), Creator/KiraVincentDavis, Creator/VicMignogna, Creator/MonicaRial, Creator/LuciChristian, Creator/GregAyres, and Creator/HilaryHaag.

* EverythingIsBigInTexas: ADV Films was located in Houston, Texas.

On September 1, 2009, ADV sold most of its assets to five different companies (all of which are still based in Houston) and shut down operations at their 5750 Bintliff Drive studio, [[EndOfAnAge ending]] ADV's seventeen year run as one of the major North American anime licensing studios.

In January 2012, Creator/{{Funimation}}, who wasn't fooled either, sued ADV and its associated companies over the Sojitz licensing. The lawsuit was finally dropped in May 2014, with ADV apparently winning (though it's unclear if they settled out of court). For the future, Sentai/[=Section23=]/whatever continues to license anime to this day, now regularly dub most of their catalog, and release them to DVD and Blu-ray.

** [=AEsir=] Holdings got the rights to most of ADV Films' former library of titles (some titles became licensed directly by Sentai and remain in print), and have re-released some of these former ADV titles to DVD themselves, such as ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' (which eventually transferred over to Sentai proper for rerelease) and ''Anime/ParasiteDolls''.
* '''Distributor:''' Creator/Section23Films is a distributor and marketing company of Switchblade Pictures, Sentai Filmworks, and [=AEsir=] Holdings. The name is a reference to the 23 wards in Tokyo.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For most of their library, this is becoming less of an issue. Creator/SentaiFilmworks, Creator/DiscotekMedia and Creator/{{Funimation}} are committed to releasing their works. However, odds of some of their previous releases are much lower and require circulation.

ADV had also been raising funds and looking for talent for an incredibly ambitious project – a Hollywood LiveActionAdaptation of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. The project has gone far enough to have special effects house Creator/{{WETA}} produce some design sketches, but it seems highly unlikely it will ever make it out of DevelopmentHell, especially since ADV filed a lawsuit against Studio Gainax over the film.

On September 1, 2009, ADV sold most of its assets to five different companies (all of which are still based in Houston) and shut down operations at their 5750 Bintliff Drive studio, [[EndOfAnAge ending]] ADV's seventeen year run as one of the major North American anime licensing studios. However, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2009-09-01/what-happening-with-adv-films some industry observers]] believe that the move is an attempt to end a relationship with a hostile shareholder that has damaged the company while still maintaining its core competency and catalog. This argument is bolstered by the name of the new production company, Creator/Section23Films, which is a reference to the 23 wards in Tokyo.

* Switchblade Pictures, founded by Matt Greenfield and Toru Iwakami, acquires Japanese live-action films properties for distribution in the North American market.
* Creator/SentaiFilmworks is the [[http://www.sentai-filmworks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=85 licensor company]] for acquiring new (or rescued) Japanese anime into the North American market.
* Maiden Japan is another company founded by Greenfield and Iwakami and distributed by Section 23 that licenses anime, usually female-driven titles. Originally, they released a couple small niche titles quietly on bare bones, sub-only releases, but has now moved into licensing more mainstream titles onto bilingual DVD and Blu-ray, including some rescues like the ''Anime/VampirePrincessMiyu'' TV series and ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' franchise.
* [=AEsir=] Holdings got the rights to most of ADV Films' former library of titles (some titles became licensed directly by Sentai and remain in print), and have re-released some of these former ADV titles to DVD themselves, such as ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' (which eventually transferred over to Sentai proper for rerelease) and ''Anime/ParasiteDolls''.
* Seraphim Digital Studios acquired Amusement Park Media, ADV's Bintliff production studio. All of Section 23's DVD and Blu-ray production were done here, as well as most of the dubbing until their operations moved to Sentai Filmworks's studio at 5373 West Alabama Street in 2015.
* Valkyrie Media Partners acquired the Creator/AnimeNetwork. [[http://www.theanimenetwork.com/ The Anime Network website]] continues to operate as it did before the sale until June 2017, at which point they kept only the user forums and their VOD service; streaming is now handled by Creator/{{HIDIVE}}.
* Creator/Section23Films is a distributor and marketing company of Switchblade Pictures, Sentai Filmworks, and [=AEsir=] Holdings.

See Creator/Section23Films for the list of anime series formerly licensed by ADV. For what it's worth, nobody in North America was fooled by this legal shell-game – many fans will refer to the new companies as "Neo-ADV", "Zombie-ADV", or something similar. Even the people working at the studio have been known to call actors and accidentally use the old company names... "or whatever we're called now".

* SpiritualSuccessor: ADV Films → Creator/Section23Films[=/=]Creator/SentaiFilmworks
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In 2007, ADV was going to partner with Creator/{{Geneon}} for their releases due to the latter's financial problems, but those plans fell through and Geneon was shut down not long after that.

In 2008, the company almost totally collapsed. Prior to this, ADV's manga, music, and toys divisions had either been shut down or had no production at all for some time. On January 4, Anime Network shuttered their 24/7 linear channel. On January 18, ADV announced its Anime [=ADVocates=] program, which provided screening material and other promotional content to anime clubs in North America, had been suspended indefinitely. In February, they announced they would no longer publish [=NewType=] USA. They launched [=PiQ=] Magazine as a replacement for [=NewType=], which lasted four issues before being discontinued.

* MagicalGirl: Aside from 4Kids, ADV were a leading licensor in the otherwise neglected genre (long before [[MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction the boom of a new subgenre]] that ''does'' get licensed and released with regularity) following their brief licensing of the first two seasons of the 90's ''Manga/SailorMoon''. This died out with the commercial failure of ''Manga/WeddingPeach'' in North America and their inability to get ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' the TV deal that would have allowed them to release the series at all.

** In addition to Ledford serving as executive producer for ADV's shows, Greenfield serves as an ADR director for dubs such as ''Evangelion'' and ''[=RahXephon=]''. Paul Killam was ADV's longtime sound designer and Charles Campbell, in addition to being an ADR director, also served as a recording engineer.
* PromotedFanboy: Founders John Ledford, Matt Greenfield and David Williams were all fans of anime.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** ADV Films was going to dub ''Manga/SgtFrog'' but it stalled due to DevelopmentHell and the series was eventually acquired by Creator/{{Funimation}}.
** In 2007, ADV was going to partner with Creator/{{Geneon}} for their releases due to the latter's financial problems, but those plans fell through and Geneon was shut down not long after that.
** During its last years as a licensing company, ADV was also going to produce the dub for ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' before losing the rights. Creator/BandaiEntertainment would eventually acquire the rights to the series sometime later and another dub was produced at Creator/BangZoomEntertainment.

On September 1, 2009, ADV sold most of its assets to five different companies (all of which are still based in Houston) and shut down operations at their 5750 Bintliff Drive studio, [[EndOfAnAge ending]] ADV's 17-year-long history as one of the major North American anime licensing studios. However, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2009-09-01/what-happening-with-adv-films some industry observers]] believe that the move is an attempt to end a relationship with a hostile shareholder that has damaged the company while still maintaining its core competency and catalog. This argument is bolstered by the name of the new production company, Creator/Section23Films, which is a reference to the 23 wards in Tokyo.

The final nail in the coffin for ADV as a major American anime licensing studios came on September 1, 2009, when they sold most of its assets to five different companies, all of which are still based in Houston and shut down operations at their 5750 Bintliff Drive studio. However, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2009-09-01/what-happening-with-adv-films some industry observers]] believe that the move is an attempt to end a relationship with a hostile shareholder that has damaged the company while still maintaining its core competency and catalog. This argument is bolstered by the name of the new production company, Creator/Section23Films, which is a reference to the 23 wards in Tokyo.

Originally called "A.D. Vision" ("A.D." was mentioned on early covers to stand for "Animation Dubbing") when it was founded in 1992 by [[PromotedFanboy hardcore otaku]] John Ledford, David Williams, and Matt Greenfield, ADV Films was one of the pioneers of importing and dubbing anime television series for American audiences until its liquidation on September 1, 2009. This UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}-based production house made its debut with the release of ''Anime/DevilHunterYohko'' in 1993. In 1996, the company built its own ADR studio in West Houston and began dubbing their shows, eventually earning a reputation for producing some of the best dubs in the North American market. At their height in 2005, ADV was the undisputed market leader (of an admittedly small niche), boasting the largest catalog of any anime company - including popular fan-favourite titles like ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', and plenty more. They also licensed and published {{manga}} (including a few series they didn't have anime rights to), and were the publishers of otaku magazine Newtype USA. They also created and ran The Creator/AnimeNetwork, which continues to operate (albeit in heavily truncated form) to this day.

** In addition to Ledford serving as executive producer for ADV shows, Greenfield serves as an ADR director for dubs such as ''Evangelion'' and ''[=RahXephon=]''. Paul Killam was ADV's longtime sound designer and Charles Campbell, in addition to being an ADR directer, also served as a recording engineer.

Originally called "A.D. Vision" ("A.D." was mentioned on early covers to stand for "Animation Dubbing") when it was founded in 1992 by [[PromotedFanboy hardcore otaku]] John Ledford, David Williams, and Matt Greenfield, ADV Films was one of the pioneers of importing and dubbing anime television series for American audiences. This UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}-based production house made its debut with the release of ''Anime/DevilHunterYohko'' in 1993. In 1996, the company built its own ADR studio in West Houston and began dubbing their shows, eventually earning a reputation for producing some of the best dubs in the North American market. At their height in 2005, ADV was the undisputed market leader (of an admittedly small niche), boasting the largest catalog of any anime company - including popular fan-favourite titles like ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', and plenty more. They also licensed and published {{manga}} (including a few series they didn't have anime rights to), and were the publishers of otaku magazine Newtype USA. They also created and ran The Creator/AnimeNetwork, which continues to operate (albeit in heavily truncated form) to this day.

On September 1, 2009, ADV Films announced that it sold most of its assets to five different companies, all of which are based in Houston (and based in the same block of condos) and shut down operations at their 5750 Bintliff Drive studio. Although it may appear that the company is essentially dead, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2009-09-01/what-happening-with-adv-films some industry observers]] believe that the move is an attempt to end a relationship with a hostile shareholder that has damaged the company while still maintaining its core competency and catalog. This argument is bolstered by the name of the new production company, Creator/Section23Films, which is a reference to the 23 wards in Tokyo.

* Switchblade Pictures acquired Japanese live-action films properties for distribution in the North American market.

* Maiden Japan is another company founded by Matt Greenfield and Toru Iwakami and distributed by Section 23 that licenses anime, usually female-driven titles. Originally, they released a couple small niche titles quietly on bare bones, sub-only releases, but has now moved into licensing more mainstream titles onto bilingual DVD and Blu-ray, including some rescues like the ''Anime/VampirePrincessMiyu'' TV series and ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' franchise.

* ProductionPosse: ADV's works feature several voice actors who regularly worked alongside one another. Among its regulars were Creator/AmandaWinnLee, Creator/JessicaCalvello, Creator/SpikeSpencer, Aaron Krohn, Creator/MaggieFlecknoe, Creator/JohnSwasey, Creator/TiffanyGrant, Creator/KiraVincentDavis, Creator/VicMignogna, Creator/MonicaRial, Creator/LuciChristian, Creator/GregAyres, Creator/ChrisPatton, Kimberly Yates, Tristan [=MacAvery=], Jason C. Lee, Creator/BrettWeaver, Creator/AllisonKeith, Creator/CynthiaMartinez, Creator/ChrisAyres, and Creator/HilaryHaag.

In October 2008, ADV "partnered" with a "new" company known as Creator/SentaiFilmworks and began to license titles again. For the most part, though, most of these acquisitions were titles previously held by other American companies (like ''Manga/{{Mahoromatic}}'' being a license-rescue from recently-dead Creator/{{Geneon}}), although there were a couple of newly-licensed series in the mix, most notably ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}''. The shows released by Sentai Filmworks that hadn't been released in the US before were released as sub-only DVD's with a minimum of extras and only a basic menu. To some, this was an indication how far ADV had fallen from its glory days of only a couple years back.

On September 1, 2009, ADV Films announced that it sold most of its assets to five different companies, all of which are based in Houston (and based in the same block of condos) and shut down operations at their 5750 Bintliff Drive studio. Although it may appear that the company is essentially dead, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2009-09-01/what-happening-with-adv-films some industry observers]] believe that the move is an attempt to end a relationship with a hostile shareholder that has damaged the company while still maintaining its core competency and catalog. This argument is bolstered by the name of the new production company, Creator/Section23Films, which is a not-so-subtle reference to a part of Texas tax law that allowed ADV to pretty much legally hide their assets from their creditors and the Japanese.

* Maiden Japan is another company distributed by Section 23 that licenses anime, usually female-driven titles. Originally, they released a couple small niche titles quietly on bare bones, sub-only releases, but has now moved into licensing more mainstream titles onto bilingual DVD and Blu-ray, including some rescues like the ''Anime/VampirePrincessMiyu'' TV series and ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' franchise.

Because of a total lack of any sort of voice actor pool in Texas at the time, ADV drew heavily from the local theatre scenes in Houston and Austin. Over the next dozen years, the studio groomed a large crop of voice actors, several of whom became regular faces on the convention circuit. A few have gone on to become directors and producers themselves. Among the actors who got their voice-acting start at ADV (some still live in Houston and continue to record the occasional dub for ADV's successor) are Creator/AmandaWinnLee, Creator/JessicaCalvello, Creator/SpikeSpencer, Creator/TiffanyGrant, Creator/KiraVincentDavis, Creator/VicMignogna, Creator/MonicaRial, Creator/LuciChristian, Creator/GregAyres, and Creator/HilaryHaag.

Originally called "A.D. Vision" ("A.D." was mentioned on early covers to stand for "Animation Dubbing") when it was founded in 1992 by [[PromotedFanboy hardcore otaku]] John Ledford, David Williams and Matt Greenfield, ADV Films was one of the pioneers of importing and dubbing anime television series for American audiences. This UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}-based production house made its debut with the release of ''Anime/DevilHunterYohko'' in 1993. In 1996, the company built its own ADR studio in West Houston and began dubbing their shows, eventually earning a reputation for producing some of the best dubs in the North American market. At their height in 2005, ADV was the undisputed market leader (of an admittedly small niche), boasting the largest catalog of any anime company - including popular fan-favourite titles like ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', and plenty more. They also licensed and published {{manga}} (including a few series they didn't have anime rights to), and were the publishers of otaku magazine Newtype USA. They also created and ran The Creator/AnimeNetwork, which continues to operate (albeit in heavily truncated form) to this day.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adv_films.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ADV_Films_2753.jpg]]

Originally called "A.D. Vision" (what the "A.D." stands for [[strike:is a trade secret]] was mentioned on early covers as "Animation Dubbing") when it was founded in 1992 by [[PromotedFanBoy hardcore otaku]] John Ledford, David Williams and Matt Greenfield, ADV Films was one of the pioneers of importing and dubbing anime television series for American audiences. This UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}-based production house made its debut with the release of ''Anime/DevilHunterYohko'' in 1993. In 1996, the company built its own ADR studio in West Houston and began dubbing their shows, eventually earning a reputation for producing some of the best dubs in the North American market. At their height in 2005, ADV was the undisputed market leader (of an admittedly small niche), boasting the largest catalog of any anime company - including popular fan-favourite titles like ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', and plenty more. They also licensed and published {{manga}} (including a few series they didn't have anime rights to), and were the publishers of otaku magazine Newtype USA. They also created and ran The Creator/AnimeNetwork, which continues to operate (albeit, in heavily truncated form) to this day.

|| (live action) Licensed by|| Switchblade Pictures ||

* ProductionPosse: ADV's works feature several voice actors who regularly worked alongside one another. Among its regulars were Creator/AmandaWinnLee, Creator/JessicaCalvello, Creator/SpikeSpencer, Aaron Krohn, Creator/MaggieFlecknoe, Creator/JohnSwasey, Creator/TiffanyGrant, Creator/KiraVincentDavis, Creator/VicMignogna, Creator/MonicaRial, Creator/LuciChristian, Creator/GregAyres, Creator/ChrisPatton, Kimberly Yates, Tristan [=MacAvery=], Jason C. Lee, Creator/BrettWeaver, Creator/AllisonKeith Creator/ChrisAyres, and Creator/HilaryHaag.

* ProductionPosse: ADV's works feature several voice actors who regularly worked alongside one another. Among its regulars were Creator/AmandaWinnLee, Creator/JessicaCalvello, Creator/SpikeSpencer, Creator/TiffanyGrant, Creator/KiraVincentDavis, Creator/VicMignogna, Creator/MonicaRial, Creator/LuciChristian, Creator/GregAyres, Creator/ChrisPatton, Kimberly Yates, Tristan [=MacAvery=], Jason C. Lee, Creator/BrettWeaver, Creator/AllisonKeith Creator/ChrisAyres, and Creator/HilaryHaag.