FUNimation Productions was founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga as a venture that would bring Japanese anime series - in particular, the enormously popular "Dragon Ball" - to North American viewers. Twenty years later, FUNimation is one of the biggest distributors of Japanese anime in North American markets, and its FUNimation Channel is one of two 24-hour animation broadcasters in North America. The company was founded in Sunnyvale, California, but its headquarters were relocated to the Fort Worth, Texas, area.
The FUNimation Channel began airing in 2005 via UHF broadcasts in select markets. Since then, however, FUNimation has been aggressive in finding other avenues for distribution, and it's now available on many direct-broadcast satellite systems and digital cable services. The company also launched its own official YouTube channel in 2006, and it entered into a deal with AT&T and Sprint in 2008 to provide video-on-demand services to those providers' mobile phone users.
FUNimation's initial success came courtesy of the popularity of the series "Dragon Ball Z," which had a successful run on the Cartoon Network. FUNimation distributes many other anime series, however, including "Gaiking," "Barakamon," "Captain Harlock," "House of Five Leaves" and "Peacemaker."
