Geneon Universal Entertainment

(formerly known as Pioneer Entertainment, or Pioneer LDC - Pioneer LaserDisc Company, a former subsidiary of Pioneer Corporation) is a Japanese anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan. Geneon's North American branch specialized in translating and distributing anime and related merchandise, such as soundtracks across the region. Geneon is a portmanteau of the English words, generate and eon. On February 1, 2009, Geneon merged with Universal Pictures Japan into Geneon Universal Entertainment.

History

Geneon Universal was originally formed under the name Pioneer LDC in 1981. In July 2003, the company was acquired by Japanese advertising and marketing company firm Dentsu and renamed to Geneon Entertainment, while its North American division, Pioneer Entertainment, was renamed to Geneon USA.

They also signed a deal with Viz Media to release their properties to DVD such as Pokémon and Ranma 1/2 before Viz began producing their own DVDs.

In November 2004, Geneon USA signed a deal with Toei Animation to distribute some of their titles into the North American market. Launching titles included Air Master, Interlude, and Slam Dunk. However, in late 2006, the deal ended and all of the released titles went out of print.

In March 2007, Geneon became the...
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