Crunchyroll Announces Expansive “Gundam” Licensing Partnership with SUNRISE & SOTSU

• In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the iconic anime series, Crunchyroll, the world’s largest destination for anime, is announcing today an expansive partnership with SUNRISE INC. and SOTSU CO., LTD. to manage the merchandise rights for five “Gundam” titles across North and South America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
• These Gundam series include “Mobile Suit Gundam,” “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing,” “Mobile Suit Gundam Seed,” “Mobile Suit Gundam 00,” and “Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.”
• Crunchyroll will pursue merchandise opportunities across categories including apparel, bags, accessories, furnishings and home decor, lifestyle, food and more.
• “Mobile Suit Gundam” was created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and was animated and produced by SUNRISE. The series, which revolutionized the mecha anime genre, premiered in 1979 and has since become a worldwide phenomenon.
• “Mobile Suit Gundam” is a Top 15 media franchise, grossing more than $20 Billion in total retail sales.
• Gundam plastic models (Gunplas) make up 90% of the Japanese character plastic-model market, with more than 500 million models sold to date!

About Crunchyroll licensing –

• Crunchyroll works closely with Japanese licensors to grow and develop anime IP across a 360-degree slate of experiences for fans, including merchandise, live events like Crunchyroll Expo, Crunchyroll Games, social media and much more.

• Through the Crunchyroll Store, Crunchyroll operates a top retail destination where it promotes licensed products directly to its fanbase, which includes more than 30M followers across social.

• Merchandise continues to be an incredibly important component for anime fans, as they wear their fandom as a badge of honor and a means of identifying with other fans.

• Crunchyroll currently manages the merchandising, broadcast, videogram and publishing rights to more than 350 anime IPs.