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4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh rights terminated; 4Kids sued for fraud

ForeverFlame

ForeverFlame

Well-Known Member
4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh rights terminated; 4Kids sued for fraud... EDIT: 4Kids Bankrupt!

Well, now we know why Al Kahn decided to retire.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-03-29/tv-tokyo-nihon-ad-terminate-yu-gi-oh-deal-sue-4kids

ANN said:
On March 24, TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems filed a joint lawsuit against North American media distributor 4Kids Entertainment, accusing the company of "underpayments, wrongful deductions, and unmet obligations" and stating that 4Kids now owes the companies US$4,792,460.36. The Hollywood Reporter website also states that the two companies have terminated their deal with 4Kids.

According to the documents filed by the plaintiffs, the companies conducted an audit on 4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh! business per their licensing agreement. This audit allegedly uncovered the aforementioned underpayments, as well as a "secret" agreement with Funimation, allowing them to "exploit" the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise via home video and hide the added income from the plaintiffs. By hiding this income, TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems allege that 4Kids was able to pay them a smaller share than would otherwise have been owed to them. The complaint further alleges that 4Kids attempted to hide the secret deal rather than disclosing it as required by their licensing agreement.

Funimation is not listed as a defendant in the complaint.
Click to expand...

tl;dr: 4Kids had to pay TV Tokyo 50% of their profit from Yu-Gi-Oh, and they didn't. TV Tokyo took away 4Kids' rights to the franchise, and now 4Kids is doomed.

EDIT: And now 4Kids is even more doomed.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-04-06/4kids-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy

They recently filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. It`s not Game Over yet, but things aren`t looking good (for them).
 
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Chris

Chris

Old Coot
ForeverFlame said:
Well, now we know why Al Kahn decided to retire.
Click to expand...
You mean the fact that the company was a sinking ship by being removed from the stock market and constantly in financial trouble wasn't enough reason?
 
ForeverFlame

ForeverFlame

Well-Known Member
TV Tokyo recently did an audit on 4Kids, and Al Kahn retired not too long afterwards. So he probably knew that 4Kids was going to get sued into bankruptcy, and he took his money and bonuses and ran to the hills.
 
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L

Lorde

Let's go to the beach, each.
tl;dr: 4Kids had to pay TV Tokyo 50% of their profit from Yu-Gi-Oh, and they didn't. TV Tokyo took away 4Kids' rights to the franchise, and now 4Kids is doomed.
Click to expand...

Oh how the mighty have fallen. I'm glad that 4kids is getting its comeuppance. I think they've messed up several good anime series over the years so I'm glad that they're finally facing some type of punishment. I had heard a while ago that Alfred R. Kahn was going to leave 4kids and now I know why.
 
Chris

Chris

Old Coot
This whole turn of events really does make for an interesting thing to look at. It shows exactly everything wrong with a dubbing company and what happens when they choose not to improve themselves.

FUNimation was exactly no different from 4Kids in the manner of how they handled anime when they first started with the Dragon Ball franchise. They were the black sheep of anime dubbing companies, even during the 90s. Soon they got more and more anime, slowly changing their ways and trying to become a competent company. Years later, they became one of the most respected dubbing companies that's stuck around in the business and has made a profit. With times changing, FUNi has done everything they can to please fans and combat piracy, such as offering simulcasting streams and regular streams of their programming.

4Kids remained the same, refusing to change with the times and dismissing everything fans had to say. They focused all of their intentions on trying to make a quick buck, which horribly backfired on them time and time again. In the end, they ended up being looked down on not only by the fans, but also the main forces behind the industry. Going as far as resorting to fraud in order to ensure they had money in their pockets. They're one of the last companies that went the route of streaming, and even then, their streaming list is primarily everything FUNimation already has with few exceptions.
 
G

Gentleman Skeleton

Well-Known Member
Charizard Champion#06 said:
So then, now what?
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Yu-Gi-Oh! is far too lucrative a property in the United States to be in licensing limbo for long. It could be in for a bidding war the likes of which has never been seen before.
 
Y

Yankees4life

RONALDO!!!
Whos gonna get it now?? YGO was THE show for 4kids after Pokemon left
 
M

MeiChama

Spazztastic Fangirl~
I dunno whether to be sad or happy that they lost the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh. I actually really liked the dub because it was horribly cheesy and whatnot. And it had Dan Green.
 
Satoshi

Satoshi

リーリエの為に戦ってるトレーナー
They had it coming a long time ago, to be honest.
 
Pinsirius

Pinsirius

Sentimental Fool ;)
The company had this coming, sadly, for all the reasons Chris mentioned, needless to say. (Glad someone finally says something that's not "Bad dubs = Death!")

Who gets Yu-gi-oh! will be interesting, as it could mean good things for Zexal. Not that I cared about it to begin with, but...
 
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