DoubleL

DoubleL, Inc. positions itself as a comprehensive content trading company focused on the global distribution of Japanese pop culture, primarily manga and anime. The firm was established in June 2014 by Akihito Hotehama. Hotehama's entrepreneurial journey began during his time at the University of Tokyo, where he founded the entrepreneurship club "TNK" and later launched a tutoring school business before venturing into the IT and manga industries. His ambition has consistently been to create a globally significant company.

The company's core operation is its global supply chain business for Japanese intellectual property (IP). This involves acquiring and managing the rights to manga and anime, then producing and distributing related content and merchandise worldwide. DoubleL works with a wide array of clients, including major publishers like Shueisha and Kodansha, game companies such as Square Enix and Nintendo, and entertainment conglomerates like Bandai Namco and Sony Interactive Entertainment. The business model is multifaceted, encompassing several key areas. The company engages in producing merchandise for mass-market consumers, creating what it calls "memory products" that materialize fond recollections of a series. For core fans, it focuses on producing high-quality character art and goods.

Furthermore, DoubleL operates in digital content distribution and media. It runs several web media platforms, including Festy, a large-scale anime and manga medium, to engage with fans directly. Another strategic service is "Manga AD," which leverages its extensive database of manga and anime works dating back to the 1960s to provide clients with optimal IP for their marketing and branding campaigns. Through its subsidiaries, such as Pirates Factory, the company also has a strong foothold in the merchandise sector, with a distribution network that includes over 70,000 souvenir shops across Japan. A significant milestone was the appointment of Kiichiro Watanabe, a former marketer for The Oriental Land Company (operator of Tokyo Disney Resort) and Universal Studios, to its board of directors, signaling a strong push to build a business model akin to a "Japanese Disney."

Keywords: Japanese pop culture, manga, anime, intellectual property management, global supply chain, content licensing, character goods, merchandise, digital distribution, content marketing, IP monetization, Akihito Hotehama, Japanese content, media platform, content producer, character art, global rights management, entertainment industry, Pirates Factory, web media