Central Park Media

Background
Central Park Media Corporation (often simplified to Central Park Media, and abbreviated to CPM) was a relatively well-known anime and manga company founded in 1990 by John O'Donnell, headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, on the corner of Central Park. It was one of the first companies (along with AnimEigo, U.S. Renditions, Streamline Pictures and ADV Films) to release uncut anime in the United States. They did very well in the 1990's and early 2000's, but they closed on April 27th, 2009. Today, some Central Park Media titles have been relicensed by different companies, such as Media Blasters, Discotek Media and Viz Media.

1st Logo (1990-1992)
Nickname: "Early Skyline"

Logo: On a black or blue background, we see the Central Park Media logo, which is a stylized New York skyline.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extinct. No captures of this logo have resurfaced as of 2022, but it was possibly seen on the very first tapes released by CPM, such as the initial print of Project A-Ko.

2nd Logo (1992-2007)
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Nicknames: "The Skyline", "Bustling City"

Logo: We start with a photo of a view of the New York skyline from (what looks like) Central Park. Then, a less detailed, computer-rendered version of the buildings draws itself over the buildings from the photo. As the buildings are done being drawn, the photo disappears, leaving a black background. A blue gradient background (which is supposed to be the sky) fades in behind the skyline. Below the skyline, the words "CENTRAL PARK" (in sepia) fly in from the right and the word "MEDIA" (also in sepia) spins up from the bottom.

Variant: An early version exists where the logo begins on the stylized New York City skyline rather than the photo copy. Once the logo is completed, it zooms out to show the logos of U.S. Manga Corps and Anime 18. This was possibly used prior to CPM's acquisition of Software Sculptors in 1995.

FX/SFX: The fading, the words flying and spinning up. 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: Crickets chirping for the first half of the logo; then sounds of car horns and a jackhammer.

Availability: Rare. Most releases from CPM would only use the U.S. Manga Corps logo, however, it was seen on some releases from them, such as Grave of the Fireflies, co-released with ADV Films. Their last DVD was released in 2007. The early version was discovered on the screener VHS of Project A-Ko 4: FINAL, and was also seen on Cyber City Oedo 808: DATA ONE.

Final Note
On May 26th, 2006, CPM had laid off many of their employees. They laid dormant until April 27th, 2009, when they filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and liquidated with a debt of over $1.2 million.