Central Park Media

Background
Central Park Media Corporation (often simplified to Central Park Media) was a relatively well-known anime and manga company founded on April 11, 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)
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 (1994-2006?, July 7, 2009)
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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 fades in over the buildings from the photo. As the buildings are done fading in, the photo disappears, leaving a black background. A blue gradient background (which is supposed to be the sky) fades in from 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.

Early Variant: From 1994-1995, the logo began 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 likely used prior to CPM's acquisition of Software Sculptors.

FX/SFX: 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 either the U.S. Manga Corps or Anime 18 logos, however, it was seen on select releases from the company. Their last known release was in 2006.
 * The early variant was discovered on a screener VHS of Project A-Ko 4: FINAL, and was also seen on Cyber City Oedo 808: DATA ONE.
 * Despite the company shutting down the same year, it surprisingly appears on the 2009 ADV Films re-release of Grave of the Fireflies, likely as a legacy credit.

Final Note
On May 26th, 2006, CPM had laid off many of their employees. They had laid dormant from 2007 until April 27th, 2009, when they filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and liquidated with a debt of over $1.2 million.