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After six long years, MyAnimeList’s ownership has changed, with Web3/AI company Gaudiy buying the website’s shares for $3.5 million. When it comes to information regarding a particular anime or manga, there are hardly any better websites than MyAnimeList. Where to watch, the cast and crew, synopsis, release date, etc., everything is published on the website.
MEDIA DO Co., Ltd is an E-Book distributor that purchased the shares of MyAnimeList from DeNA in January 2019. During their tenure, the website underwent some major changes, including a partnership with HIDIVE in September 2019. Previously, MyAnimeList partnered with Hulu and Crunchyroll and reached new heights in popularity. However, as of March 26, 2025, MEDIA DO will not be able to enjoy the site’s profits.
Why did MEDIA DO sell MyAnimeList?
It is fair to say that they analyzed the deal beforehand to mitigate the risks and increase the profits. The E-Book Distributor sold the website for $3.5 Million, which they plan to show on their books during the first quarter of the fiscal year ending February 28, 2026. The amount roughly comes to around 531 Million Yen.
It is an extraordinary gain on their part and they might invest it somewhere else in the future. Also, Gaudiy is a technologically advanced platform compared to MEDIA DO, and can maximize the potential of the IP. Given their merits, MyAnimeList will heavily benefit from the deal. Moreover, MEDIA DO is also planning to form a business alliance with the Web3/AI company Gaudiy for further expansions in the future.
Is The Deal Profitable For Gaudiy?
MyAnimeList may be one of the most trusted sites for anime and manga news with millions of visitors every month, but they were not profitable, at least for the last four years. Two years back, the website incurred a loss of around $3 Million, and last year, it was a loss of $2 Million approximately. They have cut back on the company capital and capital reserve on multiple occasions but are failing to make it profitable.
With all the visitors and the increased stock of anime information, the website should easily be running in profits, but somehow, it is not. Moreover, a multi-million dollar loss in a year indicates that MyAnimeList is spending extra in certain categories.
Web3/AI company, Gaudiy, has bought all the shares of MyAnimeList at a minimal price, which seems a great deal from above. But along with the deal, they also bought all the losses the website incurred. It will be crucial for them to identify the problems as quickly as possible and turn their purchase into a profitable venture. Otherwise, however great the deal was in monetary terms, the internal problems could pose a threat to the overall growth.
Why Is MyAnimeList So Popular?
MyAnimeList is one of the biggest database platforms for anime and manga. Every new/old release has its information lined up on the website. Apart from that, the site’s rating system is regarded as a benchmark in the industry, and it also links anime titles to their official website and social media handles, making it an authentic source of entertainment.
Also, the company has partnerships with Kodansha Comics and Viz Media, Anime Consortium Japan, and even jointly formed MAL33 and MANGA MIRAI.
Also Read: Toho Acquires Science SARU
Fans React To MyAnimeList Deal
Fans have mixed views regarding the MyAnimeList deal. They are having problems deducing why their favorite anime informational site was sold for such a minimal value, even though it has been serving them for almost two decades. On the other hand, they are skeptical about Web3/AI company Gaudiy buying the website since MAL has incurred heavy losses in the past few years. Whether it is a good deal or a bad deal from Gaudiy’s perspective is still a mystery.
Fans on Reddit shared how they feel about MAL’s deal:
Mazen141 wrote, “Some additional context: MAL has been operating at a loss for at least the past 4 fiscal years. Last year, they reported a 307 million yen (~$2M) loss, and the year before that they lost 422 million yen. Additionally, in December last year, they reduced their company capital and capital reserve by 200 million yen. They did the same thing back in 2021, cutting company capital by 590 million yen and capital reserve by 680 million yen. Safe to say, MAL hasn’t been doing well in a hot minute”
Sibula97 commented, “Back in 2007-2008 when they broke the 5 million monthly visit mark, their server costs were around 150$ a month according to their donations page. Now their monthly visits seem to be around 30 million per month, so a naive extrapolation plus inflation would put their server costs at around 1300$ a month. Of course their actual data use has probably grown much more than that with the addition of more multimedia, they probably use a fancier more reliable hosting method, the general cost of hosting has probably gone down, and there are many more factors to consider, but I’d say 1000-2000$ per month on hosting alone is probably in the right ballpark.”
BackgroundWindchimes said, “I’m legit curious what their overhead is. Yea, they have a whole database but can’t require that insane money. Just checked and apparently they have people writing articles? Are people really turning to mal for more than tracking what they watch? I’ll miss it but when the most notable thing it’s done is foster a toxic “FMA must be at the top/dethroned!” fight, I’ll just use anilist or something.”
lonkkll wrote, “My MAL account is almost 18 years old. I still remember when Xinil sold it to CraveOnline lol. I have no idea how many times the site has changed hands since but I’m not sure Xinil even intended for it to be a profitable venture when he made it. In the end it’s just a user curated database + an old school forum.
Source: MEDIA DO
Priyanko is currently pursuing his Master’s in Economics. He loves to read manga or watch anime in his spare time. He is a massive fan of One Piece, Naruto, and Haikyu. Amidst the Great Pirating Era, he wishes to become the greatest Hokage, even though he is short.
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