Long Beach, CA, July 11th, 2005 � Geneon Entertainment, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, marketing and distribution of entertainment content, is pleased to announce the awarding of the non-exclusive, miniature figure license for Samurai Champloo to Yamato USA, a leader in the collectible figures market.

Featured on the Cartoon Network [Adult Swim], Samurai Champloo is the tale of three misfits in Meiji-era Japan: Mugen, a buck wild warrior � violent, thoughtless and womanizing; Jin, a vagrant ronin � mysterious, traditional and highly skilled; and Fuu, a ditzy waitress on a quest for a samurai "who smells of sunflowers." As can be expected from director Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), Samurai Champloo is unlike any other samurai series, seamlessly blending historical drama, savage fight scenes and dry, off-beat humor all with a hip-hop flair.

"We at Yamato USA are extremely excited to continue our relationship with Geneon Entertainment and to be part of such a ground breaking anime which is undoubtedly destined to be ranked among the all-time greats. Even more, we look forward to bringing Samurai Champloo fans quality figures that capture the very essence of these unique characters," said Douglas McNeill, Sales & Marketing Manager for Yamato USA.

Yamato USA is currently accepting retailer pre-orders through its distribution partners for its SIF: Samurai Champloo Miniature Trading Figure Twin Packs with a scheduled Winter release. Each twin pack will consist of one 4" scale miniature trading figure and one figural bust magnet, retailing for $11.99. Prototypes will be on display at the Yamato USA booth during the Comic Con International from July 14 � 17.

ABOUT GENEON ENTERTAINMENT
A leading supplier of Japanese animation in North America. GENEON ENTERTAINMENT (USA) INC. (www.Geneon-Ent.com) is a full-service producer and distributor of entertainment content including film, music, animation and television shows on DVD and CD. Continually introducing new and classic anime and live-action programming, as well as anime CD soundtracks, the company also serves as a creative partner to many of Japan's top anime production companies. Additionally, Geneon Entertainment distributes critically acclaimed musical performances on DVD and CD from renowned artists. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Geneon Entertainment's parent company is Tokyo-based advertising giant Dentsu, Inc.

Dentsu Inc., founded in 1901, is the largest advertising agency brand and the fifth largest marketing and communications organization in the world. Based in Tokyo, Dentsu offers national, multinational and global clients the most comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services through its unique "Total Communications Services" approach. Dentsu has pioneered and set global standards for integrated communications, which in latter years have been adopted by a number of major international networks. The group has more than 6,000 clients and 14,447 full-time employees in both Japan and in its offices overseas. Consolidated revenues for fiscal term 03/04 were recorded at $16.1 billion. Dentsu is publicly quoted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code 4324).

ABOUT YAMATO USA
Yamato USA is the wholly owned subsidiary of Yamato Co., Ltd with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. For over six years, Yamato USA has proudly served the North and South American hobby/collector markets with a wide offering of miniature collectible figures, PVC and die-cast action figures, as well as poly-resin and PVC statues inspired by the hottest titles in Japanese anime, manga, and video game properties. Featured properties include Masamune Shirow's Koukaku-Kidoutai (a.k.a. Ghost in the Shell), Appleseed, and Intron Depot; Yasuhiro Nightow's Trigun, Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin (aka Samurai X), Kentaro Miura's Berserk, and Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira.