FUNimation President Receives Outstanding Electrical And Computer Engineer Award From Purdue University

FT. WORTH, TX -- September 25, 2003 -- Gen Fukunaga, president of FUNimation Productions, Ltd., has been awarded the Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineers award from Purdue University. He is one of seven recipients to receive this prestigious award in 2003. Recipients for the award are chosen for their pioneering professional achievements, service to humanity and for reaching beyond boundaries.

Mr. Fukunaga is being recognized for his entrepreneurship and success with hiscompany, FUNimation Productions, Ltd., which he founded in 1994. The company was grown from a business plan developed by Mr. Fukunaga and is known for its brand management success all over the world. With hits like Dragon Ball Z® and Yu Yu Hakusho®, top-selling home videos, and its collaborative business partnerships with Atari, Cartoon Network, 4Kids Entertainment, JAKKS Pacific, Inc., and SCORE Entertainment, FUNimation is one of the leading companies in the industry.

"It is a great honor to be recognized by one's alma mater," stated Mr. Fukunaga. "Purdue is an excellent university and I am very proud of my accomplishments there." Mr. Fukunaga received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, where he was a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi honoraries as well as graduating in the Honors Program.

"Each year a handful of ECE alumni emerge from a vast field of over 20,000 professionals to gain our notice. Mr. Fukunaga is a perfect example of the type of alumni we look to honor with the Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineering award," said Mark J. T. Smith, the Michael J. and Katherine R. Birck Professor and Head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "His entrepreneurial spirit and success has allowed him to engineer his own destiny in the world of anime."

Previous winners of the OECE award include: Thomas Engibous, president and CEO, Texas Instruments; Michael Sears, executive vice president and CFO, the Boeing Corporation; James Kahan, Senior Executive Vice President, SBC Communications; and Eugene Cernan, the NASA Astronaut who was the last man to walk on the moon. "I am indeed very fortunate to have been chosen to become a member of this very impressive list of Purdue alumni," explains Mr. Fukunaga.

Each year Electrical and Computer Engineer alumni from Purdue University are selected to receive the OECE award. Recipients are chosen for their pioneering professional achievements, service to humanity and for reaching beyond boundaries. Of Purdue's roughly 20,000 electrical and computer engineering graduates, over 141 have received the awards since 1992.

About FUNimation(r)
Focusing on providing the best in high-quality entertainment properties, FUNimation Productions, Ltd, is a full-service brand management company with in-house production, licensing, Internet, marketing, and home video sales and distribution divisions. The company manages brands such as Dragon Ball Z(r) and Dragon Ball(r), both airing on Cartoon Network; Dragon Ball GT(r), the highly anticipated sequel to Dragon Ball Z that is coming to Cartoon Network in November 2003; Yu Yu Hakusho(r), a popular series seen by millions on Cartoon Network; Blue Gender(tm), a true sci-fi anime airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim; movies for Lupin the 3rd(tm), one of the longest running anime classics; Fruits Basket(tm), based on the top-selling comic book in Japan; recently announced mega-hit Detective Conan; and fan favorites like Kiddy Grade, Tenchi Muyo! GXP and Sakura Taisen. For more information on FUNimation or any of its properties, contact Jeff Dronen at 817-788-0627 x 251 or jeff.dronen@funimation.com.