In suitably astonishing news, TOHO will be acquiring the renowned Western anime distributor GKIDS as a subsidiary.

Japanese media giant Toho is acquiring Gkids, the North American distributor of animated films like the Oscar-winning "The Boy and the Heron."

The two firms have already worked together to release films in the U.S., with GKids handling last year’s Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli feature "The Boy and the Heron." Financial terms were not disclosed.