AB Productions 's B passed away

Claude Berda was a businessman who left his mark on the audiovisual landscape over the last forty years. Although he preferred to remain in the shadows, he was known to fans of Japanese animation for his involvement in bringing major series to France in the 1980s. 

Claude Berda and Jean-Luc Azoulay created AB Productions at that time. Jean-Luc Azoulay was in charge of artistic creation, while Claude Berda took charge of negotiations. When Club Dorothée was created in 1987, he traveled to Japan to buy series at a good price (without necessarily knowing what they looked like) in order to fill the dozens of hours of programming. Many of these series, such as Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, and Maison Ikkoku, would go on to become huge hits during the Dorothée years and are still considered classics today, which Japan Expo never fails to celebrate.

After ten years of Club Dorothée, AB launched its satellite television package, AB Sat, which included a channel dedicated to anime called AB Cartoon, later renamed Mangas. This channel has broadcast hundreds of series and will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026, while continuing to simulcast and remaster classic anime.

Japan Expo's team would like to pay tribute to him.