Aniplex, Inc.

Aniplex's logo since 2003[1]
Aniplex's headquarters at the SME Rokubanchō Building in Chiyoda, Tokyo
Native name	株式会社アニプレックス
Romanized name	Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu
Formerly	Sony Pictures Entertainment Music Publishing Inc. (1995–1997) Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. (1997–2001) Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc. (2001–2003)[2]
Company type	Division
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	September 1995; 28 years ago (1995-09)[1]
Founder	Sony Group Corporation
Headquarters	4-5 Rokubanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo , Japan
Key people	Atsuhiro Iwakami (President & CEO) Tomonori Ochikoshi (Senior Executive Vice President) Hiroyuki Shimizu (Executive Vice President) Masanori Miyake (Executive Vice President)[1]
Products	Anime Motion pictures Video games Soundtracks Merchandise Figures Toys Stationery
Number of employees	300[1] (June 16, 2023)
Parent	Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Divisions	Aniplex.exe
Subsidiaries	A-1 Pictures Aniplex of America Aniplex Shanghai Boundary Claynel CloverWorks Crunchyroll, LLC (joint venture with Sony Pictures) Lasengle Live2D Myriagon Studio Peppermint Anime GmbH (joint venture with Peppermint Enterprises) Quatro A Rialto Entertainment
Website	www.aniplex.co.jp

Aniplex, Inc. (株式会社アニプレックス, Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu) is a Japanese entertainment and media company that is part of the Sony Group as a division of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company is mainly engaged in the planning, production, and distribution of anime series with a focus on multimedia deployment of its own and licensed intellectual properties (IPs).

The company is also involved in the production and distribution of theatrical films as well as the planning, development, and publishing of video games alongside producing and selling merchandise related to its media franchises, releasing home media and original soundtracks, producing musicals and stage performances, organizing live events to promote its series and managing copyright and licensing. It operates Aniplex Online, an e-commerce store that provides the company products directly to consumers.

Established in September 1995 by the Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Aniplex operates worldwide with regional headquarters; Aniplex America is based in Santa Monica, California, while Aniplex China is based in Shanghai. It co-owns Crunchyroll, LLC with its sister company, Sony Pictures, which operates the world's largest direct-to-consumer (DTC) anime streaming service.

A prominent company in the anime industry, Aniplex is responsible for the production of numerous critically acclaimed and successful anime series such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Gurren Lagann, Monogatari Series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate Series, Sword Art Online and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. It also operates and publishes the hit mobile game Fate/Grand Order.

Aniplex is a full member of The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA),^[3] a regular member of The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA),^[4] a supporting member of The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ)^[5] and Japan Video Software Association (JVA).^[6]

History

Established in September 1995 as a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan under the name SPE Music Publishing,^[2] the company received a capital investment from Sony Music Entertainment Japan in January 1997, changing its name to SPE Visual Works.^[2] After becoming a joint venture between SPEJ and SMEJ, it inherited Sony Music Group video productions, excluding SMEJ artists' music videos, in January 1998.^[2]

On January 1, 2001, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan and changed its name to SME Visual Works.^[2] On April 1, 2003, it rebranded to its current name, Aniplex, which is coined from “a complex of rights business derived from animation.”^[2][7]

In 2004, Aniplex launched the Sugi Label in collaboration with renowned composer Koichi Sugiyama, best known for the music of the Dragon Quest series, to release his work.^[8] The label was sold to King Records in 2009.

In March 2005, Aniplex established Aniplex of America, a US-based subsidiary in Santa Monica, California, to expand its overseas licensing and distribution business in English-speaking regions and the North and South American markets.^[2] Later that same year, it founded A-1 Pictures, a wholly-owned animation studio, on May 9.^[2] Originally established to oversee the production of only a few of Aniplex's family-oriented series, the company has since grown into a full-fledged studio involved in the production of a wide range of projects.

On March 20, 2015, Aniplex and German anime distributor Peppermint Enterprises announced that they had established Peppermint Anime GmbH, a joint venture inheriting Peppermint’s anime operations to develop and strengthen the Japanese animation business in German-speaking countries.^[9][10] The joint venture is part of Aniplex's efforts to expand its overseas footprint and marks the beginning of its European expansion. In April 2015, Aniplex announced that it had invested in Wakanim, a French anime streaming service operator, becoming its largest shareholder.^[11][12] The companies aim to expand the platform availability beyond French-speaking countries and provide Japanese content rights holders with a wide range of services to further develop and expand the European anime market.^[11]

On January 6, 2017, Sony Music Entertainment Japan announced the launch of SACRA MUSIC, a new label specializing in anison music, on April 1, 2017, with an initial roster of 14 renowned artists transferring from other Sony Music Group labels, including Aniplex-affiliated artists LiSA, Kana Hanazawa, and TrySail.^[13][14] In collaboration with Aniplex, SACRA MUSIC aims to strengthen its overseas expansion efforts and promote its artists' activities on a global scale by participating in events and holding overseas concerts.^[13][14]

On September 4, 2017, Aniplex announced a capital and business alliance with Revolve, which is involved in the planning, development, and production of figures, becoming its largest shareholder.^[15][16] Through this investment, Aniplex intends to strengthen its ties with Revolve and expand its merchandising business. By enhancing the collaboration between its product planning division and Revolve, it aims to strengthen its figure product lineup and further speed up the process from planning to manufacturing and commercialization.^[15][17]

On February 17, 2018, Madman co-founder & CEO Tim Anderson confirmed that on November 15, 2017, Aniplex had acquired a minority interest in Madman Anime Group for an undisclosed sum and was issued new shares.^[18] On February 6, 2019, Aniplex acquired Madman Anime Group for A$35 million, making the Australian company a wholly-owned subsidiary.^[19][20]

On March 28, 2018, Aniplex announced a business and capital alliance with Live2D, the developer of the popular software of the same name, acquiring a majority stake in the company.^[21][22][23] Live 2D, which dynamically moves pictures drawn in 2D, is widely used in various applications, such as mobile games and VTubing.^[22] Following the investment, the two companies intend to collaborate to produce feature-length animated films using Live2D's technology.^[21][22][23]

On April 2, 2018, group company A-1 Pictures announced that it had renamed its Kōenji Studio to CloverWorks, giving it a unique brand identity distinguishable from its Asagaya Studio.^[24][25] On October 1, 2018, CloverWorks was spun off into a separate independent company, making it a direct subsidiary of Aniplex. Aniplex producer Akira Shimizu was appointed president and representative director, while Yūichi Fukushima was appointed Corporate Officer.^[26][27]

On November 1, 2018, Aniplex announced that it had established Rialto Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for independent video production and license management, on October 1.^[28][29] Aniplex's deputy president, Tadashi Ishibashi, was appointed representative director and chairman of the company, and veteran producer Eiichi Kamagata was named president. He served as president and representative director of Lucent Pictures Entertainment before assuming his new role at Rialto.^[29]

On April 19, 2019, Aniplex announced that it had established a Chinese subsidiary, Aniplex (Shanghai), to expand its activities in China, with full-scale operations scheduled to begin on May 7.^[30][31] Besides licensing its properties, the company intends to establish a storefront to sell figures and other merchandise directly to Chinese consumers, develop local IP, and produce and release Chinese animation within the region.^[31]

On September 24, 2019, as part of Sony's efforts to increase collaboration between its subsidiaries and strengthen its international anime distribution business,^[32] Aniplex and Sony Pictures Television announced the consolidation of their anime streaming services Funimation, Wakanim, and Madman Anime Group under Funimation Global Group, LLC., a new joint venture led by Funimation's general manager, Colin Decker.^[33][34] Aniplex holds a 20% stake in Funimation Global Group.^[35]

On December 26, 2019, Aniplex announced the launch of a new visual novel brand named ANIPLEX.EXE. ATRI: My Dear Moments, developed by Frontwing and Makura (枕), and Adabana Odd Tales (徒花異譚, Adabana Itan), developed by Liar-soft were the brand's first two revealed titles. Both games support English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese language options.^[36][37] The two games were released on June 19, 2020, on PC via Steam worldwide and via DMM Games in Japan. Their cumulative sales have exceeded 100,000 copies as of June 19, 2021.^[38]

On April 1, 2020, Aniplex established Boundary, a 3DCG animation production company. CloverWorks president Akira Shimizu was appointed the studio's president and representative director.^[39][40] Since its inception, Boundary has been mainly involved in the CG production of CloverWorks projects.^[41]

On February 1, 2021, Aniplex announced a capital tie-up with f4samurai, the developer of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story and Disney: Twisted-Wonderland, allowing Aniplex to strengthen its relationship with the studio and further enhance and expand its gaming business.^[42][43][44]

On December 15, 2021, Aniplex announced a share transfer agreement to acquire Delightworks' game development division for an undisclosed sum.^[45][46][47] On December 28, 2021, a new company, Lasengle, was established through a corporate split and inherited the gaming business of Delightworks, including the Fate/Grand Order development team.^[48] On February 1, 2022, Aniplex completed the acquisition per the share transfer agreement. Yoshinori Ono, previously president and chief operating officer of Delightworks, was appointed president and representative director of Lasengle. Aniplex’s CEO, Atsuhiro Iwakami, would serve as the company Chairman.^[49][50] Yosuke Shiokawa, the creative producer behind Fate/Grand Order, left Delightworks and Lasengle at the end of January 2022, establishing his studio Fahrenheit 213 to work on a new original franchise.^[51]

On May 30, 2022, Aniplex, its subsidiary, CloverWorks, WIT Studio, and Shueisha announced the establishment of JOEN, a new joint venture involved in the planning and production of animated works, including TV series, feature films, and short clips. CloverWorks’ Corporate Officer Yūichi Fukushima and WIT Studio Director Tetsuya Nakatake, producers of the highly acclaimed adaptation of Spy × Family, a collaboration between their respective studios, were appointed representative directors of JOEN.^[52][53][54] JOEN will strive to establish a new creative framework that prioritizes the staff during production while maintaining high quality and ensuring better and adequate profit sharing with creators. It plans to collaborate with various studios, producers, and creators to capture the charm of each project instead of working exclusively with CloverWorks and WIT.^[53][54]

On February 10, 2023, Aniplex announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Revolve will change its name to Claynel, effective April 1. Through rebranding, the company intends to expand beyond the planning and production of figures into the sales and distribution of its product line.^[55]

On May 31, 2023, Aniplex announced the acquisition of Japanese talent management firm Origamix Partners for an undisclosed sum, renaming it to Myragion Studio on June 1. The company intends to expand the scope of its operations by developing and producing Live-action projects for worldwide audiences with creators as the core, in addition to its existing film directors and screenwriters’ management and IP development businesses.^[56][57][58] Additionally, Myragion revealed a strategic partnership with South Korean production outfit Imaginus, established by Jinnie Choi, former CEO of Studio Dragon. Choi will serve as Executive Advisor to Myriagon Studio to jointly build a strong Asian premium production network.^[56][58]

Aniplex Online Fest

Aniplex held first Aniplex Online Fest in on July 4–5, 2020,^[59] to celebrate the latest anime projects, panels with staff and cast members, and musical performances. Sally Amaki of 22/7 (Nanabun no Nijūni) served as the emcee for the English version, streaming worldwide on YouTube. A Chinese podcast was available on Bilibili.^[60][61][62]

After the successful inaugural event, which garnered more than 800,000 viewers from around the globe, Aniplex announced the return of Aniplex Online Fest on July 3, 2021.^[63] The second edition lineup included updates on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, and Fate/Grand Order with musical performances by Aimer, ClariS, LiSA, ReoNa, and SawanoHiroyuki.^[64] Sally Amaki returned to host the show alongside Maxwell Powers.^[65][66][67]

Aniplex has announced return of Aniplex Online Fest on 9 September 2023. The participating lineup included ATRI – My Dear Moments, Black Butler, UniteUp!, Solo Leveling, Rurouni Kenshin -Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, Mashle: Magic and Muscles with voice cast including Hikaru Akao, Kaito Ishikawa, Reiji Kawashima, Tomori Kusunoki, Yurika Kubo, Chiaki Kobayashi, Soma Saito alongside MC&DJ Sally Amaki, Yoshida, DJ Kazu.^[68][69]

Anime productions

Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution with the following anime series.

Published games

References