MAPPA has signed a business partnership agreement with CyberAgent, the Japanese company that runs media and IP, internet advertising and game businesses. As part of the deal, CyberAgent has acquired a portion of the shares in MHD, the parent company of MAPPA. The studio announced the partnership last night on its official site. Check out the official post down below:
MAPPA's announcement makes clear that the deal does not change who runs the studio. The statement says there is "no change" to MAPPA's management structure, and that MAPPA will keep making its productions "as an independent animation studio."
What The Partnership Covers
According to MAPPA, the 2 companies will combine MAPPA's animation production skills with the know-how the CyberAgent Group has built up in media, game operations and advertising. The stated goal is to raise both the "power to create" and the "power to deliver" anime.
MAPPA says the 2 companies will look at working together across a wide range of areas:
- Planning and production
- Broadcasting and streaming
- Games
- Merchandise and events
The statement adds that the partnership aims to connect anime and fans "across countries and regions" and to contribute to the further development of the anime industry.
Why MAPPA And CyberAgent Are Teaming Up
MAPPA and CyberAgent have worked together before. According to the announcement, the 2 companies have already collaborated on anime planning, broadcasts and streams on ABEMA, and game adaptations. MAPPA says those projects showed that both sides share the same values about taking production seriously and delivering better work to fans, and the partnership is meant to deepen that relationship over the long term.
MAPPA has been making anime with creators since it was founded in 2011. In the statement, the studio says that getting its work to more people for longer requires taking on the business that follows production, not only the production itself.
What Manabu Otsuka And Takahiro Yamauchi Said
MAPPA President Manabu Otsuka, who is also the president of MHD, said the studio has always focused on how to make and deliver its work so that viewers can enjoy it more deeply. Otsuka said the studio will keep valuing the quality of its work and approach production "with the right sense of speed" so that customers around the world can enjoy it. More of his views on how anime gets made are in MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka Says AI Is Nothing More Than A Tool, And Only People Can Create Anime That Moves You.
CyberAgent President Takahiro Yamauchi confirmed that his company has invested in MHD. He said CyberAgent has "deep respect" for anime culture and for the feelings creators put into each work. As "a manager of the same generation involved in anime," Yamauchi said the 2 companies share "Creative First" as a common value, and that CyberAgent will "go all out with a mid- to long-term view" so that anime from Japan can create even more value around the world.
MAPPA's 15th Anniversary Layout Book
The news comes during MAPPA's 15th anniversary year. The studio is also selling the "MAPPA 15th Anniversary Layout Book," which it says traces the studio's 15 years along with "the passion and attention to detail of the people who made" its work:
According to the MAPPA EXPO goods page, the book is 134 pages, measures 210 x 280mm and costs 2,400 yen, with a limit of 3 per customer. It is on sale at MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary at Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo, which runs until December 7, and MAPPA plans to sell it through the MAPPA online shop after the Tokyo venue's second half ends. The Tokyo exhibition recently passed 100,000 visitors, and guests at the milestone ceremony received a copy of the book. The event was also covered in Jujutsu Kaisen Caught Tom Cruise's Eye At MAPPA EXPO, Where He Asked How Long One Episode Takes.
MAPPA is also hiring. A post on its official account says the studio is recruiting experienced staff across several departments "due to organizational expansion," including legal, PR, overseas promotion, production assistants, animators and CGI roles in Tokyo, plus production and digital animation jobs at its Osaka studio.
What would you like to see come out of the MAPPA and CyberAgent partnership?
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