Crunchyroll and Aniplex, which are both under the Sony umbrella, are coming together to create a joint venture anime production company they’ve named Hayate. According to Crunchyroll and Aniplex, Hayate is all about “planning, developing, and producing anime content for the Crunchyroll streaming service.”
The company is headquartered in Tokyo, and employees from both Crunchyroll and Aniplex are migrating over to take jobs. The top spots are being filled by two former Aniplex employees: Masanori Miyake is the chairman and CEO and Leo Watanabe is the president and COO.
Crunchyroll and Aniplex explained in a statement, “Hayate will produce premium content for anime fans worldwide using Aniplex’s production know-how cultivated over the years through its partnerships with a wide range of creators and studios as well as Crunchyroll’s development, marketing, and distribution capabilities built upon its strong ties to the anime community and passionate fandom.”
So far they haven’t announced any titles they’re working on, or a timeline for when we might expect to see them.
Sony is very interested in expanding its anime work, and Crunchyroll continues to grow, with more than 15 million subscribers as of July 2024. At the same time, it’s faced accusations from voice actors about poor treatment.
Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini said earlier this year, “We are very bullish about the overall growth of anime and what that means for us.”
This isn’t the only way that Aniplex and Crunchyroll have been working together. The two companies, along with Sony, are also all behind the upcoming global theatrical release of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle trilogy of films. The earlier film in the Demon Slayer franchise, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, took in $473 million theatrically across the globe when it hit theaters during the COVID pandemic, a time where most movies faltered.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.