CyberAgent Partners With MAPPA, Acquires Stake in Studio’s Parent Company MHD

CyberAgent has entered into a business partnership with animation studio MAPPA and acquired a stake in MAPPA’s parent company, MHD Co., Ltd., the companies announced on November 11.

The size of CyberAgent’s stake and the value of the investment were not disclosed. MAPPA President and CEO Manabu Otsuka also serves as President and CEO of MHD.

Under the business alliance agreement, MAPPA and CyberAgent plan to explore cooperation across anime planning and production, broadcasting and streaming, games, merchandise, and events. The companies said the partnership will combine MAPPA’s animation production capabilities with CyberAgent’s experience in media, games, advertising, and IP development.

The two companies have already worked together on anime planning, distribution and broadcasting through ABEMA, and game adaptations. According to the announcement, the new agreement is intended to deepen that existing relationship and support longer-term collaboration.

The partnership also reflects MAPPA’s continued expansion beyond animation production itself. The studio operates licensing businesses in Japan and overseas across areas including merchandise, streaming, and events, and launched its own music label, mappa records, in 2025. MAPPA is known for titles including JUJUTSU KAISEN, Chainsaw Man, and Attack on Titan The Final Season.

For CyberAgent, the agreement comes amid a broader expansion of its anime and IP operations. The company established its Anime & IP Division in 2024, bringing anime planning, IP development, promotion, merchandising, and related functions under a broader structure aimed at both domestic and international growth.

Earlier in 2026, CygamesPictures became a consolidated CyberAgent subsidiary and rebranded as Cypic. CyberAgent has also established the animation studio CA Soa as part of its efforts to expand its production capabilities.

The company’s direction is consistent with comments made by Takahiro Yamauchi in a previous Anime Corner interview, where he described a strategy built around having production, management, and platforms within the group while expanding IP from creation through monetization.

MAPPA has similarly been increasing its involvement in both the production and business sides of its projects. In an October 2026 interview, Otsuka discussed the studio’s efforts to connect creation and distribution more directly, including its decision to take greater responsibility for both sides through projects such as Chainsaw Man.

CyberAgent Representative Director and President Takahiro Yamauchi commented on the new partnership:

“We have entered into a partnership with MAPPA Co., Ltd. and invested in its parent company, MHD Co., Ltd. We have deep respect for anime culture that has been cultivated over many years, and for the passion that creators pour into each and every work.
As fellow leaders of our generation in the industry, Mr. Otsuka and I adopt ‘Creative First’ as our shared value. By bringing CyberAgent’s expertise across anime, game, and media business operations, we want to realize multifaceted initiatives together for great stories to cross borders and reach audiences. We devote our full efforts from a long-term perspective to enhance the true value of Japan’s anime worldwide.”

MAPPA President and CEO Manabu Otsuka commented:

“We have always asked ourselves how best to create and deliver our works so that audiences can enjoy them more deeply. Along the way, we have come to realize how important it is to work closely with partners who bring different strengths and to think together, beyond the interests of any single company, about what would make the experience better for the people who enjoy our works.
We are grateful that the team at CyberAgent shares these beliefs and sees the possibilities that can open up when our two companies work together, and this has led us to deepen our collaboration. We will continue to create with great care for quality and at the right pace, sharing the appeal of our works so that audiences around the world can enjoy them.”

Source: Press Release, CyberAgent Official Website