Kadokawa aims to expand its anime production business by producing at least 40 new titles per year until 2023, the company announced in a recent fiscal report. The number of shows they produced ‘in-house’ was 33 last year, though they financed and produced even more. If those are taken into account, they already reached the number in 2020- and it includes anime series (31), movies (5), OVAs (4), as well as screening events. Kadokawa hopes to build on this and keep up the production numbers by the year 2023 and further establish itself as a major player in the anime industry.
The report for the fiscal year 2020, which they recently unveiled, shows positive results. Animation business grew by 9%, with Sword Art Online and Re:Zero as the most popular titles.
By getting involved in all segments of anime production, Kadokawa hopes to increase the number of produced anime further than “just” 40 per year.
The company aims to do this by implementing 4 initiatives:
- Improve the animation production system
- Expand licensing revenue
- Further expand sales of anime-related games, and
- Strengthen efforts with CyberAgent and Sony Group.
Kadokawa is a well-known name in the anime and manga publishing industry. Besides investing in production, they also founded Studio ENGI in 2018, alongside Sammy Corporation and Ultra Super Pictures-. The studio was in charge of Kemono Michi: Rise Up. They will also animate the upcoming The Detective is Already Dead light novel adaptation. In 2019, they invested in Kinema Citrus, and currently hold 31.8% of the ownership. However, these studios produce barely a fraction of the content Kadokawa invests in. Most recently, they also acquired J-Novel Club, a popular publisher of light novels in English.
Forty anime per year sounds like a lot, though Kadokawa already did it last year. They’ll be trying to keep up the pace until 2023, and we’ll be keeping an eye on all future announcements. Who knows, maybe we get some interesting sequels.
Source: AnimationBusiness
Image via KADOKAWAAnime
©KADOKAWA
