Japanese multinational entertainment company Konami has announced the establishment of its in-house animation studio called KONAMI animation. The first project for the new studio was a special anniversary video for the 25th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game:
Takashi Kaiga served as the video’s chief director, with Aoi Fudeo, Junya Tanaka, Yuto Nakawada, Seiya Miyajima, Atsushi Tsujimoto, and Ken Takahashi as directors. Meanwhile, Isamu Abe, Daisuke Tsuboi, Yasuhiro Aoki, Mitsutaka Echigo, and Atsushi Tsubokawa served as animation producers. J.C.STAFF and AtoriE also cooperated in the video’s production.
According to the Konami Animation’s website, the studio’s vision is focused on dynamically evolving the Japanese anime scene to a new level by focusing all its staff’s experiences, knowledge, and cutting-edge technology cultivated in game development and applying it to anime production. Aside from the Yu-Gi-Oh! anniversary video, the studio has been also credited for the storyboard, CG creation, and composition of the Reign of the Seven Spellblades opening scene.
Aside from the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that Konami has published since 1999, some of the company’s most-known IPs include Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Castlevania, Contra, Frogger, Tokimeki Memorial, Parodius, Gradius, Suikoden, and eFootball.
The company was first founded in 1969 but was originally operating as a jukebox rental and repair business. It wasn’t until 1978 that it first released its first arcade game machine. Since then, the company has ventured to releasing games for home computers and consoles, as well as rhythm games and collectible card games.
Source: Konami Animation Website
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