Manabu Otsuka, the CEO and president of anime studio MAPPA, penned a feature for Bungeishunju (Bunshun) Plus, where he discussed the studio’s past, present, and future, including its successes and failures.
Otsuka left Studio 4°C in 2011 to join MAPPA as it was being founded. He discussed how the studio faced a difficult financial situation after making Kids on the Slope (2012, made alongside studio Tezuka Production), which aired in Fuji TV’s Noitamina block. The series lost money, and other planned productions failed to materialize, forcing MAPPA, for the first time, to seriously consider “what we needed to do to prevent the studio from going bankrupt“.
Why Did Anime Studio MAPPA Fear Bankruptcy: A (Debatably) Unsustainable Production Approach
Ultimately, the issue lay in MAPPA’s reliance on its primary form of income: animation production commissions. Production committees comprise production companies that together fund an anime IP. Committees have the final say on how much this fund should be and would pay (commission) a studio like MAPPA to produce it.
While some commissions can be high enough to cover (or far exceed) the studio’s operating costs and freelancer pay, etc., over the production period, anime budgets are often mired in politics, often arguably insufficient, or hard to estimate. Many studios accept commissions that barely cover operating costs, meaning little retained earnings to develop the studio long-term (raising wages, hiring more staff, increasing production lines, starting new lines of business, etc.).
Naturally, these conditions mean walking a tightrope; any unexpected cost, and suddenly, the studio may lose money. Nao Hirasawa, CEO of anime production company ARCH, recently shared why it’s increasingly difficult for production committees to estimate anime budgets and schedules. You can read that here.
In 2014, MAPPA was notably commissioned for the Rage of Bahamut: Genesis anime series, which was funded entirely by CyberAgent subsidiary Cygames; Otsuka referenced this in his article, and Hirasawa cited Rage of Bahamut: Genesis as an example of the massive budgets that entered and disrupted the anime industry in the mid-2010s.
Hirasawa said these massive budgets disrupted the industry’s ability to estimate properly, given the sheer disparity in production scales. These nowadays range from 18 million yen to nearly 300 million yen per TV anime episode ($113k to $1.9 million; though, I’ve seen 100 million yen/$626k as a more common upper bound), making it harder to estimate (shudders in Invincible vs. JJK cost discourse. Don’t Google it). Hirasawa added that these budgets contributed to chasms between the studios that could secure them and those that could not.
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Meanwhile, Otsuka says Rage of Bahamut introduced him to the possibility of single companies funding anime (Cygames), so it’s interesting to see the series’ effect from multiple perspectives (a major disruptor for some and a source of inspiration for others).
For MAPPA’s Otsuka, Simply Joining Production Committees Wasn’t Enough
Otsuka says he felt MAPPA needed to join production committees to survive. The studio subsequently participated in the original anime series Yuri!!! on ICE and the original movie In This Corner of the World (ITCOW). Discussing Yuri!!! on ICE, a series infamous for its lack of a sequel (it was canceled) despite its massive (massive) success (Avex Pictures producer Hideo Katsumata says it was canceled due to issues on the creative side), Otsuka shared that Yuri!!! on ICE‘s Blu-ray and DVD sales surpassed 430,000 copies. A rough estimate puts this at around $20 million (3.2 billion yen) in sales, based on the ~7425 yen per DVD/Blu-ray volume pricing currently on the website.
Interestingly, Otsuka distinguishes between different types of production committee participation. There’s a simple investment where MAPPA doesn’t manage a window (explained later) and merely collects royalties. This was the case in Yuri!!! on ICE, where MAPPA’s production committee participation secured it royalties as the work was successful—a step-up from what many studios can expect.
However, while the returns were “by no means insignificant,” Otsuka says of the studio’s return on investment in Yuri!!! on ICE despite it being a massive hit, “we painfully realized the reality that, within the structure of the production committee, the studio could not be at the center of the business. We bore many responsibilities, such as guaranteeing quality, fulfilling delivery obligations, and taking investment risks, yet we were in the position of receiving the least profit. We came to clearly recognize this structure.“
To become a company capable of doing it all, Otsuka says he decided not only to create a rights department but also to grow the company and produce more, as well as a consistent amount of high-quality anime. He cited ZOMBIE LAND SAGA, BANANA FISH, Jujutsu Kaisen, and, by a stroke of luck, Attack on Titan: The Final Season falling into their lap. Otsuka says they continued to produce works despite facing many challenges.
In contrast to a simple investment, there is also the option of increasing the investment and negotiating the right to manage a window, which is a long-term undertaking where MAPPA would be the point of contact for managing a specific part of an IP (a window, e.g., merch development or overseas sales), pitching and fielding proposals for copyright use/exploitation for that window, approving/declining them, supervising these projects, receiving copyrights-based payments into a bank account, keeping records, and periodically distributing a portion of the income to other production committees.
Naturally, it’s a major step-up from simply receiving royalties. Some side notes:
- You can pay attention to the ending credits of an anime to get a sense of which company is managing what window. E.g., Bucchigiri?! was a co-production funded by MAPPA and Toho; MAPPA has the exclusive windows for overseas licensing—it’s negotiating directly with overseas streamers like Crunchyroll; Toho manages Blu-ray production and sales.
I said “exclusive window” because for other anime, responsibility for managing a window is often split among multiple companies. Of course, MAPPA and Toho were managing other windows, but while it’s easy to see the name of the person managing a window, it’s not like a name tells you the company they work for. Finding that can be tedious; you have to hope they leave some sort of public trail. - Random: French streamer ADN appears to have been on the committee for last year’s Fermat’s Kitchen, which I thought was cool. I mostly see Crunchyroll; sporadically, HIDIVE. You often think about France when it comes to high-class cooking, so it suits. But, ADN recently posted on X that it was dubbing the Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon anime in French due to its “great success.” No similar announcement has come for Fermat’s Kitchen despite premiering three months prior, making me think it wasn’t as much of a hit.
While former head of MAPPA’s rights division, Makoto Kimura, who left MAPPA in 2024 (he explains why he left here), isn’t mentioned in Otsuka’s article, Kimura said that he led the effort to build the rights department, and so his perspective is worth considering. He previously gave a lecture on the process; it made waves when it was revealed that MAPPA 100% funded Chainsaw Man (and also Campfire Cooking in Another World) and would manage all of its rights. You can read about that starting from here (‘I Am Concerned’: KADOKAWA Anime Producer Says Japan Needs to Protect Its Unique Style and Calls for Sustainable Production) and follow the link.
MAPPA gained experience with overseas licensing through the Mr Love: Queen’s Choice anime series. Otsuka says it deepened the relationship with Crunchyroll, but MAPPA did not handle the entrusted rights optimally. The experience fed into a major turning point for MAPPA: Chainsaw Man.
A Random Segue Into How MAPPA Raises Funds for Anime: Gap/Bridge Financing
MAPPA secured gap/bridge financing to help produce Chainsaw Man (gap financing explained here; but basically it’s securing a presales agreement (agreeing a contract with a platform like Crunchyroll months to stream an anime in advance of actually receiving payment for the sale) -> taking this presales agreement to a bank (usually) and getting your creditworthiness assessed -> securing a short-term bank loan for a percentage of the pre-sales agreement to help complete production –> paying the loan back plus interest once production is completed). It helps fill gaps in financing, hence the name. You can read about that at the same link as the above. Slightly biased, but the whole article may be worth reading.
And in addition to Chainsaw Man, MAPPA also used gap financing to produce In This Corner of the World; you can also get an insider look at its production from anime consultant Jerome Mazandarani’s recent essay. Mazandarani’s company at the time, Animatsu, provided gap financing (so it’s not just banks) to the film’s producers (this time, a production committee) and handled the film’s global distribution.
We got a rare look at advertising numbers: Grossing over $19 million (3 billion yen) in Japan (first theatrical run, Box Office Mojo), Mazandarani shared that less than $1.5 million was spent on P&A (Print & Advertising). The $1.5 million doesn’t cover production costs, which were 250 million yen, with 39 million raised through crowdfunding (Toyokeizai). This is based on ITCOW‘s 2016 cut; it received an extended cut in 2019. Overall, it looks like ITCOW made a healthy profit.
However, MAPPA was near the bottom of the production committee, which comprises, in order of investment: Asahi Shimbun, ATX, Cygames, TBS Radio, Tokyo Color Photo Wings, Tokyo Theater, Tohokushinsha, Bandai Visual, Futabasha, Makku, MAPPA, and Genco. Profits are usually paid out based on the investment ratio, with MAPPA and Genco investing the least and thus receiving the least returns.
Chainsaw Man Taught MAPPA Valuable And Tough Lessons on Producing Anime, Says Otsuka
From being a studio that only received animation production commissions for Kids on the Slope to massive commissions for Rage of Bahamut, on account of the studio’s track record for high-quality production (under sometimes controversial circumstances), to production committee participation (simple investment to secure royalties) in Yuri!!! on ICE, to production committee participation (managing various windows) in Mr Love: Queen’s Choice, to solo production (managing all windows) for Chainsaw Man, Otsuka notes the progress, but shares that Chainsaw Man Season 1 didn’t go exactly as planned, with the responsibilities heavier than imagined.
For Chainsaw Man, MAPPA handled “everything, including publicity, overseas distribution, and merchandising,” the burdens of which exposed parts of MAPPA’s inexperience in rights management, Otsuka says. He feared it could create the impression that anime studios struggled to take on projects with 100% sole funding. “Therefore,” Otsuka said, “I decided to take the lead in rights myself and review the executive structure and the system itself. I felt it was necessary to redesign from the very beginning, focusing not on what we sell, but on what we want to deliver.“
Amid unsubstantiated rumors at the time that Chainsaw Man Season 1 was a flop, Otsuka had said in 2023 that it was a complete financial success in terms of revenue and expenditure, but lacked the impact of fellow MAPPA title Jujutsu Kaisen.
Otsuka was very effusive in his praise for the Chainsaw Man manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, describing it as “embody[ing] the reasons why I chose animation as my career, and the lineage of subculture that strongly attracted me when I joined STUDIO 4°C,” and more.
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Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc also saw MAPPA try to reach general audiences, instead of solely older males. “During the production process, there were many preconceived notions that ‘Chainsaw Man is a work for men.’ However, the essence of the work lies elsewhere; we believed that if we carefully depicted the relationships between the characters and the fluctuations of their emotions, the audience would be able to enjoy it much more.“
He says this was successful, also reaching women, plus middle and high schoolers. However, Otsuka can’t say it has fully reached families yet, perhaps revealing aspects of MAPPA’s future direction. The film was a hit, grossing over $162 million globally.
Otsuka says Reze Arc represents MAPPA’s renewed determination to synchronize production and rights management properly. Currently, “Not everything is running exactly as planned. Nevertheless, we feel we have made significant progress from our stagnant system.” As well as CEO and President, Otsuka is now the head of the rights division.
It’s a very good read (paywalled). While MAPPA has been criticized for its production conditions, Otsuka believes the company needs to produce more anime while maintaining quality to secure a sustainable future. Steps have purportedly been taken to improve the conditions. Otsuka said one of his first acts as president in 2016 was to end Saturday work. MAPPA is now among the highest-paying and staffed companies in the industry (expects over 500 employees this spring). He says the recent Netflix co-production deal symbolizes MAPPA’s intention to explore the possibilities of an anime studio.
Source: Bunshun
Featured image: © Gege Akutami/Shueisha, Jujutsu Kaisen Production Committee
Insert image: © 2025 MAPPA / Chainsaw Man Project © Tatsuki Fujimoto / Shueisha © Fumiyo Kouno/Futabasha/Konosekai no katasumini Project © Gege Akutami/Shueisha, Jujutsu Kaisen Production Committee © Yuri!!! on ICE Production Committee
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