Anime Studio Execs Debate Production Committee Model at Startup Event
Public and regulatory scrutiny of the production committee model is pushing major studios to publicly advocate for ownership structures that let them keep rights to their work.
Reporting from 1 sources: Animenomics.
At SusHi Tech Tokyo, executives from Production I.G, CoMix Wave Films, and MAPPA discussed alternatives to the production committee model. MAPPA's Manabu Otsuka, Production I.G's Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, and CoMix Wave Films' Noritaka Kawaguchi shared how their studios retain ownership. Studio Chizu's LLP model was also highlighted as a long-term alternative.
At SusHi Tech Tokyo, Asia's largest startup event, a panel on anime production drew attention to the industry's shifting business models. MAPPA president Manabu Otsuka, who has been vocal about the studio's solo financing of Chainsaw Man, joined Production I.G chairman Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and CoMix Wave Films chairman Noritaka Kawaguchi. Production I.G has invested in its own titles since the 1980s, while CoMix Wave Films earns overseas revenue from Makoto Shinkai's original films. Studio Chizu, the studio behind Mamoru Hosoda's films, uses a limited liability partnership with Nippon Television Network and Kadokawa to manage its catalog. Studio Chizu CEO Yuichiro Saito told the Nikkei that the LLP allows the studio to manage its works over 50- to 70-year spans. The panel comes as Japan's government is unlikely to strictly regulate production committees, but studio executives are pushing for longer-term thinking.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.