Crunchyroll Unveils Storyworks Division at Anime Future Forum
Storyworks formalizes a pipeline Sony already owns on both ends, moving Crunchyroll past licensing into development of its own cross-format titles and giving Japanese creators a named route into live-action production.
Reporting from 1 source: The Hollywood Reporter Anime.
Crunchyroll announced Storyworks, a new division combining Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Japanese creators, and Sony Pictures to develop global stories as anime and Japanese anime as live action. Tohru Iokibe, a 25-year Sony veteran, leads it, reporting to chief content officer Asa Suehira. The company also said Crunchyroll Manga expands to more than 250 titles in English-speaking markets, and PlayStation 5 gets a dedicated anime space next spring.
Storyworks will report to Crunchyroll chief content officer Asa Suehira and be led by Tohru Iokibe, a 25-year Sony veteran, with a mandate to center original creative visions on greenlight-ready projects for HAYATE, Crunchyroll's joint venture with Aniplex. Separately, Crunchyroll Manga starts rolling out Wednesday as a premium add-on for readers in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Nepal and Pakistan, with J-Novel Club, Square Enix and Yen Press among the first partners and VIZ Media action titles to follow. Sony Interactive Entertainment's Hideaki Nishino said a dedicated anime space arrives inside the PlayStation 5 home experience next spring.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter Anime New ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ and Crunchyroll Live-Action Reveals Shared at Anime Future Forum