 Next Batter's Circle Co., Ltd. (Next Batter's Circle), the company behind animation studio Tear Studio, ceased all operations on December 13 and submitted preliminary paperwork to file for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy will be formally filed before the end of December.The news was released on Monday by Tokyo Shoko Research, a long-standing credit reporting agency in Japan, and comes about a week after tweets surfaced about Tear Studio's failure to pay its animators. Around this time, Tear Studio deleted its official Twitter account and removed contact and recruiting info from its official website. On December 10, the official website for the anime film Fragtime published a notice indicating that they had been unable to make contact with the studio. Next Batter's Circle owes roughly 43 million yen (approximately US$392,500), 8 million yen (approximately US$73,000) of which is believed to be owed to about 50 animators. Founded in 2013, Next Batter's Circle began producing anime in 2018 under the name Tear Studio, debuting with Lord of Vermilion: Guren no Ou—co-produced with Asread—in July of that year. Tear Studio would later produce the Spring 2019 ecchi comedy Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? and the aforementioned Fragtime, which premiered in Japan on November 22. Source: IT Media, Tokyo Shoko Research |
mta_pnFeb 17, 2022 5:25 PM
| While most of the uproar on Twitter appears to be linked to Fragtime, a person claiming to have been involved in the production of Nande koko ni Sensei ga!? tweeted that Tear Studio's failure to pay its staff was also an issue during the series' production. |
| It's so shame, just when they started producing yuri :,( |
 |
| so will they pay their animators? or filing for bankruptcy excuse them on doing that? |
| So this means no Fragtime for west right? AS if it wasn't enough that we don't get to see good Shoujo-Ai/Yuri anime. Now this happens -_- |
| I first read that the producers teared down the studio (as in building) to file for bankruptcy. English headlines man, one s makes a world of a difference. |
 |
Veromaye said: So this means no Fragtime for west right? AS if it wasn't enough that we don't get to see good Shoujo-Ai/Yuri anime. Now this happens -_- everything is a disaster to us, with the few anime yuri and shoujo ai that comes out, and this happens T_T |
 "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." |
| Does it mean we'll never see it now, or is there still a chance blurays will be released? |
Daniel_Naumov said: deg said: so will they pay their animators? or filing for bankruptcy excuse them on doing that? Filing bankruptcy usually means they do not have any funds to continue functioning, which means termination of the company, not more no less... But the employees theoretically can take them to the court and have the court order to seize company property in favour of the victims (the employees). No idea how Japanese courts operate in such cases, but the more public outrage the bigger the chances people will get paid for their filthy drawings. For example in U.S.A. a special court would first have to determine that the bankruptcy was filed with an aim to avoid fulfilling obligations towards employees as well, e.g. deliberately avoiding paying wages. That one guy who reported this matter first said that he plans to get a lawyer and sue the company, so it works in Japan also. |
 |
| Is this the right thread to admit that I actually watched "Lord of Vermilion: Guren no Ou" ? Yea it was bad but kind of like watching a bad horror movie - you stay to gauge the level of trainwreckage. |
 |
| From what I can see online, the studio was perpetually in financial trouble and not even having a mere EUR 60,000 to pay their animators is incredibly telling. I feel sorry for the people who worked for the studio. Shit like this always happens around Christmas. In the US the truck company IS went bancrupt in the first week of December (both the CEO and CFO were arrested and have been accused of fraud) and left 8,000 truckers hanging with no money to pay bills or get Christmas presents for their children. Stories like theses break my heart because the little guys have to bear the brunt. |
| That's pretty short lived as a studio since it was founded in 2013. But considering their past record, it's not that much of a surprise. |
~ May all the beauty be blessed ~ |
| I was really hyped for fragtime. I wonder if they can release the blu ray and then use the profits to pay for animators. |
 |
| This is no bueno... |
 |
| Being Shoujo-Ai/Yuri fan is suffering... |
More topics from this board
» Manga 'Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi' Gets AnimeVindstot - Yesterday |
23 |
by Avery20
»»
13 minutes ago |
|
» Original Anime Movie 'A New Dawn' Announced for 2025DatRandomDude - Yesterday |
2 |
by Miragee
»»
25 minutes ago |
|
» 'Yuri!!! on Ice: Ice Adolescence' Anime Movie Cancels Production ( 1 2 )DatRandomDude - Apr 18 |
97 |
by Nanaca
»»
4 hours ago |
|
» 'Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou' Season 3 Unveils Additional Cast, First PromoHyperion_PS - Apr 21 |
2 |
by BankaiGoku
»»
Apr 22, 11:26 PM |
|
» TAAF 2024 Anime of the Year Winners AnnouncedSnow - Apr 19 |
10 |
by malvarez1
»»
Apr 22, 8:38 PM |