Forum Settings
Forums

Pierrot and Asahi Production Sign Partnership Agreement

New
Oct 12, 8:00 PM
#1
Content Admin
Overkilled Red

Offline
Aug 2013
7091

Two prominent names in the Japanese animation industry, Pierrot and Asahi Production, have officially entered into a business partnership aimed at enhancing their ability to produce high-quality anime consistently. The agreement was signed on October 11, 2024, signaling a strategic move to combine their respective strengths in animation production.

Under the agreement, both companies will collaborate on joint projects and share resources, including personnel, with the goal of building a robust system for stable and high-quality content creation. This partnership comes at a time when the anime industry faces increasing demands for more technologically advanced and visually captivating productions.

A Legacy of Success
Pierrot, established in 1979 by industry veteran Yuuji Nunokawa and others from Tatsunoko Production, has a storied history spanning over four decades. The studio is best known for iconic series like Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami (Magical Angel Creamy Mami), Naruto, Bleach, and Osomatsu-san (Mr. Osomatsu). Over the years, Pierrot has earned a strong reputation for its ability to produce long-running, successful series. Pierrot's current CEO, Kazumichi Ueda, who assumed the role in July 2024, has already pushed the company forward with the launch of a new production brand, Pierrot Films.

Asahi Production, also founded in 1979, initially specialized in animation photography but has since expanded its capabilities to include CGI, editing, and drawing. Today, the company operates as a full-service animation studio and has produced works such as Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete (Gushing over Magical Girls) and B-Project: Netsuretsu*Love Call (B-Project: Passion*Love Call).

Enhancing Production Capabilities
Both companies aim to leverage each other's expertise to navigate the increasingly competitive landscape of anime production. Asahi Production brings its advanced post-production capabilities, while Pierrot contributes its long-standing experience in producing large-scale series. Together, they hope to create a more resilient production framework that can meet the growing demands of the global anime market.

Moving forward, the companies plan to co-develop various projects while exploring new opportunities for growth and innovation. Through this partnership, Pierrot and Asahi Production are set to strengthen their positions as industry leaders, promising viewers even more cutting-edge and high-quality anime content in the years to come.

Source: Animation Business Journal, PR Times
VindstotOct 12, 8:19 PM

Oct 13, 12:17 AM
#2

Offline
May 2021
1649
Very exciting news . Future Pierrot projects will be further strengthened by the use of photography & CGI as cinematography, because Asahi is very strong in that regard. Really hope Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete S2 will have even better animation!!!
YubisoftOct 13, 2:07 AM

I'm level on MAL-Badges. View my badges.
Oct 13, 2:36 AM
#3

Offline
Feb 2021
7506
Good news! I hope that more good works will be adapted!
Oct 13, 4:30 AM
#4

Offline
Jan 2009
100516
this sounds like a merger already like how square enix is but good move to increase talent pools but if they increase their upcoming projects too then i do not know if their employee count can still keep up since the reason ufotable and kyoto animation have great production quality is just they do 1-2 anime per year while the other studios do average 5 and more anime per year
Oct 13, 6:15 AM
#5

Offline
Apr 2012
21100
I am always for high quality and production. But with each piece of news like this, I'm becoming more and more confused by the industry's tendency to follow Hollywood's lead in concentrating content production in the hands of a few major players.
Oct 13, 6:39 AM
#6

Offline
May 2021
1649
Reply to RobertBobert
I am always for high quality and production. But with each piece of news like this, I'm becoming more and more confused by the industry's tendency to follow Hollywood's lead in concentrating content production in the hands of a few major players.
@RobertBobert In Hollywood's case when things like this happen or even acquisitions, the animation projects become trash due to the fact that the biggest players for example Disney forces politics and agendas be the priority during the production and they give zero freedom even to important staff like Directors, writers etc. and as a result this situation prevents from freely expressing themselves and tell a story they want . But since this is Japan and judging how the studios above plan to use this partnership according to the text above I am confident that we will see big things from them and other studios will feel pressured by the competition . And competition is always good.

I'm level on MAL-Badges. View my badges.
Oct 13, 7:14 AM
#7

Offline
Apr 2012
21100
Reply to Yubisoft
@RobertBobert In Hollywood's case when things like this happen or even acquisitions, the animation projects become trash due to the fact that the biggest players for example Disney forces politics and agendas be the priority during the production and they give zero freedom even to important staff like Directors, writers etc. and as a result this situation prevents from freely expressing themselves and tell a story they want . But since this is Japan and judging how the studios above plan to use this partnership according to the text above I am confident that we will see big things from them and other studios will feel pressured by the competition . And competition is always good.
@Yubisoft You forget that the concentration of money and production in the hands of an increasingly narrow group of people only reduces the possibility of competition and allows you to manage the industry much more successfully and aggressively. The fewer people who have money and production, the fewer people will be able to express diverse voices and opinions. Which, of course, will reduce opportunities for competition due to the imbalance in the concentration of power, production and money. For example, it is much easier for a group of people to agree that the vegetable industry does not sell certain vegetables than a highly competitive vegetable industry with a bunch of suppliers and sellers. Yes, you could say that the Japanese market will definitely not involve politics and other dubious things in this, but this argument is completely controlled by the human factor and seeing how easily Hollywood killed off the competition in favor of a rote formula and an almost complete aversion to risk, I can't be that optimistic. Especially when the Japanese themselves have been arguing for years over whether the Japanese anime or gaming industry should censor itself for international success. Or even forced, given the insides from the creators of ReZero or Dragon Quest about the need to adjust the content for the sake of Western licensors.

I could also argue with the statement that competition is ALWAYS good, as too much constant competition forces people to overwork, constantly take risks and be constantly stressed out of fear of losing their job at any moment due to the large number of competitors. Or a too sharp and rapid increase in quality because of this, forcing workers to increasingly raise the bar and inflate production. Actually, something like this has already happened before in the gaming industry, when too rapid growth in consumption and competition led to overproduction and the emergence of a bubble, when the industry noticed too late that the audience had sharply reduced the rate of consumption (I don't think I need to tell you that various critics and even insiders are already making similar comments about the current anime industry as well). Although I would say that the excessive ambitions of the gaming industry, which too easily lost its head from the success of past years, are also to blame for the excessive rise in production costs.

But again, at the moment these are only my POTENTIAL fears, since “can do does not mean will do” and I, like others, can only sit down and see what such cooperation will ultimately lead to. Let's hope that the anime industry does not change itself and remains reasonable in the future.
RobertBobertOct 13, 7:39 AM
Oct 13, 4:53 PM
#8
Offline
Feb 2021
134
Damn, Pierrot's really gotten serious about making quality stuff lately, huh? Good for them. Good for them I say.

I hope this means my goat MahoAko gets a S2 that's even better than the 1st.
Oct 15, 7:30 AM
#9
Offline
Dec 2022
3343
It would be like Japanese companies having subsidiaries and imposing a very strict "you do your thing while I do mine" policy. Japanese economy right now is in a precarious spot, so this is a sign that it wants to deescalate the already-heated competitions in the market.
Oct 16, 10:08 AM

Offline
Aug 2010
2923
Wow, Pierrot really did need help. Maybe those Naruto episodes can finally come out.
Bum Bum Dum Dum

More topics from this board

» Manga 'Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai' Gets TV Anime

Vindstot - Oct 31

14 by Fabris »»
45 minutes ago

» 'One Punch Man', 'Planetes' Art Director Shigemi Ikeda Dies at 69

Vindstot - Yesterday

13 by Jonas-K »»
2 hours ago

» 'Blue Lock vs. U-20 Japan' Announces Additional Cast

DatRandomDude - Nov 2

9 by Fateixa »»
4 hours ago

» North American Anime & Manga Releases for November

Aiimee - Yesterday

1 by Fario-P »»
9 hours ago

» 'Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Freedom Zero' Prequel Project in Production

DatRandomDude - Nov 1

9 by RobertBobert »»
Today, 1:52 AM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login