Production IMS Unable to Make Debt Payments, Declared Bankrupt

by arsonal
Oct 13, 2018 3:15 PM | 73 Comments

Production IMS, the animation studio based in Nerima, Tokyo, known for production of anime titles such as Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha., Shinmai Maou no Testament, and High School Fleet, has been declared bankrupt. Credit and marketing information firm Tokyo Shoko Research reported on Thursday that Production IMS filed for bankruptcy on September 21. Tokyo District Court granted the application on October 3, allowing the company to commence bankruptcy proceedings.

Yoshiyuki Matsuzaki, an animation producer who had worked on titles such as Girls Bravo and Strike Witches 2 at AIC, founded Production IMS in 2013 after leaving his former employer. He was later joined by producer Jiyuu Ougi, who left AIC having worked on Sora no Otoshimono and Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai.

Production IMS saw early success with titles such as Date A Live II and Shinmai Maou no Testament. However, the company was met rising costs in production and payments to subcontractors. Cash flow deteriorated as sales also turned sluggish. By December 2017, the company was forced to restructure operations and consolidate its two studio spaces in Nerima into one.

The consolidation appeared to only delay the company's demise. This past June, Production IMS sent letters to subcontractors saying that it was unable to fulfill debt obligations and that it was hiring a law firm to assist with debt consolidation. Sources interviewed by Tokyo Shoko Research who were knowledgeable of internal discussions said Production IMS began that process with the anticipation of eventual bankruptcy filing and liquidation of the business.

Total debt has been set at 250 million yen (approximately US$2.23 million). Tokyo District Court has set a deadline of November 7 for creditors to submit a claim for payment in the bankruptcy case. A creditors meeting will also be held on February 5, 2019, to discuss the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings.

Source: Tokyo Shoko Research 1, Tokyo Shoko Research 2, Animation Business Journal

News submitted by DonTrumpolino

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20 of 73 Comments Recent Comments

This is really bad.Now from where will the High School Fleet and Date A Live come.

Dec 9, 2020 6:55 PM by DarkSirius-03824

Sad to hear . High School Fleet was the anime from them I liked the most .So one last lesbian ship for old time sake ,,,,YEEEEEEEEEEES

Dec 9, 2020 6:31 PM by Yuri-Crusader

Damn I rly love their Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst and Date A Live

Dec 3, 2020 3:51 PM by Thyriad-oPPailov

a debt of 250 million yen...that is reportedly the cost for making an average 1-cour anime
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-08-13/anime-insiders-share-how-much-producing-a-season-costs/.91536

rest in peace. cant say i watched their shows, except for Kon Kon...which was ok-ish.
have posponed watching DAL since forever.

Oct 17, 2018 1:39 PM by DreamingBeats

so will we still get Date a live Season 3 ? or is is fully canceled?

Oct 16, 2018 11:41 PM by CatGirlCinnamon

I'm not surprised

Oct 15, 2018 1:55 PM by KamiNecromancer

That's sad. I did like some of their works, especially Date A Live

Oct 15, 2018 8:55 AM by swampert260

Not one of my favourite studios, but Twintails was good and Testament was okay.

Oct 15, 2018 4:25 AM by Gator

when their ovas are better than their series

Oct 15, 2018 4:19 AM by rainsinz

Weirdly enough. I don't think the West had anything to do with this. lmao.

Oct 14, 2018 6:09 PM by Stripes

XaiKun said:
Why did they even decide to adapt Takunomi.. It was such a boring and random show.

Popular speculation was that they got product endorsement deals from the alcohol manufacturers. In other words, a dying gasp of desperation. (If not, they put a lot of effort into making ads without compensation - really?)

I liked the show though, mainly for https://myanimelist.net/character/156005/Kae_Midorikawa

(insert promotional endorsement for the MAL "Anime MILFs & Mature Women Fan Club" here)

Oct 14, 2018 5:54 PM by nDroae

Why did they even decide to adapt Takunomi.. It was such a boring and random show.

Oct 14, 2018 1:56 PM by XaiKun

I wouldn't worry about High School Fleet.

However, DAL Season 3 may be questionable. The fact that we didn't get any info at all from last weekend makes me wonder how far in production the show is now.

Oct 14, 2018 12:06 PM by Stark700

Imaishi said:
kind of a shame really. not that I care too much about the studio itself, as the best thing they made seems to be Maou Testament, which was only good in the ecchi aspect, but it's still sad to see a young studio die like this

NG_Chloe said:
Revenge is sweet, sorry to those who are sad, but I have a bit of beef with this studio because of Shinmaou, and this studio's destruction gives me hope that the series can be forgotten from my memory forever.

It's a a shame that those people lost their jobs though

revenge is sweet? what kind of revenge, because you dislike a show they made? XD

You don't know me personally, you probably wouldn't understand. It's complicated

Oct 14, 2018 10:20 AM by NG_Chloe

I could be a jerk and say fuck you for that poor "adaptation" of Eternal my master. But as I am not one, sad news either if animated good or bad animes these are always bad news for the industry can't understand how can you be happy for it.

Oct 14, 2018 10:12 AM by removed-user

Too bad for people loosing their jobs but when it comes to the industry, nothing of much value was lost. Closings like this make me wonder if the quality of an average production would rise if the industry shrank a bit and studios wouldn't be able to get away with any piece of garbage thrown at the consumers.

Oct 14, 2018 10:07 AM by Antanaru

kind of a shame really. not that I care too much about the studio itself, as the best thing they made seems to be Maou Testament, which was only good in the ecchi aspect, but it's still sad to see a young studio die like this

revenge is sweet? what kind of revenge, because you dislike a show they made? XD

Oct 14, 2018 10:07 AM by Imaishi

I hope date a live 3 does not get canceled. Another studio could pick it up

shoji777 said:

Ukatoid said:
RIP. Inari Konkon was great

is Inari Konkon good?

I watched 2 episodes and dropped it. It is trash

But thats my opinion. Some people might disagree

Oct 14, 2018 9:21 AM by thepath

shoji777 said:

Ukatoid said:
RIP. Inari Konkon was great

is Inari Konkon good?

Yeah. I watched it when it was airing and remember liking it.