Some fans prefer Production I.G’s works like Kaiju No. 8, Psycho-Pass, Haikyuu!!, or Heavenly Delusion. Others are more fans of Wit Studio’s Spy x Family, Attack on Titan, My Deer Friend Nokotan, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, or are curious about the upcoming Reincarnated into Google Play World isekai shorts. And some fans prefer the absolutely adorable shows, characters, and merchandise created by Sanrio,with cute mascots such as Hello Kitty and Kuromi. But what if you’re a fan of all of these Japanese entertainment companies?
Rest assured, we have good news! Anime and Sanrio fans unite! Sanrio has become the fourth largest shareholder of publisher Mag Garden and studios Production I.G and Wit Studio’s parent company IG Port! (This also includes Signal.MD as it had merged into Production I.G on June 1st.) Which is especially good news for fans anticipating the debut of Sanrio’s stop-motion animation series My Melody & Kuromi debuting on Netflix on July 24th, which is animated by Wit Studio. So, what does this actually mean for the companies’ plans together?
Financial Backing for a Bright Collaborative Future
With Sanrio and IG Port’s capital and business alliance announced Tuesday, IG Port has raised 1.6 billion yen (US$11 million) in sale of shares. After IG Port had issued 929,100 shares valued at 1,750 yen (about US$12) each via third-party allotment, they raised a total of 1,625,925,000 yen (about US$11.19 million) from sales of those shares to Sanrio, the transaction of which is to go into effect July 3rd. But with such an acquisition of shares, how does IG Port and Sanrio plan to use the funds?
IG Port is said to designate 1 billion yen from the transaction as capital for training new creators and funding their works in addition to collaborative projects with Sanrio. The additional 600 million yen will be used for updating production systems and maintaining infrastructure (work PCs for animation, servers, data centers, etc.). And with that, as IG Port founder/CEO/president Mitsuhisa Ishikawa owns 18.9% of IG Port followed by Dentsu Group and NTV each owning 9.85% of the company, Sanrio is now the fourth largest shareholder of IG Port alongside NTT Docomo.
While companies acquiring shares to other certain companies can sometimes make fans anxious at the uncertainty such influence can bring to their favorite IPs, with a good chunk of IG Port in the pocket of Sanrio, fans can surely rest easy knowing that such a renowned and beloved company now has the opportunity to support their favorite anime studios. With the prospects of collabs with Sanrio, training new creators and funding their works, updating production systems, and maintaining infrastructure, there’s sure to be some major improvements coming in the future. Upgrades for animating and boosted backing for new creators, for instance, is sure to improve production for anime and make for encouraging prospects for future projects.
What are your thoughts on Sanrio being involved with IG Port? Let us know in the comments!
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