MAPPA

MAPPA Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Manabu Otsuka) today announced that it has entered into a business alliance agreement with CyberAgent, Inc. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Takahiro Yamauchi; TSE Prime Market: 4751), a company whose businesses include media & IP, internet advertising, and games.

Through this partnership, the two companies will honor the passion poured into every work and the appeal each one holds, while expanding both the possibilities of anime creation and the opportunities for audiences to connect with these works. Together, they aim to create experiences that allow people around the world to discover new stories and enjoy the works they love more deeply and for years to come.

In conjunction with this partnership, CyberAgent has acquired a stake in MAPPA’s parent company, MHD Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Manabu Otsuka). There will be no change to MAPPA’s management structure, and MAPPA will continue to create works as an independent animation studio.

 

Background of the Partnership
Always searching for ways to bring out the full potential of each work, MAPPA continues to take on new challenges in both the creation of works that leave a lasting impression on audiences and the business that surrounds them. Since its founding in 2011, the studio has devoted itself to its craft together with creators. MAPPA believes that, to share the appeal of its works with a wider audience over a longer period, it is important not only to produce works but also to take on the challenge of extending their reach in a variety of ways beyond production itself.

At the same time, while cherishing what it has built together with the creators who have supported its productions and the many companies it has worked with, MAPPA hopes to further expand the possibilities of its works by partnering with a company whose strengths complement its own.

The two companies have previously worked together on a range of projects, including anime planning, broadcasting and streaming on ABEMA, and game adaptations. Through these collaborations, they have found that they share a sincere commitment to their craft and a desire to deliver ever-better works to fans. To deepen this relationship and take on new challenges together over the long term, they have now entered into this partnership.

 

Overview of the Partnership
By combining MAPPA’s animation production capabilities with the expertise the CyberAgent Group has built through its various media, game, and advertising businesses, the two companies will work together to strengthen their ability both to create anime and to deliver it to audiences. They will explore collaboration across a wide range of areas, from planning and production to broadcasting and streaming, games, merchandise, and events. In doing so, they will pursue works and new ways of enjoying them that only this partnership can make possible, while connecting those works with fans across borders.
While honoring the culture and creative achievements built up over the years by the many people involved in anime, the two companies aim to contribute to the further development of the anime industry by continuing to create and deliver works that fans around the world will cherish for a long time.

 

Comment from Manabu Otsuka, President & CEO, MAPPA Co., Ltd.
“We have always asked ourselves how best to create and deliver our works so that audiences can enjoy them more deeply. Along the way, we have come to realize how important it is to work closely with partners who bring different strengths and to think together, beyond the interests of any single company, about what would make the experience better for the people who enjoy our works.
We are grateful that the team at CyberAgent shares these beliefs and sees the possibilities that can open up when our two companies work together, and this has led us to deepen our collaboration.
We will continue to create with great care for quality and at the right pace, sharing the appeal of our works so that audiences around the world can enjoy them.”

 

Comment from Takahiro Yamauchi, Representative Director and President, CyberAgent, Inc.
“We have entered into a partnership with MAPPA Co., Ltd. and invested in its parent company, MHD Co., Ltd. We have deep respect for anime culture that has been cultivated over many years, and for the passion that creators pour into each and every work.
As fellow leaders of our generation in the industry, Mr. Otsuka and I adopt ‘Creative First’ as our shared value. By bringing CyberAgent’s expertise across anime, game, and media business operations, we want to realize multifaceted initiatives together for great stories to cross borders and reach audiences. We devote our full efforts from a long-term perspective to enhance the true value of Japan’s anime worldwide.”