Media advertising company CyberAgent announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a business alliance agreement with animation studio MAPPA , and has acquired a stake in MHD Co., MAPPA 's parent company. The partnership will combine MAPPA 's animation production capabilities and CyberAgent 's media expertise to strengthen their ability to create anime and deliver it to audiences. The partnership will focus on the two companies' shared value of the "creator first" culture, rooted in their respect for the passion that creators bring to their craft. Through the partnership, the companies will explore collaboration from planning and production to broadcasting and streaming, games, merchandise, and events.
Image courtesy of CyberAgent
Along with the announcement, the two companies' executives have released statements regarding the partnership:
CyberAgent representative director and president Takahiro Yamauchi :
"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."
MAPPA President and CEO Manabu Ōtsuka :
"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."
CyberAgent recently established a new creative hub called Canvas Kyoto in June, which aims to foster new creators and broaden the pool involved with the anime and game production, especially in Japan's Kansai region which includes Kyoto.
Cygames Pictures became a consolidated subsidiary of CyberAgent on February 27. Cygames Pictures was previously a subsidiary of CyberAgent 's subsidiary Cygames . Cygames Pictures changed its name to Cypic on April 6.
CyberAgent established Cygames in 2011, and the company has produced games such as Uma Musume Pretty Derby , Rage of Bahamut , and Granblue Fantasy . Cygames established an anime division in March 2015 and the anime production subsidiary Cygames Pictures in April 2016. The company has worked on anime productions inspired by its games including Uma Musume Pretty Derby , Rage of Bahamut Genesis , Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul , and Granblue Fantasy the Animation .
In April 2024, CyberAgent created in-house guidelines for its creators for using generative AI/large language models for images, aimed at avoiding violations of copyright law and highlighting that current generative AI cannot produce a usable end product as-is. Cygames founded its Cygames AI Studio in December.
CyberAgent established its AI Lab group in 2016, and it debuted its first large language model based on Japanese in May 2023. The company established an AI-focused business unit focused on game development named "Game AI Lab" in October 2023, as well as the "Animation AI Lab" business unit for animation production in the same month.
MAPPA is currently holding the MAPPA Expo 15th Anniversary exhibition at the Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo between September 16 and December 27. The exhibition will also travel to Fukuoka between January and March 2027.
MAPPA announced in February that it will absorb its sibling studio Contrail through a merger, assuming all rights and obligations.
Netflix formed a new strategic partnership with anime studio MAPPA in January. The new partnership makes Netflix the exclusive streamer for a number of future original anime titles from MAPPA , and allows the two companies to work together on these new projects in a more comprehensive way "from story development to merchandise." New titles from MAPPA will stream exclusively and simultaneously on Netflix worldwide.
Source: Email correspondence, CyberAgent, Anime! Anime! (仲瀬 コウタロウ)