Feels like whenever we bring you a bit of industry insider news on this here website, it’s usually pretty bleak. Broke animators, lack of innovation – name the problem, and the anime industry seems to be facing it.

So for a nice counterbalance, here’s some happy industry news. Production enterprise Aniplex and animation studio Gonzo have reported their earnings for the period ending in March, and they were good! Good earnings!

Aniplex, which is owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, reported a 91% increase in profits, or in raw numbers, ¥7,391,000,000, which is about $73 million. Previous earnings for the same period last year, for comparison, were $38 million. Good on ya, Aniplex!

The increase in profit was largely attributed to hits Fate/Grand Order, Monogatari and The Idolmaster.

Meanwhile, Gonzo, the studio behind Full Metal Panic! and Afro Samurai, showed a 20.1% increase in sales over last year (in real numbers, ¥1,458,000,000, or $14.4 million).

This is the sixth year in a row Gonzo has reported a profit – no small feat for any company, but especially for one that was once so deep in the red it was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Gonzo’s good fortunes this year were thanks to the success of Seiyu’s Life! and Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue.

Needless to say, mo’ profit equals mo’ anime, so this is pretty happy news. Now let’s hope some of this profit trickles down to those starving animators.

Source: Yaraon