Danica Davidson
February 18, 2025 
Animation studio Chiptune has been obtained by Kadokawa and will now be a subsidy of the larger company. Chiptune, which was originally called 8-Bit Rocket, does a lot of things like background art, in-between animation, and CG animation. It got its start in 2012, and it works on about 10 different anime projects annually.
Kadokawa wants to increase the amount of anime it’s able to make. Last summer it also picked up anime production studio Doga Kobo, ENGI, Raging Bull, Studio KADAN, and BELLNOX FILMS are other anime companies under the Kadokawa umbrella. The company appears to have recovered well since the Olympics bribery scandal rocked some of its biggest players a few years ago.
Some anime Chiptune has worked on in various capacities include The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Attack on Titan: Junior High, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 – The Conflict, BLUELOCK, Bungo Stray Dogs, Delicious in Dungeon, Dropkick on My Devil!, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, My Hero Academia, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vinland Saga, and Yuri!!! on Ice, among dozens of others.
Sony has about 10 percent of Kadokawa’s shares, thereby making it Kadokawa’s biggest shareholder. This is something that just happened last month. There are also reports that Sony is interested in possibly buying Kadokawa. For the time being, at least, Sony says it wants to work with Kadokawa on “initiatives to adapt KADOKAWA’s IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, expand global distribution of KADOKAWA’s anime works through the Sony Group, further expand publishing of KADOKAWA’s games, and develop human resources to promote and expand virtual production.”
Kadokawa likewise says it wants to expand its IP to a global level, and it’s putting billions of yen into this endeavor.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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