List of animation studios owned by Sony
Sony Group Corporation has owned several animation studios since the company's founding on May 7, 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo.
Besides Sony Pictures Animation, who serves as the company's flagship animation studio, Sony also presently operates Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Television Kids, A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks (the latter two through Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex).
Full list
| Studio | Established | Parent unit |
|---|---|---|
Sony Pictures Animation | 2002 | |
| Animation: Theatrical feature films, short films and television series in hand-drawn, digital and CGI | ||
2011 | Sony Pictures Television | |
| Animation: Television series and feature films Acquired in 2019.
| ||
Sony Pictures Imageworks | 1992 | Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group |
| Animation: Feature films and television series | ||
Pixomondo | 2001 | Sony Pictures Entertainment |
| Animation: Feature films and television series Acquired in 2022. | ||
Aniplex | 1995 | |
| Animation: Television series and feature films Former names: Sony Pictures Entertainment Music Publishing Inc. (1995–1997), Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. (1997–2001) and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc. (2001–2003) | ||
A-1 Pictures | 2005 | Aniplex |
| Animation: Television series, feature films, OVAs and specials | ||
2018 | Aniplex | |
| Animation: Television series, feature films, OVAs and ONAs | ||
Boundary | 2020 | Aniplex |
| Animation: Television series | ||
Madhouse (5%) | 1972 | |
| Animation: Feature films, television series and OVAs | ||
Toei Animation (1.86%) | 1948 | |
| Animation: Feature films, television series and OVAs | ||
JOEN (joint venture) | 2022 | |
| Animation: Feature films and television series | ||
| Studio | Established | Status |
|---|---|---|
1993 | Dormant | |
| Also known as: Columbia TriStar Television Animation, Columbia TriStar Animation, Columbia TriStar Children's Television, and Sony Pictures Television Animation Animation: Television series | ||
1995 | Sold in 2000 | |
| Animation: Television series, feature films and specials Assets sold to TV-Loonland AG in October 2000, with North American home video and international audio rights retained by Sony.[1] | ||
1980 | Sold in 2000 | |
| Animation: Television series, feature films and specials Founded in 1980 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising and acquired by Sony Wonder Television in 1998. TV-Loonland AG purchased the company in 2000.[2] | ||
Crunchyroll Studios | 2018 | Closed in 2021 |
| Animation: Television series Acquired in 2021.
| ||
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Imageworks
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Kids
Other
Pixomondo
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Aniplex
A-1 Pictures
CloverWorks
Boundary
On April 1, 2020, Aniplex established Boundary, a 3DCG animation production company subsidiary. CloverWorks president Akira Shimizu was appointed the studio's president and representative director.[3][4] Since its inception, Boundary has been mainly involved in the CG production of CloverWorks projects.[5]
Crunchyroll Studios
In August 2018, the streaming service Crunchyroll announced an expansion into original content under the Crunchyroll Originals brand starting with the anime-inspired series High Guardian Spice, with select shows beginning with Onyx Equinox being produced in-house by Crunchyroll Studios.[6][7] The studio was closed shortly after Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll.[8]
JOEN
On May 30, 2022, Aniplex, its subsidiary, CloverWorks, WIT Studio, and Shueisha announced the establishment of JOEN, a new joint venture involved in the planning and production of animated works, including TV series, feature films, and short clips. CloverWorks’ Corporate Officer Yūichi Fukushima and WIT Studio Director Tetsuya Nakatake, producers of the highly acclaimed adaptation of Spy x Family, a collaboration between their respective studios, were appointed representative directors of JOEN.[9][10][11] JOEN will strive to establish a new creative framework that prioritizes the staff during production while maintaining high quality and ensuring better and adequate profit sharing with creators. It plans to collaborate with various studios, producers, and creators to capture the charm of each project instead of working exclusively with CloverWorks and WIT.[10][11]
See also
- Screen Gems (1921–1946)
References
- ^ Meaux, Francoise (2000-10-03). "MIPCOM: TV-Loonland acquires Sony Wonder | News | Screen". Screendaily.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
- ^ "TV Loonland buys up Sony Wonder units". Variety. 2000-10-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
- ^ "株式会社アニプレックス 子会社設立に関するお知らせ" [Aniplex Corporation Announces the Establishment of a Subsidiary] (PDF). Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (in Japanese). April 1, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 31, 2020). "Aniplex Establishes New 'Boundary' 3D CG Animation Subsidiary". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "WORKS | 株式会社Boundary". Boundary Inc. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Haasch Palmer (August 22, 2018). "Crunchyroll to produce original content, starting in 2019". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ Cao, Caroline (November 21, 2020). "Crunchyroll's violent, new epic Onyx Equinox brings Mesoamerican culture to animation". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Alexander, Sofia (Nov 5, 2023). "Sofia Alexander's tweet confirming the closure of Crunchyroll Studios". X (formerly Twitter) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ "CloverWorks・ウィットスタジオ・アニプレックス・集英社の4社による、制作スタジオが主体の企画・プロデュースを行う株式会社JOEN設立のお知らせ" [Notice of Establishment of JOEN Corporation by CloverWorks, WIT Studio, Aniplex, and Shueisha, a production studio driven planning and production company]. Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (in Japanese). May 30, 2022. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 30, 2022). "CloverWorks, Wit Studio, Aniplex, Shueisha Jointly Establish New JOEN Anime Company". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ a b Dempsey, Liam (May 30, 2022). "CloverWorks, WIT Studio, Shueisha and Aniplex Form JOEN Creative Company". Crunchyroll News. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
