Aniplex and Crunchyroll have joined forces to invest in and form HAYATE Inc., a joint venture that is aimed at “planning, developing, and producing anime content for the Crunchyroll streaming service available worldwide.”
The idea is to “produce premium content for anime fans worldwide using Aniplex’s production know-how cultivated over the years through its partnerships with a wide range of creators and studios as well as Crunchyroll’s development, marketing, and distribution capabilities built upon its strong ties to the anime community and passionate fandom.”
HAYATE’s CEO is Aniplex executive vice president Masanori Miyake, whose name has appeared in anime like Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- (executive producer), Wind Breaker (executive producer), Trapezium (production committee member), and Lycoris Recoil (chief producer)
In the COO seat is Leo Watanabe, also from Aniplex.
The staff will draw from both Aniplex and Crunchyroll employees.
Aniplex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, while Crunchyroll is an independently operated joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex. Aniplex counts the anime production companies A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks among its fully owned subsidiaries.
Back in 2020, Crunchyroll announced that it had teamed up with various parties to roll out what it called Crunchyroll Originals, which include the In/Spectre and Tower of God anime adaptations.
In that press release, it also said that “Crunchyroll Originals is not the brand’s first foray into original content, as Crunchyroll has co-produced more than 60 series since 2015, working directly with partners in Japan to fund the production and creation of original anime including “The Rising of The Shield Hero,” “A Place Further Than the Universe,” and “The Junji Ito “Collection”,” among many others.”
In recent times, Crunchyroll has been listed as a production committee member for shows like Wistoria: Wand and Sword and A Sign of Affection.
In 2024, the streaming platform said that it had passed 13 million paying subscribers.
Source: Press release (via Deadline)
