Toei Animation Co., Ltd. announced that it will be establishing the “Osaka Studio” as a new production base in Osaka, the most populous city in the southern-central Kansai region’s Osaka Prefecture. Founded in 1956, Toei Animation has produced popular hit series such as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball and One Piece from its studio in Oizumi, about 55 miles from central Tokyo. The company also operates the overseas subsidiary Toei Animation Phils. in Manila. Toei Animation’s HQ is located in Nakano-ku, Tokyo, led by President & CEO Takagi Katsuhiro.
According to the company, the decision to launch the Osaka Studio was driven by a goal of further expansion for Toei Animation’s production business, as well as tapping talent in the Kansai region and strengthening ties with the local community, stating: ‘We aim to develop talent rooted in the local community and diversify our production system, while also collaborating with local creators and educational institutions.’
Toei further noted that the recent development of networks and digital technology will create a more flexible environment for creative employees, allowing them to choose their work location. ‘This will further strengthen our company’s mission of delivering dreams and hope to children and people around the world,’ the company noted in the announcement.
“The labor shortage is becoming more serious throughout the animation industry. For this reason, we felt it was urgent to recruit creators from all over Japan and open studios in the regions beyond just the Oizumi Studio in Tokyo,” commented Kiichiro Yamada, Managing Director & Head of Production for Toei Animation. “This time, we will start by focusing on background art, and we would like to continue our challenge with the goal of gradually achieving the same functionality as our Oizumi Studio. Furthermore, as the studio is being built from scratch, we hope that the Osaka studio will not be bound by stereotypes, will have a culture of actively challenging new things, and will grow into a studio with a different appeal from the Oizumi studio, making use of a variety of ideas.”
Toei Animation is now recruiting staff to fill background art roles as the new Osaka Studio. Visit corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/recruit.html to learn more.
[Source: Toei Animation Corporate]
