News

Cygames Makes Anime Background Studio Kusanagi Its Subsidiary

Smartphone developer Cygames announced on Thursday that it has acquired anime and game background studio Kusanagi. Cygames has purchased the company's stock, and Kusanagi will officially become a subsidiary to Cygames.

Cygames notes in its announcement that Kusanagi was seeking methods to advance its business, and that Cygames was seeking a business partner to raise the quality of its in-house content, and that the acquisition has satisfied both needs.

Cygames announced earlier last March that it would establish an animation studio as a wholly owned subsidiary in the first half of 2016. The new company would handle not only planning and producing anime, but also creating the animation in-house.

Yôji Nakaza, the company's current President and CEO, and two other employees from animation studio Eiken's background art staff founded Kusanagi in 1990. Since then, the company has provided background art for various anime and video game productions. Some of its notable works in anime include Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Girls und Panzer, Love Live! School idol project, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Cowboy Bebop, and Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade. Some of its notable works in games include Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, X, and XII, Sakura Wars V, Drakengard, Front Mission 2, and Ni no Kuni.

Cygames was established in 2011, and has since produced games such as Rage of Bahamut, The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls (KUSANAGI also handled the backgrounds for this series), and Gran Blue Fantasy.

Rage of Bahamut inspired the Rage of Bahamut Genesis anime in 2014 from studio MAPPA, and a second season with a new protagonist has been greenlit. Funimation streamed the series as it aired and will release the series on home video.

Cygames invested in Rage of Bahamut Genesis itself instead of using the more standard "production committee" model, where an anime is financed by several companies.

Source: Anime! Anime!