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CyberAgent Establishes CAAnimation Label for Original Anime

CyberAgent, the parent company of game developer Cygames and streaming service company AbemaTV, announced on Wednesday that it has founded the CAAnimation label on the same day. The new label will focus on producing original anime, as well as producing possible game adaptations (developed by other CyberAgent subsidiary companies) of those original anime projects. It will coordinate with AbemaTV for its original anime content.

Masaya Ochiai will be the label's executive producer, while Hiroyuki Tanaka (Yuri!!! on Ice, Wake Up, Girls!) will be the general producer.

CyberAgent and Cygames already established the CA-Cygames Anime Fund in June of last year. The fund has allowed both companies to invest in anime production committees, acquire streaming rights, and game adaptation rights. Some of the currently airing anime in which the fund has invested include Hinomaru Zumō, Zombie Land Saga, and As Miss Beelzebub Likes.. CAAnimation will instead focus on original animation, but Ochiai said the label is not ruling out cooperating with other anime studios for original projects.

CybberAgent established Cygames in 2011, and the company has produced games such as Rage of Bahamut and Granblue Fantasy. Cygames established an anime division in March 2015 and the anime production subsidiary Cygames Pictures in April 2016. The company has worked on anime productions inspired by its games including Rage of Bahamut Genesis, Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul, and Granblue Fantasy the Animation.

CyberAgent's AbemaTV streaming service launched in April 2016, and it has been downloaded more than 17 million times. Anime ranks highly in AbemaTV's monthly viewership, and the service has offered more than 700 anime titles. AbemaTV was the first service to exclusively stream Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion in Japan.

Sources: CyberAgent, Anime! Anime! (Kōtarō Nakase) (link 2)