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Animate Group's Frontier Works Acquires Yokohama Animation Lab as Subsidiary

Frontier Works, the planning and production company of the Animate Group, announced on Friday that it has decided to acquire the anime studio Yokohama Animation Lab as a subsidiary. Frontier Works stated the new acquisition will allow it to focus on creating new original IPs as well as to develop productions of external properties. This move will help the company bolster its production capabilities.

This deal marks Frontier Works' first in-house animation studio as the company has primarily dealt with the planning and production end for anime (as well as other media such as games, character goods, and stage productions). Frontier Works' announcement highlighted Yokohama Animation Lab's production work on Lapis Re:LiGHTs and Sword of the Demon Hunter.

The two companies are private bodies, so the details of the deal will not be made public.

Besides Frontier Works, Animate Group also includes the Animate store chain, the character goods company MOVIC, Libre Publishing, and the C-labo card shop chain (which also runs the GAMERS stores).

Sources: Frontier Works, Animation Business Journal, PR Times