Aniplex and Crunchyroll Establish Joint Anime Production Venture Hayate

by Vindstot
Mar 17, 11:08 PM | 21 Comments

Sony Group's anime subsidiaries, Aniplex Inc. and Crunchyroll, have announced the formation of Hayate, a joint venture dedicated to the planning, development, and production of anime content for Crunchyroll's global streaming platform. The Tokyo-based company represents Sony's continued strategic investment in anime as a key pillar of its global entertainment business.

Strategic Expansion into Global Anime Markets
Hayate will be led by Aniplex executives Masanori Miyake as Chairman and CEO, and Leo Watanabe as President and COO. Staff will be drawn from both Aniplex and Crunchyroll, combining expertise in anime production, marketing, and global distribution.

The partnership is a reflection of Sony's increasing focus on anime's growth potential. According to the Association of Japanese Animations, the global anime market more than doubled between 2013 and 2023, reaching approximately US$22 billion (3.3 trillion yen). With Crunchyroll's presence in over 200 countries and more than 15 million subscribers, Sony aims to capitalize on anime's growing mainstream appeal worldwide.

Leveraging Sony's Entertainment Ecosystem
Aniplex, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, brings decades of experience in anime production and distribution. It owns animation studios A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks and has backed numerous successful franchises, including Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba), Fate/Grand Order, and Sword Art Online. Meanwhile, Crunchyroll operates as an independently run entity under Sony Pictures Entertainment, providing anime streaming, merchandise, gaming, and theatrical releases.

Hayate will focus on producing premium anime content using Aniplex's industry connections with creators and studios, while Crunchyroll provides expertise in marketing, licensing, and community engagement. The joint venture is expected to enhance Sony's ability to control anime production from inception to global distribution, ensuring high-quality content tailored to international audiences.

The Future of Hayate and Sony's Anime Business
With anime's global popularity continuing to rise—streaming revenue for anime content reached approximately $5.5 billion in 2023, according to Parrot Analytics—Hayate is positioned to capitalize on this growing demand. The company's goal is to produce high-quality content that resonates with international audiences while strengthening Sony's foothold in the competitive anime streaming landscape.

Sony's aggressive investment in anime underscores its commitment to expanding the industry's global footprint. By integrating Aniplex's production capabilities with Crunchyroll's expansive platform, Hayate is poised to become a key player in the international anime landscape.

Hayate official site: https://hayate-inc.co.jp/
Aniplex official site: https://www.aniplex.co.jp/
Aniplex official X: @aniplex_info
Crunchyroll official site: https://www.crunchyroll.com/
Crunchyroll official X: @Crunchyroll

Source: Nikkei, The Hollywood Reporter Japan

Companies

20 of 21 Comments Recent Comments

Crunchyroll strikes again. 🤷‍♂️

Mar 19, 1:27 AM by Retro8bit

thebrentinator24 said:
When I say "making up a ridiculous scenario that'll literally never happen," I'm referring to the other person you were talking back and forth with saying something about Solo Leveling changing Jinwoo into a black woman in a wheelchair. No matter how much anyone thinks "wokeness" or "DEI" (both of which are now meaningless buzzword that means fuck all these days btw) is affecting the anime industry, that particular example, even if it was only being used in an exaggerated and facetious way, is something that, as I previously said, will quite literally never happen.

um........ he was OBVIOUSLY joking.... lol... NO ONE believes Japan will EVER raceswap any character or some bullshit. besides, its not like theres 50 different iterations/origin stories of a character like Goku where they can say, "hey, lets make his black this time"

well damn, now i feel like i wasted all that time ranting... so my bad.... anyway

Wokeness and DEI are not "buzzwords that mean fuck all", theyre things that are STILL happening, just because people keep saying something doesn't mean it's lost its meaning, it just means it keeps happening

Hollywok... i mean Hollywood/Western Comics for example are STILL race swapping characters, cucking/feminizing male characters, desexualizing women and girl bossing... you know, the stuff that tend to FLOP/BOMB? etc

its just gotten SO BAD that now people feel the need to put anything under a microscope that is "diverse" and yes, I DO feel bad for those people who always wanted to do things that are potentially considered woke and aren't trying to force it into everything like is being done now, ie destroying beloved brands/IPs

i mean, manga/anime was doing things considered "woke" in the 60s/70s and people love it to this day

Mar 18, 11:33 PM by EcchiGodMamster

EcchiGodMamster said:
you "it'll never happen" mfs are exactly the people THROUGHOUT HISTORY who have allowed bad shit to happen... well let me tell you what "it'll never happen" translates to... it translates to either "I'm not paying attention/my head is in the sand" or "i don't give enough of a shit, ofc until its too late"

When I say "making up a ridiculous scenario that'll literally never happen," I'm referring to the other person you were talking back and forth with saying something about Solo Leveling changing Jinwoo into a black woman in a wheelchair. No matter how much anyone thinks "wokeness" or "DEI" (both of which are now meaningless buzzword that means fuck all these days btw) is affecting the anime industry, that particular example, even if it was only being used in an exaggerated and facetious way, is something that, as I previously said, will quite literally never happen.

Mar 18, 11:04 PM by thebrentinator24

@MadanielFL

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/03/sakurai-says-japanese-developers-should-avoid-trying-to-appeal-to-western-tastes

i need to play the lotto

thebrentinator24 said:
No fucking way I come in here and see people unironically complaining about "MUH WOKENESS AND MUH DEI," and making up a ridiculous scenario that'll literally never happen just for the sake of being upset about something. Stay unserious, MAL. Stay unserious 😂😂😂

if there was nothing to be concerned about, then articles like what i just linked wouldnt be popping up left and right (and this is way more common now than you probably think). not to mention shit like the credit card companies trying to cuck anime websites, etc

you're obviously just not paying any fucking attention to how much more theyre trying to cater to westerners, especially with their dying population or you just wanna be ignorant about it, oh well... you don't have to care. but if you don't pay any attention to this shit, idk why you have an opinion on those of us who do

you "it'll never happen" mfs are exactly the people THROUGHOUT HISTORY who have allowed bad shit to happen... well let me tell you what "it'll never happen" translates to... it translates to either "I'm not paying attention/my head is in the sand" or "i don't give enough of a shit, ofc until its too late"

fuck off bro

Mar 18, 9:16 PM by EcchiGodMamster

No fucking way I come in here and see people unironically complaining about "MUH WOKENESS AND MUH DEI," and making up a ridiculous scenario that'll literally never happen just for the sake of being upset about something. Stay unserious, MAL. Stay unserious 😂😂😂

Mar 18, 12:48 PM by thebrentinator24

MadanielFL said:
Well the founder and first CEO of Funimation was literally Japanese and people still hated the fact that they were in production committees helping make anime, so I guess it doesn't matter how many Japanese people work for them, cause people will only look at the surface and see these companies as western.

as i've stated before, i don't INHERENTLY hate the idea of something like CR, the fear again is ALWAYS gonna be creative input and shady practices, which we KNOW is a thing... and I'm not gonna keep pointing out how many entertainment mediums/brands have been ruined/destoryed as of recent, INCLUDING some of the JAPANESE gaming market, which is kinda why China and Korea are flexing on them by essentially using anime style content and not giving a shit what the west thinks

pretending as if it "can't" happen to manga/anime is exactly why it happened to everything else.... i mean, Japan is kinda desperate right now, especially with their declining population/workforce/consumer base

the fall off/destruction of pretty much EVERY brand, USUALLY starts with extreme popularity, then greed.... so there is every reason to be concerned

Mar 18, 10:21 AM by EcchiGodMamster

EcchiGodMamster said:
unless the CEO of CR is Japanese and Japanese people make all the decisions, then that's meaningless, i mean, DUH theyre gonna have SOME Japanese people working for them, i mean, they kinda HAVE TO

Well the founder and first CEO of Funimation was literally Japanese and people still hated the fact that they were in production committees helping make anime, so I guess it doesn't matter how many Japanese people work for them, cause people will only look at the surface and see these companies as western.

Mar 18, 10:04 AM by MadanielFL

MadanielFL said:
Ironically pretty much all the people who work as anime producers for Crunchyroll are Japanese.

They even have a guy who was a producer for High School DxD working for them now..

unless the CEO of CR is Japanese and Japanese people make all the decisions, then that's meaningless, i mean, DUH theyre gonna have SOME Japanese people working for them, i mean, they kinda HAVE TO

but again, in an ideal world, if they have to exist, then the only thing CR would be doing is dubbing

sorry, but i just don't trust the west having ANY control of anime, i don't care how dumb some Japanese rules are, the west only recently has a track record of destroying/cucking EVERY medium, so I'm never gonna be happy about seeing news like this

Mar 18, 7:34 AM by EcchiGodMamster

RobertBobert said:
@MalchikRepaid So, this is essentially an increase in the company's capacity and capabilities in order to increase the production of potentially popular anime?

I could be wrong, but that's essentially what I got from reading the comments of some Japanese news auto-translated into Korean.

Mar 18, 7:18 AM by MalchikRepaid

EcchiGodMamster said:
in an ideal world, this wouldn't be a thing because it wouldn't have to be, Japan would understand that no one cares what CR thinks and we just want Japan to keep being/focusing on Japan. but i guess with how much the industry is in shambles theyre just desperate

Ironically pretty much all the people who work as anime producers for Crunchyroll are Japanese.

They even have a guy who was a producer for High School DxD working for them now...

Mar 18, 7:10 AM by MadanielFL

@MalchikRepaid So, this is essentially an increase in the company's capacity and capabilities in order to increase the production of potentially popular anime?

Mar 18, 7:09 AM by RobertBobert

RobertBobert said:
Will anything really change because of this?

Short answer, not much. I saw the official website and it is explained like this.

HAYATE’s main business is planning, developing and producing anime content for the Crunchyroll streaming service available worldwide.

My observation is that Hayate's primary role is to be a market research company specificially for the anime industry under Sony. It is already based in Rokubanchō, Tokyo. It looks like Sony's future anime-related team will outsource its proposals and plans to animation companies in South Korea and China. This purpose is to create mostly original anime series based on Hayate's research data.

So, basically more anime.

Mar 18, 7:06 AM by MalchikRepaid

@MadanielFL

in an ideal world, this wouldn't be a thing because it wouldn't have to be, Japan would understand that no one cares what CR thinks and we just want Japan to keep being/focusing on Japan. but i guess with how much the industry is in shambles theyre just desperate

Mar 18, 6:55 AM by EcchiGodMamster

@Yubisoft Literally any country that's not the United States in fact.

Mar 18, 6:44 AM by eblf2013

Oh no, Soyny and Cringyroll.
I smell woke DEI censorship incoming...

Can't wait for the next solo leveling to turn Sung Jin-Woo into a black woman in a wheelchair...

Mar 18, 5:50 AM by MadanielFL

@TheMechaManiac yep piracy is a service problem

Mar 18, 4:23 AM by deg

@deg As the great Gabe Newell said, it is always a service issue.
Deliver me anime with no cuts, no subtitle censorship or changed meanings for a decent price. It literally is as simple as that. And what you own - you own forever.

Mar 18, 4:03 AM by TheMechaManiac

Vindstot said:
dedicated to the planning, development, and production of anime content for Crunchyroll's global streaming platform

Hopefully that means that E.U countries will stop getting cucked and having a huge portion of the anime Crunchyroll content region blocked

Mar 18, 2:34 AM by Yubisoft

Will anything really change because of this?

Mar 18, 1:32 AM by RobertBobert

>the global anime market more than doubled between 2013 and 2023, reaching approximately US$22 billion (3.3 trillion yen)

and they say piracy is a problem

anyway both crunchyroll and aniplex are owned by sony so this is nothing burger

Mar 18, 12:51 AM by deg

See All Comments