Overview
- Aniplex president Shu Nishimoto said in a July 8 interview that the company would be “open to carefully considering” AI if it demonstrably helps creators and advances the creative process.
- Nishimoto presented a plan to grow Aniplex by extending each franchise across theatrical releases, streaming, merchandise, games, live events and exhibitions to boost global revenue.
- He stressed that preserving the originality and the “essence of Japanese creativity” is central to expansion, saying the company will avoid diluting cultural and artistic identity for foreign markets.
- Aniplex is a major Sony Music Entertainment Japan subsidiary with ties to Crunchyroll and stakes in Kadokawa, and Nishimoto noted international audiences now account for more than half of the industry’s roughly 4 trillion yen value.
- The announcement is a positioning move rather than an immediate policy shift, leaving details of any AI use unresolved and creating a potential flashpoint between large rights holders and studios that favor hand-drawn methods.