Chainsaw Man Was A Financial Success After 100% Investment, Claims Producer
Despite several issues, Kimura-san stated that the anime was not only a financial success but hoped MAPPA would use the same strategy for future projects!
During a lecture on ”Problems and Solutions to Issues Faced by the Animation Industry” to Cool Japan Fund Inc. on April 25, 2024, ex-senior animation executive of MAPPA and Chainsaw Man anime producer Makoto Kimura affirmed that Chainsaw Man was indeed a financial success after implementing MAPPA’s 3 important strategies.
Kimura-san went from working at a TV station to a production company and has produced many popular anime, such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and Chainsaw Man. He has worked on both the investment and production side of anime and is the founder of BLUE RIGHTS Co., Ltd.
So the dude knows what he’s talking about.
(Makoto Kimura)
He outlined Mappa’s three-pronged strategy to transform the anime industry landscape and formulated methods for expansion. One approach was to obtain rights to an anime through investments, and another was to produce a popular anime. A third approach was to pursue projects related to popular anime (merchandizing, events, etc.).
With Chainsaw Man, MAPPA implemented all three approaches with a 100% investment and despite poor Blu-Ray sales and several other issues, Kimura-san outright stated that the anime was not only a financial success but also hoped the studio would use the same strategy in future projects!
He further claimed that this structural reform would give the production company strength and contribute to the ever-growing development of the industry. This is BIG considering what he mentioned about MAPPA and how he left the company in an earlier interview.
Through his expertise, MAPPA was able to overseas streaming rights to titles like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, the latter of which is currently the world’s most popular anime and the world’s most in-demand TV series of any medium or genre, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
As the founder of BLUE RIGHTS, he expresses a strong desire to establish a framework and cultivate the enterprise to address operational challenges faced by production companies and animators. Despite being a recent venture, he eagerly seeks partnerships with like-minded collaborators. His ultimate aspiration is to realize the dream of every producer: crafting top-notch productions with a cohesive team, aiming for the pinnacle of recognition, an Academy Award.
His exact words regarding Chainsaw Man’s success are as follows:
“MAPPA implemented several approaches to change this environment and drafted growth strategies. One approach was to obtain rights to an anime through investments, and another was to produce a popular anime. A third approach was to pursue projects related to popular anime (merchandizing, events, etc.). With Chainsaw Man, we were determined to try our hand at all three approaches with a 100% investment. The hope was that this structural reform would give the production company strength and contribute to development in the industry. We would create, deliver, and sell products on our own. Several issues remained, but it was a financial success, and I hope we can apply this success to the next update.”
About Chainsaw Man:
Chainsaw Man is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Its first arc was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2018 to December 2020; its second arc began serialization in Shueisha’s Shōnen Jump+ online magazine in July 2022. Its chapters have been collected in 16 tankōbon volumes as of December 2023.
Season 1 of the anime, produced by MAPPA, was broadcast from October to December 2022. An anime film, titled Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, has been announced.
Crunchyroll describes the overall plot of Chainsaw Man as follows:
Denji is a young boy who works as a devil hunter with the “Chainsaw Devil” Pochita. One day, as he was living his miserable life trying to pay off the debt he inherited from his parents, he got betrayed and killed. As he was losing his consciousness, he made a deal with Pochita, and got resurrected as the “Chainsaw Man”: the owner of the Devil’s heart.
Source: Cool Japanese Fund
