Studio Pierrot’s President Hints At Black Clover And Boruto To Be Released As Seasonal Anime

In an interview with Comic Natalie dated April 18, 2024, the current President of Studio Pierrot, Michiyuki Honma, cited Demon Slayer’s success as one of the reasons why they made Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War arc into a seasonal anime and plan to make other anime on hiatus like Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and Black Clover into seasonal anime.

(Michiyuki Honma, President of Studio Pierrot)

He admits that Demon Slayer was a major turning point in the animation industry as a whole and a lot of studios tried to change their ways to match its style and create similar-quality works. For him and Studio Pierrot, It served as a huge inspiration for what Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War arc can be.

“I think Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba was a major turning point for the animation industry. A high quality work with an ample budget and a solid time commitment was broadcast and became a huge hit, and was watched by people of all ages. I really felt that we had to change the way things were made before and after ‘Demon Slayer’ was released. Furthermore, other studios are releasing high-quality works on a similar scale, and there is an environment in Japan where these can be seen on commercial TV.”

But what Honma particularly noticed is how the seasonal format suited quite well for Demon Slayer and wanted to use that to experiment with Bleach. And that was a huge decision, considering Bleach was originally NOT a seasonal anime and had more than 400 episodes releasing on a weekly basis, just like Toei Animation is currently airing One Piece.

But Pierrot’s President wanted to make the studio number 1 in the industry. He feared if he did not take that bold step, he would lose branding power. So, Bleach became a seasonal anime and it turned out to be a roaring success!

“I think it is definitely wonderful to produce one work for a long period of time, as studio Pierrot has done in the past. At the same time, it entails great risks in terms of large budgets and time running costs. But I wonder if the same traditional way of making a film can compete with such a new way of making a film. We will probably lose our brand. I don’t want to lose. I want to be No. 1, and so does Pierrot. With this in mind, the entire company was committed to creating a new kind of animation when we created BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War Arc.”

Mr. Honma affirms how big of a success his project was in terms of its high-quality animation and expresses his desire to replicate the same in future works.

“BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War Arc” has had a great response overseas as well. When I go to events overseas, I’m even treated like a hero (laughs).”

But what’s extremely noteworthy is that he quotes another show called Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai (“A Crow Doesn’t Choose Its Master”), which came out in April 2024, and says it was also created with this NEW STYLE and claims that they plan to use the same quality of animation and seasonal release method for other shows of theirs that are currently on hiatus, like Black Clover and Boruto!

He ends the interview by affirming that Studio Pierrot is in the process of a big transformation and wants people to look forward to their future projects.

“I want people to pay attention to ‘ Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai ‘, which has been on air since April, because it’s a work created in a new style, and there are many series that are currently on hiatus, but I want people to pay attention to the new way of creating anime. Please look forward to the future of PIERO, which is taking on the challenge of creating new animations.”

However, this does not MEAN that all future shows animated by Studio Pierrot will be seasonal. But this proves as a strong hint by the President himself that he wants shows like Black Clover and Boruto to do well and they’re not shy from trying out new methods and styles to boost their popularity.

About Black Clover

Tabata launched the Black Clover manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2015. Viz Media publishes the manga digitally and in print, along with Shueisha’s MANGA Plus, which publishes the manga digitally.

The manga’s anime adaptation premiered in Japan in October 2017 and aired its 170th episode in March 2021.

A movie titled Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King was released on Netflix on June 16, 2023, as well.

Crunchyroll streamed the anime in Japanese with English subtitles, and Funimation streamed the series in an English dub.

Crunchyroll defines the first season of Black Clover as:

In a world where magic is everything, Asta and Yuno are both found abandoned at a church on the same day. While Yuno is gifted with exceptional magical powers, Asta is the only one in this world without any. At age fifteen, both receive grimoires, magic books that amplify their holder’s magic. Asta’s is a rare grimoire of anti-magic that negates and repels his opponent’s spells. Being opposite but good rivals, Yuno and Asta are ready for the hardest of challenges to achieve their common dream: to be the Wizard King. Giving up is never an option!

About Boruto:

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a spin-off and a sequel to Kishimoto’s Naruto, which follows the exploits of Naruto Uzumaki’s son, Boruto Uzumaki, and his ninja team.

An anime television series adaptation started airing on TV Tokyo in April 2017 and has been on hiatus since Mar 2023.

Unlike the manga, which began as a retelling of the Boruto film, the anime begins as a prequel set before Boruto and his friends become ninjas in a later story arc. A series of light novels have also been written.

Crunchyroll provides the overall plot of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations as follows:

As peace prevails throughout the ninja clans, so does the question of becoming one. Now a generation of prodigy like Boruto Uzumaki, son of Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki, are challenged living under their parents’ shadow. The shinobi life has changed and so must the path to it. The legacy of ninja continues and a new chapter of ninja begins!

Source: Comic Natalie