Chainsaw Man Producer Shares Why the Anime Passed on Production Committees

July 21, 2022, 4:32pm

It is hard to think of another anime series that has been as anticipated as Chainsaw Man. The hit series has not even dropped yet but the chatter online about Denji trends regularly. From bookstores to social media, it seems all eyes are on Chainsaw Man, so the pressure is on MAPPA Studio to deliver. And recently, one of the anime’s producers opened up about why the team chose to forego having any production committees.

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The update came from Makoto Kimura, one of the producers of Chainsaw Man. The exec appeared alongside other MAPPA leadership at Anime Expo to talk about the upcoming series this month. It was there Kimura admitted the show isn’t using a production committee, and the choice to nix the assist was easy to make.

According to Kimura, Chainsaw Man was looked at by MAPPA’s leadership as anime pitches were being crafted. As that process carried on, he said the topic of a production committee came up, and Kimura was against having one. The leadership eventually agreed it could handle all the particulars of the projects in-house, but they still had to get approval from Shueisha.

Of course, MAPPA had little issue getting the green light from the publisher. Shueisha was fine with MAPPA foregoing a production committee given its track record. So despite the studio’s extra responsibilities, the team there is eager for fans to see what it came up with.

Now for anyone who isn’t sure what a production committee does, let’s break it down. The anime industry regularly uses these committees to fund and produce series though some go without the security net. At their most basic, these committees are formed by various companies in the entertainment sector that are willing to invest money in any one series. By spreading out an anime’s work and budget amongst several companies, the risk of its failure is distributed amongst many rather than one. This means if the series bombs, it won’t cripple a single company but instead chip away at several. But if it is a success, well – those profits are split the same way.

For MAPPA, the choice to forego a production committee means 100% of Chainsaw Man‘s cost is on its head. If the show fails, it would be a hard hit internally, but its success would make up for whatever MAPPA spent and then some. Given the popularity of Chainsaw Man‘s manga, MAPPA felt it was safe to forego a production committee. The security net might give studios peace of mind, but MAPPA can do whatever it wants creatively with Chainsaw Man if there’s no committee around to impress. And given the studio’s track record, we are sure this big series will pay dividends for the team at MAPPA before long.

Are you surprised by MAPPA’s decision to forego a committee? Or did you expect the studio to do as much? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.