Sony Acquiring Kadokawa Could Lead to Troubling Anime Monopoly

A new report has indicated that Sony is currently in talks to acquire Kadokawa, and if it goes through, it could lead to a troubling monopoly in the anime industry as Sony would then have a much greater stake in production and distribution down to even what could potentially be adapted or animated in the future. According to a new report from Reuters, Sony is currently in talks to acquire Kadokawa as Sony is looking to add to their overall entertainment portfolio. As they state, “talks between the two sides are ongoing and, if successful, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.”

While the report primarily focuses on the fact that Kadokawa is currently owner of the popular video game developer, FromSoftware, the studio behind mega hits like Elden Ring. But Kadokawa operates in much bigger pools than just video games, and if Sony acquires the entire umbrella, then it’s going to have an unprecedented stake in the anime industry with multiple studios, distribution networks, licensors and more under their belt that are currently within Kadokawa.

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What Does This Mean for the Anime Industry?

Kadokawa has already gotten a lot of attention from anime fans in the last few years following their announced effort to produce at least 40 new anime titles a year back in 2021. This has resulted in more franchises that have been successful for sure, with recent anime hits such as Delicious in Dungeon, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, The Rising of the Shield Hero, and more. The production giant has also recently acquired notable studios like Doga Kobo, which had gotten attention in the last couple of the years with Oshi no Ko and Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. But that’s just what makes it to screen. The company reaches out far beyond that.

It’s not just game developing studios like FromSoftware or Spike Chunsoft, Kadokawa also has ownership of light novel, manga, and magazine publishers such as ASCII Media Works (the Love Live! franchise), Enterbrain (Ranking of Kings), and even book stores like Bookwalker that helps overseas fans import each of these respective light novels that have yet to make it outside of Japan. As for English language publishing, Kadokawa also has significant stakes in distributors like J-Novel Club and Yen Press. Kadokawa has a pipeline that gets their most popular works to screen, and Sony would have a controlling stake in all of this as well.

Sony, for their part, already has this in turn with Aniplex that has overseen the releases of massive franchises like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Sword Art Online, and other releases from Aniplex’s production studios such as A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks. Sony themselves has also revealed their plans to nurture new talent within the industry with their Anime Academy, hiring individuals for studios such as A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks to foster these talents for anime on a global scale.

There’s also Sony’s stake in Crunchyroll, one of the major streaming platforms for anime. After fully acquiring Funimation with the merger completely taking effect earlier this Spring, Crunchyroll is now the exclusive home to many titles fans can’t get elsewhere. While this has changed slightly with some of the more blockbuster franchises being shared around like Dragon Ball Daima and Dandadan this Fall (for example), it’s still the home to the majority of new anime releases each new seasonal wave. If Sony indeed acquires Kadokawa, then it’s going to have a controlling stake in pretty much every aspect of the anime production pipeline. From the light novel titles that get published to the ones that get adapted, to finally the franchises that get released worldwide.

This could result in a more unified, global release for major series, which in turn could be good for anime fans. But at the same time, it also means that another major publication with its own voice and franchises would fold under Sony.

HT – Reuters