Studio Pierrot has been making headlines in recent days thanks to its decision to change things up in its anime game. Rather than continuing to release a steady stream of anime episodes on a weekly basis, Pierrot is taking a more seasonal approach to some of its biggest anime franchises. To help in celebrating the production house’s forty-fifth anniversary, Studio Pierrot has released a special video taking anime fans to its past as well as potentially hinting at what’s to come.
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In a surprising recent interview, Pierrot’s president Michiyuki Honma described how Ufotable’s Demon Slayer helped to change their approach to anime, “I think Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was a major turning point for the anime industry. It was a high-quality work that took a lot of time and a generous budget to make and it was a big hit when it aired, attracting people from a wide range of age groups. I watched it. Before and after Demon Slayer was announced, I really felt that we had to change the way we create things. Furthermore, other studios were releasing high-quality works on a similar scale and in Japan there was an environment where these could be watched on commercial television.”
Studio Pierrot Turns 45
Pierrot first opened its doors in May 1979 and has had one of the largest and most varied catalogue of anime franchises of any production studio. On top of movers and shakers like Naruto and Bleach, the animation house is known for the likes of Yu Yu Hakusho, Black Clover, Kingdom, Tokyo Ghoul, and Great Teacher Onizuka. From the new anniversary video below, it’s clear that Pierrot isn’t going to stop creating anime any time soon.
In a surprising twist, Pierrot revealed this year that Naruto and Bleach were close to being canceled in 2011. Here’s what the Pierrot President had to say, “Once the Great East Japan Earthquake hit, I felt a great sense of crisis. At the time, we were producing more than four projects a week including Naruto Shippuden and Bleach. But soon, the productions fell into disarray as several stations stopped airing regular broadcasts. Our income became unstable. This continued for two months, and we almost couldn’t pay our workers’ salaries. We found ourselves in a situation where we had no option but to dissolve the company,”
What has been your favorite anime project to date from Studio Pierrot? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all the latest on Pierrot and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
