‘Chainsaw Man‘ had been anticipating for months as the big premiere of the fall season, and also of the year if you push me, and of course the first chapter has not disappointed. Despite the very good sales of the manga and the legion of fans it has, or precisely because of that, the anime series was a very big risk for MAPPA, which has played everything in the adaptation.
especially because all the anime is developed directly from MAPPA, at the animation and production level. Many anime are actually co-productions between various companies, if only to remove management burdens, but the studio’s president has explained why it was so important for them to fully take charge of the project.
all to the chainsaw
‘Chainsaw Man’ could change the way many studios work, and according to Manabu Otsuka It has been a very important decision for them since they have had to invest a lot in the IP and make a turn towards turning the studio into a business instead of “just” animating.
“Reviewing the history of MAPPA, we started from scratch, just to produce animation. We were worried that if we didn’t invest a little, we wouldn’t get paid for our successes, so we started investing 5% or 10%,” explained Otsuka. “But I have come to the conclusion that it is better to put all the money possible in a good title, and ‘Chainsaw Man is the first in which we have invested 100%”.
This investment is a huge bet, but if it goes well it will give them tremendous benefits. In Japan there are many animation studios, but not all of them are in charge of this part more focused on businesswith other companies handling anime distribution, merchandising, and even events.
And this is where the economic benefits really are, especially with merchandise. So MAP he wants to take his share of the profits for the anime they are creating, and with every reason in the world.
Otsuka acknowledges that the studio was taking a huge risk with this decision by taking over 100% of the investment to create the anime, but he believes that sometimes these types of risks are necessary to grow. And that of course ‘Chainsaw Man’ It was the perfect opportunity to do it.
Despite the money that is generated from the anime industry, it is still very precarious for those who work in it. More and more initiatives are being formed so that the benefits reach the studios directly, such as the company that emerged from the union of Aniplex, Shueisha, Wit Studio and CloverWorks, that seeks to improve the salary conditions of its workers.