Publisher Kodansha has announced the establishment of Kodansha Studios, a Hollywood-based company that will contribute to its plans for international live-action adaptations of Japanese-published manga and novels, as well as global expansion.
Kodansha Studios’ CCO is Chloe Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Eternals (which I quite liked despite its flaws), and this year’s Hamnet. Meanwhile, its COO is Nicolas Gonda, who co-founded the “creative development and production company” Book of Shadows with Zhao and is credited on IMDb as producer of films like To The Wonder, Knight of Cups, and Hamnet.
Kodansha senior managing director Hiroaki Morita will be the CEO.
Kodansha CEO Yoshinobu Noma said in a statement (via Deadline), “Guided by our corporate mission, ‘Inspire Impossible Stories,’ we are constantly seeking new avenues to deliver the rich, diverse narratives originating from Japan to a global audience. The establishment of Kodansha Studios represents a pivotal moment – and a new chapter – in the relationship between Japanese publishers and Hollywood. This studio is our commitment to accelerating direct partnerships with premier global artists, producers, and partner studios.”
Kodansha has been making moves to further expand its IPs’ reach and visibility, including partnering with highly popular game creation platform Roblox‘s licensing platform and hosting the pop-up event Kodansha House in New York.
The publisher’ titles include Blue Lock, Attack on Titan, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Fairy Tail, and Monogatari. Upcoming anime based on Kodansha properties include Yusha Party o Oidasareta Kiyobinbo, The Darwin Incident, Tune In to the Midnight Heart, and You Can’t Be In a Rom-Com with Your Childhood Friends!, and Witch Hat Atelier.
Kodansha has a New York-based subsidiary that publishes manga and “Japan-based fiction and non-fiction books” in English, as well as presences in China, Taiwan, and Europe. Its online manga platform K Manga offers titles in English.
Source: Kodansha (PDF)
