Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) subsidiary Aniplex Inc has acquired Origamix Partners Inc, the management company of Alice In Borderland director Shinsuke Sato, and will relaunch the company under the name Myriagon Studio as of June 1.
Sato, whose credits also include Sony and Toho’s Kingdom film franchise, will use the new studio for his future series works.
Myriagon Studio will build on the existing business activities of Origamix Partners, including talent management and Webtoon business, plus expand into live-action television and film production. Live-action production will focus on developing and producing contents for worldwide audiences, with creators (producers, screenwriters and directors) including Sato as the core.
Nobuhiko Ito, CEO of Origamix Partners, will continue to oversee the new studio, with Chieko Murata from Aniplex Inc, and former SVP of Sony Pictures International Productions, heading the Television & Film business and Yushi Ueda heading the Webtoon business.
The new studio also entered into a strategic partnership with Korean content provider Imaginus, founded by Jinnie Choi, former CEO of CJ ENM’s series production outfit Studio Dragon. Choi will serve as Executive Adviser to Myriagon Studio with the aim of jointly building a strong Asian premium production network.
Produced for Netflix, the second season of Sato’s Alice In Borderland series exceeded 200 million streaming hours in the first four weeks after release, which is the highest record for a Netflix-produced Japanese series.
Thes series also ranked in the Top 10 in more than 90 countries and regions, and reached number one in 17 countries. Meanwhile, Sony and Toho’s Kingdom franchise, also directed by Sato, has grossed more than $71M (JPY10BN) in Japan.
