Image via Wikimedia Common
©TOHO CO., LTD.
Japanese entertainment company TOHO announced on Tuesday that it has acquired 45 shares, or 6.09%, of anime management, production and distribution company CoMix Wave Films. This investment is intended to enhance the studio's working environment to improve the quality of their work and increase the studio's creative opportunities.
TOHO has distributed and participated in the production of all of director Makoto Shinkai's films through CoMix Wave Films in Japan since The Garden of Words in 2013.
TOHO also recently announced the acquisition of 100% of North American animation distributor GKIDS earlier on Tuesday. The film makes GKIDS a wholly owned subsidiary of TOHO International, headquartered in Los Angeles. GKIDS has also distributed several of Shinkai's titles in the United States, including Weathering With You, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Voices of a Distant Star and Children Who Chase Lost Voices.
TOHO acquired all shares of anime studio Science SARU on June 19, and made it its consolidated subsidiary. TOHO acquired a controlling stake in studio TIA (TOHO Interactive Animation) in 2022 and turned it into a subsidiary with the new name TOHO animation STUDIO.
Image via CoMix Wave Films
©CoMix Wave Films Inc.
CoMix Wave Films was founded in 2007 when board director Noritaka Kawaguchi spun off and acquired the animation business of CoMix Wave (formerly CW) as part of a management buyout (MBO). . In addition to animation production, the company also handles planning, financing, distribution and rights management. Kawaguchi served as representative director and president of the company since its founding until this past May, when he became representative director and president while Tomohiro Tokunaga became representative director and president.
CoMix Wave Films is famous for producing and distributing anime films by director Makoto Shinkai, starting from his first film Voices of a Distant Star, to his recent hit Your Name ., Weathering With You and Suzume.
Source: Toho, Animation Business Magazine (Tadashi Sudo)