Following Alphapolis’ acquisition of anime studio White Fox, behind Steins;Gate, Akame ga Kill, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World, studio founder Gaku Iwasa has responded on X (formerly Twitter) to criticisms amid concerns over Re:ZERO‘s future.
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On August 3, an X user criticized Iwasa for selling White Fox to Alphapolis, saying that it was best that he retire, that Iwasa clung to outdated views of fan demand (citing Sengoku Youko as the example), and that his complacency led to Re:ZERO not reaching the heights of One Piece. Iwasa responded that he didn’t start White Fox to make money.
Another cited that a major motivation for Alphapolis in acquiring White Fox was to adapt its own IP to anime (link to Alphapolis acquisition notice), and feared a de-priortization of Re:ZERO as a result. Iwasa formerly held 100% of the shares in White Fox, all of which have been transferred to Alphapolis (along with voting rights). The X user voiced doubts about whether there was any way to guarantee Re:ZERO‘s future if Iwasa wasn’t retained as CEO or in some other role.
Iwasa said of Re:ZERO‘s future:
“As for Re:ZERO, I plan to stick with it until the end unless KADOKAWA-san or Nagatsuki-tentei* gives me the boot. Even if something comes up, I’ll make sure to handle the handover properly, so please don’t worry~.” (“tentei” comes from sensei, or teacher, and refers to the creator of Re:ZERO, Tappei Nagatsuki)
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Here, you can check out the background to White Fox’s sale, and some of publisher Alphapolis’ most popular titles. As anime continues to spread globally, companies are racing to secure footholds to adapt their IP and draw attention to the original works. Also in recent days, Japanese company Edia, which owns fellow publisher Hifumi Shobo (Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World, Drugstore in Another World), announced this month that it was embarking on a full-scale entry into the anime production business, intending to adapt its IP and other companies’ titles. Edia added that investments would range between 10s to 100s of millions of yen per title.
Source: Gaku Iwasa X
Featured image ©Tappei Nagatsuki,KADOKAWA/Re:ZERO3 PARTNERS ©Paramount Pictures
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