By Variety | Created at 2025-03-17 09:56:17 | Updated at 2025-03-17 13:32:49
5 hours ago
Aniplex Inc. and Crunchyroll, LLC have revealed the establishment of Hayate Inc., a new company focused on planning, developing, and producing anime content for the Crunchyroll streaming service available worldwide.
The Tokyo-based Hayate will draw staff from both parent companies and will be led by chair and CEO Masanori Miyake and president and COO Leo Watanabe, both executives from Aniplex.
Hayate will produce premium content for anime fans worldwide by combining Aniplex’s production expertise developed through partnerships with creators and studios with Crunchyroll’s development, marketing, and distribution capabilities built on its connections to the anime community.
Aniplex and Crunchyroll previously collaborated on “Solo Leveling,” “Demon Slayer” and “Bocchi the Rock!” As revealed by Variety, global music superstar J Balvin is making his first foray into anime voice acting, joining the cast of Crunchyroll and Aniplex’s “Solo Leveling Season 2 — Arise From the Shadow” in a key role.
“With its diverse stories, characters, and expressions, anime’s popularity as entertainment content and a lifestyle is spreading even further around the world,” the companies stated in their announcement.
Aniplex, a diversified entertainment company primarily focused on Japanese anime, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. The company owns animation studios A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks, as well as game production company Lasengle Inc., known for titles like “Fate/Grand Order.”
Crunchyroll offers a premium streaming service with a large dedicated anime library, alongside events, theatrical releases, games, merchandise, and news. The company operates as an independently managed joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.
