History
On December 15, 1987, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, a producer at Tatsunoko Production, established IG Tatsunoko Ltd., the predecessor of Production IG, with Takayuki Goto, who had organized Studio Chime.[6] It was in the form of an independent Tatsunoko production branch led by the staff who participated in the Tatsunoko-produced TV series Zillion.[3] Japan was experiencing a booming economy at that time thanks to the economic bubble, but it was a difficult time for the animation industry to create new anime. Original animation projects that may or may not be successful were particularly difficult to pass, and there were few opportunities for young talent to demonstrate their abilities. Ishikawa therefore planned Zillion to provide them with a place to play an active role.[3] Ishikawa, already a freelancer, was entrusted with the work as a Tatsunoko Production branch separated from the company.[3][9][14] Takashi Nakamura, Kōichi Mashimo, Takayuki Goto (later Production I.G board member), Hiroyuki Okiura and Kazuchika Kise (later Production I.G board member) who were at Anime R and Mu in Osaka at the time, as well as Mizuho Nishikubo and Mamoru Oshii helped in the production. Kyoto Animation also participated in the production.[9][14] After Zillion, he could have disbanded the team, but he sensed that everyone wanted to continue working together with this group, so he started I.G Tatsunoko.[3][5] The company was formed by merging the Zillion production team and Studio Chime, which was run by Takayuki Goto, who designed its characters, with the cooperation of Kyoto Animation.[5] Animator Kazuchika Kise also joined the studio early on.[15] Hideaki Hatta, President and CEO of Kyoto Animation, who encouraged Ishikawa to become president, supported him in establishing the company and even invested in it.[9] The company name "I.G" was named by Takayuki Goto, after the initials "I" of Ishikawa, the head of the production team, and "G" of Goto, the head of the animation studio. It was Ishikawa's idea to put Tatsunoko in the company name because he thought it would make it easier to get work and out of consideration for Tatsunoko, which had trained him.[5][14] The company name was changed to Production I.G in 1993.[6][16]
After becoming independent, I.G's work was mainly subcontracted to other studios for a while.[7] Soon after becoming independent, I.G received an offer from Studio Deen to subcontract the production of Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor OVA and the movie, and with these hits, I.G solidified its position in the industry.[5] However, Ishikawa began to feel dissatisfied with the fact that even though his company, a subcontractor, actually produced the works, it was only credited as a production partner in the end credits, while the name of the main contractor came to the forefront, and he also began to think that the studio would not be able to survive on low-budget subcontract work in the future.[7] Ishikawa therefore founded Ing Co., Ltd. in 1990, a planning and production company that handles copyright business.[3] In the anime industry, studios cannot make a profit if they only subcontract production. Ishikawa therefore established Ing with the idea of earning income not only from anime production but also from copyrights, and the studio invested in its works.[3][7]
Production I.G produced the film Ghost in the Shell, which was released in Japan in 1995. When this video was released in the U.S., it was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Billboard magazine's Sell Video category in 1996, and the studio became known as one of the top animation studios in the world, both in name and reality.[5] The film would go on to spawn a Ghost in the Shell franchise that includes sequel and reboot films, television series, original video animation, and original net animation. Ishikawa says this work was the biggest turning point for the studio.[3] In Japanese anime production, manufacturers which are involved in the manufacturing, sale and distribution of video software, television stations, publishers and advertising agencies form a production committee, and animation studios generally join after the committee is formed. Since this would not be profitable enough for the studio, Ishikawa decided that the studio needed to move from being the one who was given permission to produce works to being the one who had the right to grant permission. He approached Kodansha, the publisher of the original Ghost in the Shell manga, and obtained permission to produce three forms of production: an anime TV series, a movie, and a video game. Since Production I.G has a direct contract with Kodansha for the rights to produce anime adaptations from the original manga, it is able to take the initiative when forming the production committee, including the ability to issue usage licenses to each of the participating companies.[3][7]
In May 1995, Production I.G established a subsidiary studio, Xebec.[16] In 1997, Production I.G invested in Bee Train, a studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo, and also established Production I.G.,LLC, an overseas subsidiary based in Los Angeles.[16][19] The company co-developed and co-produced the television series IGPX, directed by Mitsuru Hongo, with Cartoon Network in 2005. This was the first collaboration between an American cable network and a Japanese anime studio.[20]
Production I.G was recapitalized and became a joint-stock company from a limited company in April 1998, and merged with Ing in September 2000.[3][16]
In 2000, Production I.G produced the movie Blood: The Last Vampire, the first full-digital animation in Japan.[12] This was the first time for Production I.G to acquire the original rights to a work.[16]
In the 2000s, Production I.G began to produce more TV series, especially those based on popular manga series published in magazines such as Shōnen Jump.[7] This was the result of Ishikawa's focus on creating a business scheme and leaving the animation production site to younger staff and producers, giving priority to their wishes.[7]
In 2004, Bee Train acquired the shares held by Production I.G and ceased to be an equity method affiliate of Production I.G. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa also resigned from Bee Train's board.[21]
In 2005, Production I.G. Inc. went public on the JASDAQ stock exchange.[3][6] With the funds raised through the IPO, Production I.G founded a new studio capable of producing the latest 3DCG animation at the time, and co-founded FILM LIP, a studio capable of digital editing, with Fuji Television.[18]
In 2007, Production I.G, Inc. changed its trade name to IG Port Inc. and at the same time established a new subsidiary under the name Production I.G. Inc.[3][16] The company name and its function as an anime studio were taken over by the subsidiary, and the listing was maintained under the name IG Port.[3] Mitsuhisa Ishikawa was also the representative director of Production I.G and IG Port.[3] In the same year, IG Port acquired Mag Garden, a publisher specializing in comics, which publishes the monthly Comic Blade, as a subsidiary.[3][22] The norm in the animation industry is for anime studios to obtain permission from major publishers such as Shueisha, Kodansha, Shogakukan, and Kadokawa to adapt popular manga into anime, and then produce anime adaptations based on the original manga.
In September 2010, Production I.G moved its headquarters to Musashino, Tokyo.[16]
In 2010, IG Port acquired an 11.2% stake in Tatsunoko Production and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa became a non-executive director of the company.[23]
On June 1, 2012, Wit Studio, I.G's subsidiary animation studio, was founded, with the studio's first project being Attack on Titan, which I.G assisted in producing.[24][25] IG Port invested 66.6%, while George Wada and Tetsuya Nakatake who were in the planning section of Production I.G invested 21.6% and 10.0%, respectively.[26]
In 2017, IG Port created Lingua Franca, an electronic distribution service company, as a wholly owned subsidiary, with Kyohei Shinpuku as its president.
On June 5, 2017, Production I.G launched Tate Anime (vertical anime), an anime distribution app optimized for viewing on smartphones.[27] It was completely renewed in 2018 and replaced with a new app, Anime Beans, with expanded functions, including the ability to deliver Yoko anime (horizontal anime), and more content available for viewing.[27][28][29] The service was launched on December 18 worldwide except for China.[27][30] The app ended service on March 31, 2023.[31]
In 2018, Production I.G and Wit Studio entered into a comprehensive business partnership with Netflix for anime productions.[32]
On November 20, 2018, IG Port sold Xebec to Sunrise. Prior to that, Xebeczwei, a subsidiary of Xebec, was transferred to Production I.G on January 12, 2018, becoming a subsidiary and changing its name to IGzwei accordingly.[33]
On August 30, 2022, George Wada, who founded Wit Studio, was promoted from Executive Vice President of Production I.G to CEO, while Ishikawa resigned as CEO to become Chairman.[6][34] Wada also continued to serve as president of Wit Studio.[6][35]
