Wit Studio, the animation house that produced critically acclaimed anime such as Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song, The Ancient Magus' Bride and the first three seasons of Attack on Titan, is reportedly deeply in debt and under new management following one of the studio's least profitable years on record.
According to a report by industry analysts Gamebiz, Wit Studio sales in the last year declined by over 40%, to 1.24 billion yen (about $11 million USD), with a total bottom-line loss of over 500 million yen (about $4.5 million USD). The situation is reportedly so dire that Wit Studio's parent company, I.G. Port, have taken over management of the studio and are refocusing the studio's operations to be more business focused. The report suggests that it is rare for I.G. Port to manage its subsidiary companies in this way, and states that it was working with Wit Studio's administration to cut costs and return the prestigious studio to profitability.
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Wit Studio was founded in 2012 by George Wada, a former employee of Ghost in the Shell studio Production I.G., which is also a subsidiary of I.G. Port. The studio has produced several big hits and critically lauded anime series in the almost decade since, including the Amazon Prime Video exclusive Kabeneri of the Iron Fortress, the acclaimed The Ancient Magus' Bride, the anime adaptation of Vinland Saga and the recently released and well-received sci-fi drama Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song. The studio was also contracted to work on the Pokemon movie The Power of Us, but is best known for its work on the first three seasons of the internationally popular Attack on Titan anime. In 2020 it was announced that production of Attack on Titan's fourth and final season would be moved from Wit to Jujutsu Kaisen's animation studio, MAPPA.
Wit Studio is currently working on the Ranking of Kings, a new anime series that is set to premiere on Funimation as part of the company's fall lineup. The studio also previously announced Grimm, a collaboration with Tokyo Babylon and Card Captor Sakura creators CLAMP, which will be a modern adaptation of Grimm's fairy tales. At this time, Wit Studio has not commented on the report, nor has it mentioned if any of its future or current productions will be affected.
Source: Gamebiz via Crunchyroll