The tax evasion case against Demon Slayer animation studio Ufotable may end with the studio paying the Japanese government a substantial fine and with its founder in prison.
As reported by TBS News, the trial for Ufotable's founder and former president Hikaru Kondo was held in a Japanese court on Nov. 1. Kondo and the studio were officially indicted on tax evasion charges on July 9, with prosecutors alleging that Kondo personally evaded paying over 138 million yen - approximately $1.2 million USD - in taxes, while the studio was charged with about $4 million USD in unpaid taxes. Both Ufotable and its founder initially denied the allegations, but Kondo ended up confessing to the charges in September, and the animation company announced that they had now filed corrected tax documents and were paying back the owed amount of taxes. Sentencing in the case will occur on Dec. 10, with Kondo still facing a possible prison sentence of up to 20 months for his crimes, and Ufotable looking at further fines totaling 40 million yen (approximately $350,000 USD).
Prosecutors claim that Kondo moved money generated by cafes operated by Ufotable into his personal safe, and that the founder authorized the company to produce fraudulent accounting reports to hide a great increase in its profits. Kondo maintains he only did this to shield the studio from any potential losses in the future, while prosecutors called Kondo "selfish and greedy," and stated that the former president had used the money to buy up real estate in his name, rather than use it on any of the studio's animation projects.
Ufotable was founded in 2000, and the studio initially made a name for itself with original anime such as Coyote Ragtime Show and its frequent collaborations with video game publisher Bandai Namco on projects such as the anime adaptations of Tales of Symphonia and God Eater. The studio gained further recognition with its acclaimed adaptation of Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, which was lauded for its feature-quality animation. Ufotable found its biggest hit in 2019, when it debuted its anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotouge's hit shonen manga, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba. The series was a huge hit both in Japan and abroad, with its 2020 continuation movie, Mugen Train, becoming the highest grossing anime movie of all time, shattering a record that was previously held by Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away for more than a decade.
Ufotable also produced the second season of Demon Slayer, which is currently airing in Japan and is being simulcast internationally by both Funimation and Crunchyroll.
Source: TBS News