Production I.G, Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社プロダクション・アイジー, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Purodakushon Ai Jī) is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. Headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo Production I.G was founded on December 15, 1987, by producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and character designer Takayuki Goto as "I.G Tatsunoko", a branch studio of the animation giant Tatsunoko Production, changing its name to the current Production I.G in September 1993. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders. Since 2007, Production I.G is a subsidiary of the IG Port holding company. Ishikawa was president and CEO of the studio until August 2022 when that position was given to George Wada with Ishikawa remaining as chairman of the company.
Production I.G was founded on December 15, 1987, by producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and character designer Takayuki Goto.[Web 2] The letters I and G refer to Ishikawa and Goto's initials, respectively.[1]
According to Ishikawa, using initials was Goto's idea.[2] Prior to the founding of Production I.G, Ishikawa worked for Tatsunoko Production where he was tasked to produce the 1987 series Zillion. Ishikawa gathered staff to form the "Tatsunoko Production Branch" studio that would work on the Zillion series[3][Web 3][4] After completing the production of Zillion, Ishikawa founded a studio to prevent the staff from dispersing naming it "I.G Tatsunoko".[3][4][5] Ishikawa would later say that he added "Tatsunoko" as he thought this could lead to more work for the studio.[2] Goto previously founded and ran studio "Chime," but found it difficult to manage others and wanted to focus more on animation leaving Ishikawa to take care of management. Animator Kazuchika Kise also joined the studio early on.[4]
Ishikawa said that the studio's primary goals were to "concentrate on projects led by lively young creators who would support the anime industry in the future"[2] and creating anime feature films that would appeal to wider audiences rather than strictly to otaku.[6]Takashi Nakamura, Koichi Mashimo, Hiroyuki Okiura, Kazuchika Kise, Mizuho Nishikubo and Mamoru Oshii helped out in production during the studio's beginnings as a subcontractor while Kyoto Animation's Hideaki Hatta invested in the company.[2]
After the studio's name change, Production I.G expanded its work into films and television series. In 1995, the studio produced the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell directed by Mamoru Oshii.[10] The film would go on to spawn a media franchise that includes a sequel film released in 2005[11] and television series that ran from 2002 until 2005.[12] According to Ishikawa, Ghost in the Shell was a "turning point" for Production I.G as it allowed the studio to break away from subcontracting work to become more involved with productions.[4]
During this time, the studio also produced the 1999 film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade directed by Hiroyuki Okiura[13] and produced the animated sequences in Quentin Tarantino'sKill Bill Vol. 1.[14] The studio began branching out into the production of original television series starting with Blood+,[15] an anime series based on its 2000 film Blood: The Last Vampire.[16] Production I.G also began its collaboration with the group Clamp adapting their manga series: xxxHolic into a television series in 2006[17] and producing the 2011 anime series Blood-C which served as a sequel to Blood+.[18]
Apart from its animation production, Production I.G also began its expansion, forming subsidiary studios: studio Xebec in May 1995[19] and Bee Train, founded by Koichi Mashimo in early 1997, as a studio that could work on small productions and "nurture" the creative spirit of its staff members.[20] In 2006, Bee Train became an independent studio and Ishikawa stepped down as an executive in the company.[21]
The studio also underwent several structural changes. In April 1998, it incorporated to become "Production I.G, Inc." and in September 2000 merged with "Ing", a company Production I.G established in June 1990.[Web 5] Ing served as a means of easier handling of production matters.[4] On July 4, 2007, the company announced a merger with Mag Garden, forming a new holding company named IG Port which became the parent company of Production I.G, Signal.MD and Xebec.[22] Xebec remained part of IG Port until November 20, 2018, when it was sold to Sunrise. On January 12, 2018, Xebec's subsidiary, Xebeczwei, was given to Production I.G as a subsidiary renamed to IGzwei following the transfer.[19]
Continued television work, leadership changes (2009–present)
After becoming an IG Port subsidiary, Production I.G continued its work on anime television series with original works and adaptations. In 2009, the studio produced its original series Eden of the East[23] that was bookended with two theatrical films released in 2009 and 2010.[24] In 2011, the studio produced the original series Guilty Crown directed by Tetsuro Araki.[25] In 2012, the studio produced the Psycho-Pass television series.[26]
Production I.G is closer to several divisions working under the same name (such as with Sunrise) than it is to being a single studio. These different studios are known as different "sections" in reference to the studio's Ghost in the Shell franchise. In 2011, Section 6 head George Wada and animation producer Tetsuya Nakatake approached Ishikawa with the intention of founding a new studio under Production I.G to allow for more creative freedoms and faster production processes than were available at I.G itself. On June 1, 2012, Wit Studio was founded, with the studio's first project being Attack on Titan, which I.G assisted in producing.[27]
During this time, Production I.G produced a number of sports related anime series: Kuroko's Basketball, which ran for three seasons from 2012 until 2015,[28]The Prince of Tennis II, which ran for a season in 2012,[29]Haikyu!!, which ran for four seasons from 2014 until 2020[30] and Aoashi, which ran for a season in 2022.[31]
On June 5, 2017, Production I.G launched an anime streaming app called Tate Anime (Vertical Anime). The anime that were streamed on the app were series of shorts that had 10 3-minute long episodes each.[32] In May 2018, it was announced that Tate Anime would be replaced with a new app called Anime Beans.[33] On December 18, 2018, Anime Beans was launched worldwide, excluding China, with 10 titles available with English subtitles.[34] The app ended service on March 31, 2023.[35]
On June 25, 2022, Production I.G announced that current executive vice-president George Wada was to become President and CEO of the studio, while current President and CEO Mitsuhisa Ishikawa would become Chairman. The changes took effect on August 30, 2022.[36]
Based on the manga by Yuji Terajima. Co-production with Madhouse with Production I.G working on two seasons. Season 1 ran for 75 episodes 2013–2015. Season 2 ran for 51 episodes 2015–2016.
Based on the manga by Haruichi Furudate. Seasons 1–2 ran for 25 episodes 2014–2016. Season 3 ran for 10 episodes in 2016. Season 4 ran for 25 episodes in 2020.
^Three episodes were released exclusively on DVD.[40]
^ Two original video animations were released. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – The Laughing Man was released on September 23, 2005.[41]Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Individual Eleven was released on January 27, 2006.[Web 7]
^Three original video animations were released on DVD. xxxHolic: Shunmuki was released on February 18, 2009.[47]xxxHolic: Rō and xxxHolic: Rō Adayume in 2009.[48]
^ Three original video animations (OVA) were released on Blu-ray and DVD as bonus episodes. Episode 22.5 on February 22, 2013,[69] episode 41.5 on June 20, 2014[70] and episode 75.5 on December 24, 2015.[71] Three compilation films were released in 2016.[72]
^Four original video animations (OVA) were released on Blu-ray and DVD: one on March 4, 2015[82] one on August 4, 2017[83] and two on January 22, 2020.[84] Four compilation films were released: two on July 3 and September 18, 2015[85] and two on September 15 and September 29, 2017.[86]
