Aniplex chief appointed next Sony Music CEO
Plus: Andreessen Horowitz leads anime AI companion investment; Toho is Fuji Media's largest shareholder again; Bandai Namco sees record 'Gundam' sales; and more
This is your weekly Animenomics briefing, covering the business of anime and manga. Today is Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
In case you missed it: A recording of my talk with Mark Kennedy last week about the anime industry and how this newsletter operates behind the scenes is now available on Real Gaijin’s Substack website.
Aniplex president Iwakami to be named Sony Music CEO
Sony’s leadership has appointed Aniplex president Atsuhiro Iwakami as the incoming president and chief executive officer of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a sign of the anime production planning company’s growing influence in the Sony Music Group.
Why it matters: Iwakami’s appointment, which will be effective in April, marks the first time that an executive with a video production background will lead the Japanese music giant.
Catch up quick: More than half of Sony Music’s sales in Japan today come from non-music sources, including Aniplex, according to anime industry journalist Tadashi Sudo.
Aniplex is also capping off a spectacular year in the box office, having produced both Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, the highest-grossing anime film globally, and Kokuho, Japan’s highest-grossing live-action film.
External revenue from Sony Music’s visual media and platform business, to which Aniplex belongs, is up 42.8 percent in the nine months ended December 2025 compared to the same period last year.
How it happened: Prior to his decadelong tenure as the head of Aniplex, Iwakami was involved in the production of successful anime titles like the Monogatari series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Sword Art Online.
Iwakami also produced Aniplex’s highly successful mobile game Fate/Grand Order and the blockbuster anime adaptation of Demon Slayer.
The bottom line: Iwakami’s appointment, Sudo says, allows Sony Music “to externally promote itself as a comprehensive entertainment company that goes beyond music and covers a wide range of areas, including anime, live-action films, characters, the Internet, and events”.
a16z leads AI anime character startup seed investment
San Francisco artificial intelligence startup Shizuku AI has raised US$15 million in seed investment from Silicon Valley venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz and mobile technology company DeNA.
Why it matters: It’s the first investment in a Japanese technology firm by Andreessen Horowitz, Nikkei Asia reports.
Backgrounder: Shizuku AI, founded by University of California, Berkeley, doctoral graduate Akio Kodaira, is the creator of virtual YouTuber character Shizuku, which uses artificial intelligence to interact with viewers’ comments during live video streams.
Shizuku AI plans to develop the character into an AI companion that can converse with individual users and act as their personal assistant.
Funds from the investment will go toward developing multilingual voice synthesis capabilities for Shizuku, building richer conversational AI, and increasing presence across platforms like Discord, YouTube, and X, Andreessen Horowitz partners say.
The bigger picture: In 2024, Andreessen Horowitz named anime AI companions and virtual YouTubing as two areas of the anime market where user engagement is rapidly growing.
“The reason why anime is so resonant as a genre for AI companions is because character affinity / romance is already built into many of the best anime stories,” partners at the firm wrote.
Clippings: Toho is Fuji Media’s largest shareholder again
Film giant Toho will once again become Fuji Media’s largest major shareholder and see its voting right increase. The commercial television broadcaster is buying back shares after an activist investor group ended a campaign for corporate reform that emerged out of a sexual misconduct scandal. (Jiji Press)
Some context: Cross-shareholding between Japan’s television broadcasters and film companies is common broadcasters are often investors in film productions.
TV Asahi Music-backed Extra Mile raised US$1.5 million in pre-seed funding for development of its manga production platform Hanasee, which uses AI agents to help web novel writers turn their works into manga. (Press release)
What they’re saying: A public relations representative told Animenomics that a separate platform called Xross Road for publishing and managing the IP rights of manga produced on Hanasee is also expected to go live later this year.
CyberAgent is acquiring anime studio CygamesPictures from mobile gaming affiliate Cygames and renaming it CyPic as the digital advertising company continues to pivot into anime intellectual property production. (Gamebiz)
Tokuma Shoten launched a digital-only weekly publication spun out of Japan’s oldest existing anime magazine Animage that is designed for reading on smartphones and sold through major e-book stores. (Press release)
Telecommunications giant NTT West, which owns leading digital manga platform Comic C’moA, is grappling with the impact of a rapid slowdown in the digital manga market and seeks to establish new, highly profitable subsidiaries. (The Nikkei)
Crunchyroll’s online store is reportedly attempting to lower warehousing costs by reducing the SKU count of products that sell fewer units, raising questions about the continuity of relationships with smaller anime publishers that it inherited from Right Stuf. (Anime News Network)
‘Gundam’ set to see record sales year at Bandai Namco
“Through new initiatives this fiscal year, such as exhibiting at the Osaka–Kansai Expo and launching trading card games, the popularity of [Gundam], previously centered on Japan and Asia, has expanded into North America. Furthermore, the hit game SD Gundam G Generation Eternal has broadened our touchpoints to reach a wider range of fans. By continuing these multifaceted developments, we aim for stable growth at a high level, not just a temporary surge.”
— Bandai Namco on the future sales revenue of its Mobile Suit Gundam property
Context: Bandai Namco reported its third straight quarter of Mobile Suit Gundam exceeding ¥60 billion (US$390 million) in total IP sales revenue last week, prompting questioning from analysts about the sustainability of Gundam’s growth.
Bandai Namco forecasts a record ¥240 billion (US$1.57 billion) in total Gundam IP sales revenue for the twelve months ending in April 2026, up 56 percent from the last fiscal year.
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A telling move.
Interestingly, anime and music in Japan have long grown together through theme songs, idols, and live events. This appointment suggests the boundary between them may be dissolving even further.