Japanese media and advertising company CyberAgent announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a business alliance with animation studio MAPPA and acquired a stake in MHD Co., Ltd., MAPPA’s parent company.

The partnership is designed to combine MAPPA’s animation production expertise with CyberAgent’s media capabilities, with both companies citing a shared “Creator First” philosophy — a commitment to respecting the passion that creators bring to their work. The collaboration is expected to span the full pipeline, from planning and production through to broadcasting, streaming, games, merchandise, and events.

Statements from Both Companies’ Leadership

Takahiro Yamauchi, Representative Director and President of CyberAgent, expressed deep respect for anime culture and the dedication of its creators. He noted that he and MAPPA’s Ōtsuka share “Creative First” as a common value, and said CyberAgent intends to leverage its expertise across anime, games, and media to help great stories reach audiences beyond borders, with a long-term commitment to elevating the global value of Japanese anime.

Manabu Ōtsuka, President and CEO of MAPPA, said the studio has always sought the best ways to create and deliver its works for audiences to enjoy more deeply. He emphasized the importance of partnering with companies that bring complementary strengths and are willing to think beyond any single company’s interests. He expressed gratitude that CyberAgent shares these beliefs, and affirmed that MAPPA will continue to create at a careful pace with a focus on quality.

CyberAgent’s Expanding Anime and Game Footprint

In June, CyberAgent opened Canvas Kyoto, a new creative hub aimed at nurturing emerging creators and expanding the talent pool for anime and game production, particularly in Japan’s Kansai region.

Cygames Pictures became a consolidated subsidiary of CyberAgent on February 27 and subsequently rebranded as Cypic on April 6. CyberAgent founded Cygames in 2011; the company is known for games such as Uma Musume Pretty Derby, Rage of Bahamut, and Granblue Fantasy, and has produced anime adaptations of all three franchises.

On the AI front, CyberAgent established its AI Lab in 2016 and launched its first Japanese-language large language model in May 2023. It followed this with the Game AI Lab and Animation AI Lab business units in October 2023. In April 2024, the company issued internal guidelines for creators on the use of generative AI for images, stressing copyright compliance and noting that current generative AI cannot produce a finished product on its own.

Recent Developments at MAPPA

MAPPA is currently hosting the MAPPA Expo 15th Anniversary exhibition at the Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo, running from September 16 to December 27, with a subsequent run in Fukuoka from January to March 2027.

In February, MAPPA announced plans to absorb its sibling studio Contrail through a merger, taking on all of Contrail’s rights and obligations. Earlier, in January, Netflix announced a new strategic partnership with MAPPA, making Netflix the exclusive global streaming platform for a number of future MAPPA original anime titles, with simultaneous worldwide releases.