On May 23, 2024, Sony Group Corp. held its Sony Group Management Policy Briefing, where it announced plans to boost its animation business by leveraging advanced technologies, including newly developed animation creation software and artificial intelligence.

Sony intends to expand through its existing subsidiaries, Aniplex and US-based animation distributor Crunchyroll LLC, positioning the anime business as a key revenue source alongside its established gaming, music and film sectors.

Sony President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoko highlighted that Crunchyroll is one of the fastest growing and most profitable areas within the company's film division.

At the briefing, the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment giant highlighted the potential of AI to increase production efficiency and improve the quality of its animated titles.

This news comes on the heels of Japan investing heavily in a startup that would use AI translations to boost manga exports.

While they haven't revealed finer details about how the AI will be implemented – an educated guess can be made from previous published reports.

In February 2024, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said the streaming giant will integrate AI into multiple workflows within the organization, with a particular focus on subtitling and closed captioning.

Reports also showed how AI was being used in anime production, especially to create scenarios, due to labor shortages.

Additionally, Sony also revealed the development of animation production software made in collaboration with Aniplex's A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks, along with Sony Music and Sony Group.

This software, called AnimeScreen, aims to improve production environments, efficiency and quality of works. Although the details are not yet clear, the software would be based on digital 2D, according to the visuals presented during the briefing.

A test version is scheduled to be released this year.

Sony also addressed the issue of labor shortages in the anime industry. According to them, labor shortages were indeed a serious problem facing the industry as anime's popularity continues to grow.

The company has committed to improving working conditions for breeders in the sector to solve this problem..

As part of this, the Sony Group began considering creating an academy to train foreign creators, centered around Aniplex and Crunchyroll, in collaboration with the industry.

The goal is to attract talented individuals from all over the world, not just Japan.

Plans are also being made to create a community platform for anime production, which will allow collaborative creation between locations through virtual reality.

“Animation has grown from what used to be a niche genre to a world-class form of entertainment”, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said during a press conference in Tokyo. “We want to contribute to the industry.“

The company also plans to develop new technologies, including 3D content, to enhance its offerings.

In May 2023, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida outlined the company's long-term vision to expand its content user base — spanning music, games and movies — to 1 billion people, a more than six-fold increase.

Since Sony acquired Crunchyroll, the focus has been on expanding the streaming giant's position in new high-potential markets, including India.

Although anime still represents only a small part of Sony's business empire, is identified by analysts as a key growth area.

According to Crunchyroll, the anime industry will have over 800 million fans globally by 2025, outside of China and Japan.

Source: Mainichi, Animation business