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It feels like the final evolution of any streaming service is to start producing content to sit alongside the shows and movies that already fill their libraries. Netflix has done this to great effect, with shows like Stranger Things and Squid Games becoming full-blown cultural phenomenons.  Now it looks like Crunchyroll isn’t content to just stream the largest library of anime in the world; they’re going to start making it by setting up their own anime studio with fellow Sony property Aniplex.

The announcement comes as both companies are working closely on some of the biggest anime in the world. Aniplex already owns A-1 Pictures, which produces Solo Leveling, and licenses Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, both of which are massive hits for Crunchyroll’s streaming platform. The new studio, which is based in Tokyo and is headed up by staff from both Crunchyroll and Aniplex, will be called Hayate. It should be noted that both the CEO and COO of Hayate will come from Aniplex rather than Crunchyroll.

As odd as it feels to see Crunchyroll in the business of making anime, the partnership with Aniplex makes a lot of sense. Both companies are ultimately owned by Sony and have a good working relationship. The announcement makes it clear that Aniplex will be focused on producing new anime (possibly from Sony’s new stake in Kadokawa) while Crunchyroll will be responsible for distribution and marketing, something they’ve proven to be very good at when they have a vested interest in the show. All of this activity feeds into Sony's ongoing mission to become a dominant force in the anime industry, which has been several years in the making.

The implications of this new studio won’t be felt for at least a few years, but we wouldn’t be surprised if shows that are produced by Hayate get a very quick English dub compared to shows made by other studios. What we don’t want to see is Crunchyroll focus too heavily on marketing and pushing Hayate-produced anime at the expense of other shows, which would hurt both the company and the industry in the long term. 

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

• Aggretsuko vs Chainsaw Man: Two Wildly different anine with the same anti-capitalist message
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• How AI translations of manga continues the 'enshitification' of the medium, and why Japanese publishers are "less precious" about it
• I never wanted a Cyberpunk Edgerunners sequel, but God help me I'm going to watch it
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• The one thing that Dan Da Dan does better than Demon Slayer ever did
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