'Hidari' Loses U.S. Funding Deal, Searches for New Partner — SkimNews
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- Dwarf Studios producer Matsumoto Noriko said a U.S. company offered to fully fund 'Hidari' in exchange for all rights; the deal stalled when Dwarf's negotiators 'lost their jobs amid upheaval in Hollywood'
- 'Hidari' studio wanted to retain half the rights to protect the project's originality, prompting a search for a Japanese co-financing partner via Questry's new special purpose company structure
- Questry CEO Ibe Tomonobu, an 11-year Goldman Sachs veteran, cited industry estimates that more than 90% of Japanese anime and film financing flows through production committees (seisaku iinkai), where member companies invest mainly to secure a 'window' — and studios are typically hired for a fee with little upside
- Overseas sales now drive 56% of anime industry revenue in 2024, up from 20% in 2014 — a shift that strains the committee model for globally-targeted projects, per Ibe
- Knockonwood founder Yamaguchi Shin walked through three alternative financing templates at the panel: 'Rental Family' (90% Searchlight Pictures, 10% JLOX location incentive), 'Love on Trial' (60% Toho-led committee, 29% JLOX, 11% French presales via MK2 and Art House), and Busan competition entry 'Ibuku'
- Japan's co-production map is limited to treaties with China and Italy, and Yamaguchi said neither works well for the Japanese side; the government has upgraded its subsidy into a new IP360 program with higher minimum budgets for production and post-production
Why it matters: The seisaku iinkai committee system drives over 90% of Japanese anime and film financing but leaves studios with fee-only upside — a problem now that overseas sales account for 56% of anime revenue, up from 20% in 2014. For export-oriented projects like 'Hidari,' the available global capital demanded sweeping rights, forcing the studio to walk away and start over.
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