Looks Like Manglobe Went Bankrupt With Unpaid Wages To Employees

[MOONPHASE]

Animator Toshio Kobayashi ("SNIPES," Mobile Suit Gundam UC effect animation director) posted on Twitter on Wednesday that due to the anime studio Manglobe's "insolvency," his expected income for this month and next month is now gone. He has since deleted the Twitter post, but his urgent request for work and unemployment notice are still online.

Another animator, Hideto Komori (Hayate the Combat Butler! Heaven Is a Place on Earth director), wondered if he will get paid and expressed his shock when he received a confirmation email. He noted that he cannot connect to an unspecified site and said that he needs to look for different work. (As of Wednesday, Manglobe's official website is down.) He reported looking into how employees can recover unpaid wages from a bankrupt company, and added he will confirm by phone first thing on Thursday. Writer Shigeru Morita said that an unspecified company apparently did go bankrupt.

The anime projects Manglobe produced include Ergo Proxy, Samurai Champloo, The World God Only Knows franchise, Hayate The Combat Butler franchise, Michiko & Hatchin, Mashiroiro Symphony, Deadman Wonderland, The Sacred Blacksmith, Unlimited Psychic Squad, Samurai Flamenco, Gangsta., and this November's Genocidal Organ film.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/dail...es-down/.93576

[neoz]

^^^

Well that can't be good. Does that mean that any studios that hold the licensing to those shows might lose them to another company gets them? Or nothing will happen, just people losing jobs? Sad news, I hope they are all able to find new jobs.

[BigOnAnime]

People will just lose their jobs, the animation studio rarely holds the rights, especially if they're just a hired studio. Which also means they never see money beyond what they were given by the production committee to animate a show.

[MOONPHASE]

Industry news source Anime! Anime! Biz reported on Thursday that anime studio Manglobe filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday. The report confirms earlier speculation of Manglobe's insolvency.

The report notes that Manglobe has been insolvent for some time, and was investigating ways to settle its debts, but was in a state where it was unable to continue its current business. The report mentions that work on current projects had been proceeding up until the company filed for bankruptcy.

Shinichiro Kobayashi and Takashi Kochiyama founded Manglobe in 2002. The studio produced such series as Ergo Proxy, Samurai Champloo, The World God Only Knows franchise, Hayate The Combat Butler franchise, Michiko & Hatchin, Mashiroiro Symphony, Deadman Wonderland, The Sacred Blacksmith, Unlimited Psychic Squad, Samurai Flamenco, Gangsta., and this November's Genocidal Organ film.

Anime! Anime! Biz did not confirm if production on Genocidal Organ was finished or unfinished, but the site did state in the article that, "The film is slated for a November 13 opening. It would be realistic to move the production [of the movie] to another company, but it would require adjusting the schedule."

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...kruptcy/.93611

[MOONPHASE]

The official website for the three film adaptations of late author Project Itoh's novels announced on Friday that the Genocidal Organ film, which was slated to open on November 13, has been delayed. The Harmony film, which was slated to open on December 4, will now open on November 13.

Genocidal Organ is being animated at studio Manglobe, which filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.

Genocidal Organ was originally slated to open in October, but the release order of the three Project Itoh films was shuffled so that The Empire of Corpses would open in October and Genocidal Organ would open in November. The Empire of Corpses opens on Friday in Japan.

Each Project Itoh novel film adaptation will be from a different director and studio. Shukou Murase (Witch Hunter Robin, Gangsta., Ergo Proxy) will direct Genocidal Organ at Manglobe (The Unlimited - Hyōbu Kyōsuke, House of Five Leaves), Takashi Nakamura (Fantastic Children) and Michael Arias (Tekkonkinkreet) will direct Harmony at Studio 4°C (Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King, Tweeny Witches), while Ryoutarou Makihara will direct The Empire of Corpses at WIT STUDIO (Attack on Titan, Hōzuki no Reitetsu).

FUNimation Entertainment licensed all three films and plans to release them theatrically in 2016.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...delayed/.93641