The Tonari Animation Studio Announces Its Closure

In a recent statement, the studies Tonari Animation announced their definitive closure after four years of operations. The CEO of the company, Jarrett Martinexplained that the decision was made after a deep analysis and indicated key factors that led to this outcome: the devaluation of the Japanese yen, the increase in competition (referring to other studios selling their services at lower prices), reducing its market share (referring to fewer business opportunities), and the lack of alliances to sustain their operations.

Tonari Animation was founded in 2019 as a one-person company, and later became a corporation in 2020. The studio was established with the idea of making anime production more accessible for English-speaking creators and improving working conditions for animators. During his career he participated in more than 80 anime productions and helped open doors for international creators. However, the evolution of the industry eventually reduced the need for its original mission, as Japanese studios also opened their working doors to foreign animators.

Despite these good deeds, Tonari Animation was surrounded by controversies. Highlights included the production of an “Anime NFT,” the use of AI in creative projects along with the sale of NFTs, and a fundraising campaign for a book on anime production that ended in nothing. Additionally, it was noted that the studio advertised low-paying jobs, and controversial statements about hiring foreign animators.

As for the future, Martin has announced that he will continue his work in the anime industry as Creative Director at Creative Freaks, where he will lead the newly created Sakuga Division. With this, it seeks to apply the lessons learned at Tonari Animation to continue supporting the industry. However, all this has been surrounded by comments from the community:

«Does anyone know what they worked on? Their statement says they “contributed to more than 80 titles and productions,” but MAL only lists two shorts.».
«It doesn’t seem like they led any projects. They have done key animation for episodes of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and the movie One Piece Red. They also seem to have helped in several opening sequences».
«As far as I know, and can someone correct me if I’m wrong, they are a studio that works on low priority episodes of anime. They also make fan projects such as original animations for vtubers, debut animations, and music videos. I’m pretty sure they also made second key animation for anime studios. The studio also gave opportunities to people who were starting out in animation so that they could have an entry point into the industry and perhaps get more work in the future.».
«Somehow I don’t feel much sympathy».
«What I remember most about them is animating the music video Blue Horizon by Gawr Gura».
«And nothing of value was lost».
«This is how an indie studio dies: with thunderous applause».
«I need to wake up before I go on Reddit. I read that it was Toei Animation and I almost screamed in confusion and fear».
«Brother, I read the title too quickly and confused with Toei Animation».
«As they say in Ukraine and Russia: ‘A soft blow… right in the balls for them’».