Studio Ghibli will become a subsidiary of Nippon Television.
As detailed on Anime News Network, Nippon TV Representative Director Yoshikuni Sugiyama and Studio Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki announced the planned acquisition during a recent press conference. Nippon Television, which has served as a long-standing partner of the acclaimed studio, plans to purchase 42.3% of Ghibli's shares, turning the latter studio into a subsidiary of Nippon TV. According to President Suzuki, the goal of this partnership is to secure successors for Ghibli, as Suzuki and fellow co-founder Hayao Miyazaki are 75 and 82, respectively. Additionally, Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, has refused an offer to become the studio's future leader.
Nippon TV has been affiliated with Ghibli and its co-founders for over three decades. In 1985, the network featured Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) on its "Kinyo Roadshow" programming block. Nausicaa's financial success ultimately paved the way for the formation of Ghibli, the studio behind beloved classics like Castle in the Sky (1986), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001), among others. NTV, which also hosts iconic anime like Lupin III, Inuyasha and Detective Conan, continues to feature Ghibli's films regularly on its programming blocks.
Although Ghibli is preparing for a future without its co-founders, Miyazaki's latest film, The Boy and the Heron, has made a prominent mark on the anime landscape this year. Released on July 14, the movie earned over 7.4 billion yen (or roughly $50.17 million) during its theatrical run in Japan. Set during WWII, The Boy and the Heron follows Mahito Maki, a young boy who has just lost his mother in the Tokyo Firebombings of 1943. After moving with his father to the countryside, Mahito stumbles across a talking heron who promises to reunite the grieving boy with his mother. This bizarre encounter ultimately lures Mahito into an alternate magical realm where he must rely on his inner strength to find his way back home. The film will arrive in North American theaters on Dec. 8
On Sept. 7, The Boy and the Heron had its Western debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where Director Guillermo del Toro made a surprise appearance to congratulate Miyazaki on his latest triumph. "We are privileged enough to be living in a time where Mozart is composing symphonies," the director said. "Miyazaki-san is a master of that stature, and we are so lucky to be here." While Studio Ghibli will fall under Nippon TV's management in the near future, Studio Ghibli Vice President Junichi Nishioka asserts that The Boy and the Heron is not Miyazaki's last film, as he continues to brainstorm and share new ideas for an unspecified future project.
Studio Ghibli's film library is available on Max (formerly HBO Max).
Source: Anime News Network