About the studio
Avex Pictures in its current form launched April 1, 2014, founded by Yoshiki Terashima and former Aniplex president Hideo Katsumata, as a subsidiary of the larger Avex Group music empire. Based in Minami-Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Avex Pictures has become a frequent production committee partner and anime label, with credits on Osomatsu-san, Fairy Tail, Black Clover, and Yuri!!! on Ice. *Hiring a former Aniplex president to run your new anime label is a pretty direct statement of intent.* An earlier, unrelated label briefly used the same Avex Pictures name from 2004 to 2005 focused on Western film before folding, so the anime-focused version fans know today is really just over a decade old. In that relatively short window, it's managed to attach itself to some genuinely major franchises, proof that a music company with the right connections can make a fast, credible entrance into anime production financing.