About the studio
Dentsu isn't an anime studio, and it never draws a single frame, but it's been quietly shaping the industry for over a century. Founded in Tokyo on July 1, 1901 by journalist Hoshiro Mitsunaga, Dentsu grew into one of the largest advertising agencies on the planet. So what's an ad agency doing in anime credits? Think of Dentsu as the money and the megaphone: it frequently sits on production committees, helping finance shows and lining up the advertising that keeps TV anime on air. It's been tied to major franchises like Pokémon and Sailor Moon, not as the artist, but as the deal maker in the room. *Someone has to pay for all those Saturday morning broadcasts.* More than 120 years after its founding, Dentsu is still Tokyo based and still enormous, proof that anime's business side is just as old and just as essential as its art.