About the studio
Square Enix formed April 1, 2003, but the real story starts earlier: Square (founded 1983) and Enix (founded 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima) merged after Square nearly collapsed following the box office failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001. *Sometimes a merger isn't ambition, it's survival, and this was very much the latter.* Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Square Enix is primarily a video game company, but its franchises regularly cross into anime: Final Fantasy has had anime and film adaptations, Dragon Quest got a full TV anime, and Kingdom Hearts has spun off tie-in media of its own. It publishes source manga and games that studios later adapt, making it more of a franchise owner than a traditional animation credit. Over two decades since the merger, Square Enix has become one of the rare companies whose reach spans games, anime, and manga all under one roof.