Aniplex was established in September 1995 as a subsidiary of
Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan under the name SPE Music Publishing. In January 1997, following an investment made by
Sony Music Entertainment Japan, it was renamed SPE Visual Works. In 2004, Aniplex launched the Sugi Label in collaboration with composer
Koichi Sugiyama, who is known for the
Dragon Quest series soundtracks. The label was sold to
King Records in 2009. In March 2005, Aniplex established
Aniplex of America, a subsidiary based in
Santa Monica, California, to support licensing and distribution in English-speaking territories across North and
South America. In April 2015, Aniplex also became the largest shareholder in French streaming service
Wakanim, to strengthen its presence in Europe. In collaboration with Aniplex, SACRA MUSIC aims to strengthen its overseas expansion efforts and promote its artists' activities on a global scale by participating in events and holding overseas concerts. Through this investment, Aniplex intends to strengthen its ties with Revolve and expand its merchandising business. By enhancing the collaboration between its product planning division and Revolve, it aims to strengthen its figure product lineup and further speed up the process from planning to manufacturing and commercialization. In November 2017, Aniplex acquired a minority interest in
Madman Anime Group and in February 2019, acquired the company entirely for . On March 28, 2018, Aniplex announced a business and capital alliance with
Live2D, the developer of the popular software of the same name, acquiring a majority stake in the company. Live 2D, which dynamically moves pictures drawn in 2D, is widely used in various applications, such as mobile games and
VTubing. On October 1, 2018, CloverWorks was spun off into a separate independent company, making it a direct subsidiary of Aniplex. Aniplex producer Akira Shimizu was appointed president and representative director, while Yūichi Fukushima was appointed Corporate Officer. Aniplex's deputy president, Tadashi Ishibashi, was appointed representative director and chairman of the company, and veteran producer Eiichi Kamagata was named president. He served as president and representative director of Lucent Pictures Entertainment before assuming his new role at Rialto. Besides licensing its properties, the company intends to establish a storefront, develop local IP, and produce and release Chinese animation within the region. Aniplex and
Sony Pictures Television announced the consolidation of their anime streaming services
Funimation,
Wakanim, and
Madman Anime Group under
Funimation Global Group, LLC., a new joint venture led by Funimation's general manager, Colin Decker. Aniplex held a 20% stake in Funimation Global Group. In 2020, through
Funimation/Aniplex, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan bought
Crunchyroll from
AT&T. On December 26, 2019, Aniplex announced the launch of a new visual novel brand named ANIPLEX.EXE.
ATRI: My Dear Moments, developed by
Frontwing and , and , developed by Liar-soft were the brand's first two revealed titles. Both games support
English,
Japanese,
Simplified Chinese, and
Traditional Chinese language options. The two games were released on June 19, 2020, on PC via Steam worldwide and via DMM Games in Japan. Their cumulative sales have exceeded 100,000 copies as of June 19, 2021. On April 1, 2020, Aniplex established Boundary, a
3DCG animation production company. CloverWorks president Akira Shimizu was appointed the studio's president and representative director. Since its inception, Boundary has been mainly involved in the CG production of CloverWorks projects. On February 1, 2021, Aniplex announced a capital tie-up with f4samurai, the developer of
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story and
Disney: Twisted-Wonderland, allowing Aniplex to strengthen its relationship with the studio and further enhance and expand its gaming business. On December 15, 2021, Aniplex announced a share transfer agreement to acquire Delightworks' game development division for an undisclosed sum. On December 28, 2021, a new company, Lasengle, was established through a corporate split and inherited the gaming business of Delightworks, including the
Fate/Grand Order development team. On February 1, 2022, Aniplex completed the acquisition per the share transfer agreement.
Yoshinori Ono, previously president and
chief operating officer of Delightworks, was appointed president and
representative director of Lasengle. Aniplex's CEO, Atsuhiro Iwakami, would serve as the company chairman. Yosuke Shiokawa, the creative producer behind
Fate/Grand Order, left Delightworks and Lasengle at the end of January 2022, establishing his studio Fahrenheit 213 to work on a new original franchise. On May 30, 2022, Aniplex, its subsidiary, CloverWorks,
WIT Studio, and
Shueisha announced the establishment of
JOEN, a joint venture in the production of animated TV series, feature films, and short clips. CloverWorks' Corporate Officer Yūichi Fukushima and WIT Studio Director Tetsuya Nakatake, producers of the adaptation of
Spy × Family, a collaboration between their respective studios, were appointed representative directors of JOEN. On February 10, 2023, Aniplex announced that its subsidiary Revolve will change its name to Claynel (株式会社クレーネル), effective April 1. Through rebranding, the company intends to expand beyond the planning and production of figures into the sales and distribution of its product line. On May 31, 2023, Aniplex announced the acquisition of Japanese talent management firm Origamix Partners for an undisclosed sum, renaming it to Myriagon Studio on June 1. The company intends to expand the scope of its operations by developing and producing
live-action projects for worldwide audiences with creators as the core, in addition to its existing
film directors and
screenwriters' management and IP development businesses. Additionally, Myriagon revealed a strategic partnership with
South Korean production outfit Imaginus, established by Jinnie Choi, former CEO of
Studio Dragon. Choi will serve as Executive Advisor to Myriagon Studio to jointly build a strong Asian premium production network. ==Aniplex Online Fest==