Highlights
- If Paramount completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, it will inherit Warner Bros Japan’s anime production and licensing assets.
- Warner Bros. Japan holds rights to prominent titles such as Mob Psycho 100 and Record of Ragnarok.
- The deal could integrate anime assets into Paramount+ or expand licensing strategies.
Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has moved closer to completion after Netflix withdrew its bid and the WBD board declared Paramount’s bid as a superior proposal. Under the deal, Paramount will acquire Warner’s streaming and studio assets, cable TV networks, along with Warner Bros Japan’s anime library.
Warner Bros. Japan is Warner’s Japanese subsidiary, responsible for producing, licensing, and distributing anime titles within Japan and in some international markets. The entity has licenses of prominent anime franchises such as Mob Psycho 100, Record of Ragnarok, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Warner Bros Japan has released original and co-produced anime content since its founding, including television series and feature films. According to Comic Market evaluation data, Warner Bros. is among the top ten leading investors in anime production.
Major Anime Rights Held by Warner Bros Japan
Warner Bros Japan’s anime catalogue includes high-profile anime series and films that reflect both original Japanese production and co-production titles. The company was involved in productions like Suicide Squad ISEKAI, a hybrid superhero anime based on the DC universe, licensed and produced with Japanese studios.
Along with the already mentioned titles, the company has rights to upcoming anime series, such as Fist of the North Star and Blade and Bastard. Among previously released titles, it has rights of many popular series such as Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, Prison School, The Executioner's Way of Life, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Clockwork Planet: Alderamin on the Sky, and the like.
The company has also distributed anime films such as Batman Ninja and Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, which used DC Comics characters within Japanese animation production. It has also helped in anime film distribution for titles like Summer Wars and Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie, across the Japanese market. Warner is also involved in the upcoming Hello Kitty movie, scheduled to release in 2028.
Warner Bros Japan' Anime Distribution
Earlier in May 2024, WBD’s Asia-Pacific operation president James Gibbons publicly stated that the company plans to expand anime production to more than ten series per year. WBD also has an expanded library of animated films and series, ranging from DC Universe animations to SpongeBob SquarePants, Looney Tunes, and Tom and Jerry.
Warner Bros Japan’s rights largely reside in Japan’s domestic distribution ecosystem, with some tied to specific license agreements in select regions. If Paramount acquires Warner's assets, the company will automatically gain these libraries spanning Hollywood and Japanese productions.
The streaming scenario will also change; the combined entity may opt to include these animated content rights into Paramount+ or seek extensive foreign licensing agreements. Many anime titles owned by Warner are currently licensed to a variety of Japanese streaming sites and international streamers. As for Paramount’s WBD acquisition, it is still under scrutiny from antitrust regulators.
