Studio Pierrot was almost dissolved after the 2011 Earthquake

On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 pm (Japan time), the Great East Japan Earthquake, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake that created tsunami waves more than 10 meters high. The earthquake lasted approximately six minutes and was the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan to date, causing many deaths and great destruction, such as the Fukushima Nuclear Accident.

This was also a time of crisis for the Studio Pierrot which was almost dissolved, judging by the words of its president, Michiyuki Honmain a recent interview.

When the Great East Japan Earthquake happened, I felt a great sense of crisis. At the time, we were producing more than four productions a week, including Naruto Shippuden and Bleach, but the production line was really disorganized, some stations stopped broadcasting and our revenue became unstable. This continued for two months and we were barely able to pay salaries to our employees. We were in a situation where we had no choice but to dissolve the company. But we were supported by our friends in the industry, the bank that gave us the loan and the secondary income earned outside of production.

Honma stated that the period was a lesson learned, becoming president of the Studio Pierrot one year after the earthquake. He says he modified the company’s revenue structure to protect against similar risks, earning record profits during the pandemic. With 30% of Studio Pierrot’s income coming from the West, he highlighted naruto as a revenue generator “particularly impressive“.

If the Studio Pierrot were unable to guarantee their financial health, even in the event of survival, they could have lost their rights to several anime adaptations. The studio director, Keirou Itsumirevealed in interview that the company took out large bank loans to obtain a higher percentage of return on its anime series, admitting that the studio offered the copyright of some of its titles as collateral.