KADOKAWA has announced one of the largest reorganisations of its in-house animation operations to date. On September 8, the company confirmed that it will merge five of its anime production subsidiaries into a single new company called Studio One Base, to be established in November 2026, while separately folding the official websites of its Dengeki Bunko and Dengeki no Shin Bungei light novel labels into KADOKAWA’s main corporate site and shutting down the Dengeki Novecomi+ web platform on September 30.
The five studios becoming Studio One Base
The companies being consolidated are ENGI (Medalist, The Detective Is Already Dead), Studio KADAN, Chiptune, Bellnox Films and Raging Bull. KADOKAWA acquired Chiptune in February 2025 with the stated goal of strengthening its compositing pipeline and training the next generation of photography and finishing artists, a role that studio will carry into the new structure.
Crucially, KADOKAWA says the existing studio names will not disappear. ENGI, Studio KADAN, Chiptune, Bellnox Films and Raging Bull will all continue to be used as production brands, and each studio’s production lines, staff and individual strengths are to be preserved. What changes is the corporate layer above them: management, scheduling, business administration, human resources and other back-office functions will be centralised under Studio One Base, which will be wholly owned by KADOKAWA and staffed by roughly 310 employees. Takeshi Kikuchi will serve as president and representative director.
A single physical hub in Ikebukuro
Studio One Base will be headquartered inside KADOKAWA’s new anime production base in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The company first revealed plans for that facility — approximately 1,400 tsubo, or around 4,600 square metres — back in March 2026, when it also flagged the intention to consolidate its studios there in the autumn. The building itself will carry the Studio One Base name and is scheduled to open this month.
KADOKAWA frames the physical co-location as a way to encourage knowledge sharing across disciplines. By placing animation, 3DCG, photography and art teams from all five studios on one site, the company hopes to make it easier to move staff between projects, train younger creators, and pool resources for larger productions that a single mid-size studio would struggle to staff alone.
Why now: KADOKAWA’s “too many companies” argument
The move follows public comments from KADOKAWA CEO Takeshi Natsuno earlier this year that there are simply too many anime and publishing companies, and that unifying the administrative side of multiple firms would let creators concentrate on creative work rather than duplicated overhead. Chief Anime Officer Sho Tanaka echoed that framing in the September announcement, describing the aim as a more sustainable production foundation as global demand for anime keeps rising, while protecting the individual identity of each studio.
KADOKAWA says its group studios have produced a combined 48 works and 486 episodes since 2018, excluding titles finished before the studios joined the group. Beyond the five studios entering Studio One Base, KADOKAWA also wholly owns Doga Kobo (Oshi no Ko, Though I Am an Inept Villainess) and holds a 31.8% stake in Kinema Citrus (The Rising of the Shield Hero).
The publishing side: Dengeki Bunko sites consolidated
On the same day, KADOKAWA’s book division confirmed that the Dengeki Bunko and Dengeki no Shin Bungei websites will move to kadokawa.co.jp on September 30, with new URLs and a redesigned layout. Book information and news for both labels will continue after the migration, and some existing articles will be transferred to the main site. At the same time, the Dengeki Novecomi+ web manga service will end publication on September 30, with no indication that it will continue elsewhere. The notice was issued jointly by the editorial departments of Dengeki Bunko, Dengeki no Shin Bungei and Dengeki Novecomi+.
Dengeki Bunko remains one of the most influential light novel imprints in the industry, home to Sword Art Online, A Certain Magical Index, Shakugan no Shana and many other franchise-defining series, so even a website consolidation is closely watched by readers.
What it means
Taken together, the announcements point to a KADOKAWA that is trying to run a sprawling anime-and-publishing empire more like a single organisation. For viewers, the immediate impact should be minimal — the studio logos in the credits will stay the same. The longer-term bet is that shared scheduling and back-office support will stabilise production timelines and reduce the crunch that has plagued mid-tier studios, at a moment when Natsuno has openly argued the sector has expanded faster than it can profitably sustain.
Via Anime Corner. Official announcements: KADOKAWA, Dengeki Bunko.