Warner Bros. Japan is signaling a new era of ambition. In a recent interview with Keizaikai, Buddy Marini, General Manager of Warner Bros. Discovery Japan, and Kunio Yamada, Vice President and Head of the Film Division, offered rare insight into the company’s evolving strategy. The focus is clear. Anime is no longer just a creative arm of the business, it is becoming a central pillar of Warner’s Japanese operations.
The company already has a strong foothold in anime. With a portfolio that includes fan-favorite titles like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Record of Ragnarok, Suicide Squad: ISEKAI, and Batman Ninja, Warner Bros. has helped bring global and local stories to the anime format. Marini confirmed that the studio currently produces four to five Japanese anime titles per year, but that number is set to rise significantly as part of a broader vision to take Japanese creativity to a global stage.
Kunio Yamada expanded on this strategy, explaining that Warner’s roadmap involves producing up to eight Japanese live-action films per year while also strengthening its grip on stories that have strong market appeal in Japan. He hinted at upcoming titles adapted from Western IPs that are globally powerful and instantly recognizable to Japanese audiences. Though specific names were withheld, the suggestion is that the studio is working with franchises that already have massive international fanbases.
The expansion also ties into Warner Bros. Discovery’s broader vision across Asia-Pacific. Last year, James Gibbons, President of the region, confirmed plans to scale anime output to over ten new series annually. This makes Warner one of the few major studios actively committing large-scale resources to anime as a long-term growth engine.
Beyond Warner, this trend reflects an industry-wide push. Japanese giants like Kadokawa and Toho are also scaling anime production, with Kadokawa aiming for more sequels and longer seasons of hit titles, and Toho exploring mergers and acquisitions. Meanwhile, Sony’s Crunchyroll and Aniplex have formed a global production venture named HAYATE, and CyberAgent has opened a new anime studio called CA Soa to fuel original content.
The timing of Warner’s expansion is crucial. Anime is no longer a niche category. It is a global powerhouse of storytelling, and companies like Warner are positioning themselves not just as distributors but as creators of the next generation of anime hits. Yamada’s comments about upcoming Western IPs that will resonate with Japanese fans also point to a potential fusion of global storytelling and Japanese animation sensibility. This is the kind of collaboration that could lead to projects on the scale of a Harry Potter anime or other globally beloved series reimagined for a Japanese audience.
With the 2027 Harry Potter TV series already generating buzz, and Warner’s established track record in producing crossover hits, the future of anime in Japan and beyond is about to get a lot more interesting.
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