The folks who brought us the Garupan phenomenon are under new ownership.
Earlier today, Bandai Visual announced that they acquired anime studio Actas. Bandai purchased 100% of the organization’s stock, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
The acquisition completed on September 1. According to Bandai Visual, Actas will continue operations as a subsidiary. The studio will be reorganized under Bandai’s watch, with Jun Yukawa taking the role of acting director.
According to Yahoo! News, the purchase was made specifically to acquire the Girls und Panzer property, which Bandai Visual intends to extend further.
Girls und Panzer is an original project from studio Actas. The original anime series, which aired in the Fall 2012 broadcst season, was helmed by Tsutomu Mizushima (Blood-C, Shirobako). Isao Sugimoto (Bakuon!!, Ultimate Otaku Teacher) provided character designs for the project, while Reiko Yoshida (Bakuman, D.Gray-man) took charge of series composition.
Three manga spinoffs, as well as a sequel movie and OVA were produced since the show’s début. The film, Girls und Panzer der Film, grossed 2.3 billion yen ($22,550,456.65 USD) during its 40-week theatrical run.
Sentai Filmworks holds the North American rights to Girls und Panzer. They describe the series as:
Forget track and field! At Oorai Girls Academy, they practice Shensha-do, the art of tank combat! But Miho transfers there believing it to be the one school where Shensa-do isn’t offered. She’s in for a rude awakening, however, when the student council president demands her participation in the sport. Together with four friends, she learns to face her fears, find herself, and have a whole lot of fun along the way. Get ready for tank fighting mayhem in Girls Und Panzer!
Source: Otakomu
