News Reporting

Production IMS Declares Bankruptcy


Production IMS LogoFarewell to the studio that brought us dandelion castle towns and sister devils.

Earlier today, it was announced that anime studio Production IMS declared bankruptcy. The studio submitted an application to the Tokyo District Court on September 21. On October 3, the courts judged that IMS was to commence bankruptcy proceedings. Yusuke Date from the New Chiyoda Comprehensive Law Office will oversee the company’s dissolution as trustee.

According to the announcement, Production IMS had accumulated 250 million yen ($2,228,372.53 USD) in total debts.

In June, we reported that animators were receiving letters from the studio, stating that the company is consolidating its debts amid bankruptcy proceedings.

Production IMS was founded by former members of AIC in February 2013, in Tokyo’s Nerima ward. The studio is currently helmed by Yoshiyuki Matsuzaki. Production IMS came under fire in December 2017, when animator Teru Miyazaki claimed that the studio wasn’t paying its animators.

Through its history, Production IMS has produced seventeen titles, including Castle Town Dandelion, High School Fleet, and The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Source: Tokyo Shoko Research, Ltd.

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

Anime Herald

Support Anime Herald

Anime Herald is brought to you through our Patrons and Ko-fi supporters. Consider backing us for as little as $1 a month to help us keep the site ad-free and pay a fair rate to our writers.

Patrons and backers can access several benefits, including Early Article Access, our members-only Discord, and the ability to suggest articles for our team to write on your behalf.



Latest Posts