, often abbreviated , is a Japanese
animation studio
An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals ...
and
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language ...
publisher located in
Uji,
Kyoto Prefecture. Founded in 1985 by Yoko and Hideaki Hatta, it has produced anime works including ''
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' (2006), ''
Clannad
Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
'' (2007), ''
K-On!
is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Kakifly serialized in Houbunsha's '' Manga Time Kirara'' magazine between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues, and also serialized in Houbunsha's '' Manga Time Kirara C ...
'' (2009), ''
Free!
''Free!'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do. The series is loosely based on the light novel, , written by Kōji Ōji, which received an honorable mention in the second Kyoto Animation Award ...
'' (2013), ''
Sound! Euphonium
is a Japanese novel series written by Ayano Takeda. The story is set in Uji, Kyoto and focuses on the Kitauji High School Music Club, whose concert band is steadily improving thanks to the newly appointed adviser's strict instructio ...
'' (2015), ''
A Silent Voice'' (2016), and ''
Violet Evergarden'' (2018).
History

Kyoto Animation was co-founded in 1985 by married couple Yoko and Hideaki Hatta; it became a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
in 1985 and a
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
in 1999. Yoko Hatta, who serves as the company's vice president, had worked as a painter at
Mushi Production until she moved to Kyoto after marrying her husband, who serves as president. The company's logo originates from the
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...
''kyō'' (), the first character of
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...
().
Since 2009, Kyoto Animation has hosted the annual Kyoto Animation Awards in three categories: original novels, manga, and scenarios. Some winning submissions are published under the company's KA Esuma Bunko imprint, and have a chance of being later adapted as anime. ''
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions'', ''
Free!
''Free!'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Kyoto Animation and Animation Do. The series is loosely based on the light novel, , written by Kōji Ōji, which received an honorable mention in the second Kyoto Animation Award ...
'', ''
Beyond the Boundary'' and ''
Myriad Colors Phantom World'' were based on novels that received an honorable mention in this competition.
In 2014, the novel ''
Violet Evergarden'' became the first and only work so far to win a grand prize in any of the three categories.
Kyoto Animation has become recognized for its high production values and "sensitivity to the wonders and quandaries of ordinary life". Unlike most animation studios, the company's employees are salaried rather than freelance workers, and are trained in-house. These practices have been cited as encouraging employees to focus on frame quality rather than production quotas. The company has received praise for the positive treatment of its staff, and was honored by
Women in Animation with its Diversity Award in 2020 for its efforts in creating a gender-balanced workforce and encouraging women to enter the industry.
In April 2020, the company announced that it would put its work on hiatus for one month due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, later extending the period to the end of May.
Animation Do
An affiliate company, , was established in 2000 to assist production at Kyoto Animation.
Originally established as the studio's Osaka office, it was incorporated as a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
in 2000, then a
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
in 2010. Both companies are run by Hideaki Hatta and are run jointly as one. They produce up-and-coming works under the Animation Do label with Kyoto Animation as their main contractor and works where they work as one company alongside Kyoto Animation. They work on most Kyoto Animation projects and many of them have joint signatures. On September 16, 2020, it was announced by the
National Printing Bureau's ''Kanpō'' publication that Kyoto Animation absorbed Animation Do, which includes all rights and associated properties.
2019 arson attack
On the morning of July 18, 2019, an
arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
fire at Kyoto Animation's first studio in
Fushimi killed 36 people (including directors
Yasuhiro Takemoto and
Yoshiji Kigami), injured 34 others (including the suspect) in varying degrees, and destroyed most of the building's materials and computers. The suspect, 41-year-old Shinji Aoba, later admitted to committing the attack.
Productions
In the tables below, only the productions for which Kyoto Animation was a lead producer are listed.
Anime television series
Anime films
Original video animations
Original net animations
Published light novels
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
Animation Do official website
*
{{Authority control
Companies based in Kyoto Prefecture
Mass media companies established in 1981
Japanese companies established in 1981
Japanese animation studios
Mass media in Kyoto
Book publishing companies of Japan