MAPPA CEO says global audiences will not dictate its anime

MAPPA President and CEO Manabu Otsuka says the studio will listen to international viewers without allowing overseas expectations to dictate what Japanese anime should be. He made the point in an interview with Anime Corner alongside director Kaori Makita, recorded during MAPPA’s 15th-anniversary celebrations. ¹

Otsuka said international audiences have “a big influence” on MAPPA, but warned that bending too far towards those audiences could mean giving up the qualities that make Japanese anime distinctive. His position is not that the studio should ignore overseas fans; rather, MAPPA wants to examine what it can learn from international markets while deciding carefully what belongs in its own creative identity. ¹

What MAPPA is trying to protect

The comments arrive as anime becomes increasingly global, with streaming services and international theatrical releases putting Japanese productions in front of larger audiences than ever. MAPPA’s recent catalogue includes Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and Hell’s Paradise, properties whose popularity extends well beyond Japan. ¹

Makita made a related point about adaptations. She said the studio’s focus should be on realising the source material well enough that both domestic and international audiences can enjoy it, rather than creating fundamentally different versions for different nationalities. That approach puts fidelity and craft ahead of trying to reverse-engineer every production around overseas market preferences. ¹

Otsuka also described a studio that has changed significantly since its early years. He said production timelines have grown from roughly two years at the beginning of MAPPA’s history to at least three years as a current standard, with larger projects sometimes taking five years or more from planning to broadcast. ¹

A studio in its 15th year

MAPPA was founded in 2011 and has marked its 15th anniversary with a wider programme of events, including the MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary exhibition and an official anniversary video. ^{2 3} The milestone gives Otsuka’s comments a useful context: the studio is taking stock of how it has grown while arguing that expansion should not erase the creative choices that made its work recognisable in the first place.

That balancing act will become more important as MAPPA continues working on major adaptations and original projects for a worldwide audience. International attention can provide reach, revenue and valuable feedback, but Otsuka’s argument is that influence should not become creative control. The studio appears willing to learn from global viewers on its own terms, rather than flattening its anime into something designed by committee for every market at once.

Our opinion

MAPPA’s position is sensible, but the difficult part is proving it in the work. “Japanese anime” is not a single fixed formula, and international viewers are not a monolith either. The strongest approach is to make each adaptation or original project specific, confident and well-made, then let audiences respond without treating every overseas reaction as a demand for redesign.

Otsuka’s comments matter because they acknowledge the commercial reality of global anime without pretending that reach and identity are the same thing. MAPPA can listen internationally while still deciding what it wants its shows to be. That is a healthier model than chasing a supposedly universal taste — provided the studio’s production schedules and working conditions can support the ambition behind those words.