By HARUTO HIRAOKA/ Staff Writer
November 4, 2025 at 18:33 JST
Kodansha Ltd. President Yoshinobu Noma speaks during a Nov. 4 news conference the day after the entertainment media giant announced that it is opening a Hollywood-based production studio. (Haruto Hiraoka)
Japanese publishing giant Kodansha Ltd. announced on Nov. 4 that it is opening a Hollywood-based production company that will focus on live-action movies and TV series based on its popular manga and novels.
Chloe Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of "Nomadland," was chosen to helm Kodansha Studios as chief creative officer via the company partnering with Book of Shadows, a production company co-founded by Zhao. A launch date is forthcoming.
Zhao said she hopes the studio serves as a bridge between the East and West after touching on her deeply personal connection to Japan's pop culture, sharing that she considered characters from manga and anime as friends during her childhood.
"In recent years, Japanese entertainment content has become popular worldwide," Kodansha President Yoshinobu Noma said at a news conference on Nov. 4. "We want to further spread Japanese IP (intellectual property) to the world."
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