Bug Films

Bug Films is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo. Legally known as Bug Films, Inc. and in Japanese as 株式会社バグフィルム, the studio was established on September 22, 2021, by Hiroaki Kojima, a former producer at OLM. Before founding Bug Films, Kojima was associated with anime projects including Mix, Major 2nd, and Komi Can't Communicate. The studio emerged from the experience of Kojima and other former OLM personnel and was created with an explicit production ambition: to make work that would be worthy of its viewers. Bug Films operates within the Twin Engine group. Its creation formed part of Twin Engine's broader effort to reinforce its animation-production pipeline and support the group's aspirations for international expansion. This gives Bug Films a position not merely as an independent creative label, but as a studio within a larger Japanese animation business capable of participating in television, theatrical, and cooperative productions. The studio's early work was connected to projects developed through the OLM Team Kojima banner. Its credited cooperative work includes Komi Can't Communicate in 2021 and Summer Time Rendering in 2022. After its establishment, Bug Films also participated in projects with other Japanese animation companies and production organizations, including Pretty Cure All Stars F with Toei Animation, Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony with Shin-Ei Animation, and Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain with EOTA. These collaborations place the company across several recognizable areas of Japanese animation, including television anime, family-oriented theatrical animation, franchise films, and more stylistically distinctive feature work. Bug Films' public identity is therefore centered on animation production rather than consumer products or direct-to-consumer entertainment services. Its business scope is best understood as studio-based development and production of animated television and film projects, often in collaboration with established rights holders, distributors, and production partners. Because the available reference material provides limited information about staffing, ownership percentages, revenue, facilities, or a complete current production slate, those details remain unspecified. The company is nevertheless documented as an active Japanese animation studio and as a Twin Engine subsidiary.

Bug Films was established on September 22, 2021, in Nakano, Tokyo, by Hiroaki Kojima and former members of OLM. Kojima had previously worked as a producer at OLM and was involved with anime adaptations such as Mix, Major 2nd, and Komi Can't Communicate. His experience on those productions provided the foundation for a new studio intended to pursue original and adaptation-based animation with a strong emphasis on production quality and audience value. Kojima described the purpose of founding the company as creating work worthy of viewers. This statement positioned Bug Films as a creator-oriented studio whose identity would be defined by the quality and impact of its productions rather than by a separate consumer brand or merchandising business. The studio's creation also aligned with the strategy of Twin Engine, which established Bug Films as a subsidiary while seeking to strengthen its internal and affiliated production pipeline. Twin Engine's longer-term objective included improving its ability to develop animation for international audiences. Some of Bug Films' earliest credits were associated with the OLM Team Kojima production banner. Komi Can't Communicate was listed in 2021, the same year the studio was founded, and Summer Time Rendering followed in 2022. These credits reflect the continuity between Kojima's previous production work and the newer studio structure. They also show Bug Films' involvement in television anime projects that depend on coordination among producers, animation staff, broadcasters, rights holders, and distribution partners. The studio subsequently appeared in a range of cooperative productions. It worked with Toei Animation on Pretty Cure All Stars F in 2023, participating in a major franchise-oriented project. In 2024, it was associated with Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony, produced in cooperation with Shin-Ei Animation, and with Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain alongside EOTA. These collaborations broadened the studio's recorded work beyond television series into theatrical animation and projects connected to established Japanese intellectual properties. Bug Films' documented history remains relatively short, and public reference material does not provide a detailed account of its full employee roster, production facilities, financial performance, or all anime series in which it may have participated. The available record does establish a clear development path: an OLM-linked founder and team created a new studio in 2021; Twin Engine incorporated the studio into its wider production structure; and Bug Films built an initial portfolio through television and feature-animation collaborations. Its role is consequently best described as that of an active Japanese animation production company with both domestic franchise experience and an institutional connection to Twin Engine's international ambitions.

• 2024

  Expansion into additional theatrical collaborations

  [1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  The studio was credited on Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony with Shin-Ei Animation and Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain with EOTA.

• 2023

  Participation in Pretty Cure All Stars F

  [1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Bug Films worked cooperatively with Toei Animation on Pretty Cure All Stars F.

• 2022

  Summer Time Rendering collaboration

  [1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Bug Films' early associated work included Summer Time Rendering under the OLM Team Kojima name.

• 2021

  Bug Films is established

  [1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Hiroaki Kojima founded Bug Films on September 22, 2021, with former OLM members. The studio was established as a Twin Engine subsidiary.

• 2021

  Komi Can't Communicate is credited under the OLM Team Kojima banner

  [1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  The studio's early production history included Komi Can't Communicate, credited as an OLM Team Kojima project.

A creator-led Japanese animation studio focused on producing viewer-oriented television and theatrical animation while strengthening Twin Engine's broader production pipeline.

• Television anime · 2021

  Komi Can't Communicate

  An anime adaptation associated with Bug Films' predecessor-linked production history. It was credited in 2021 under the OLM Team Kojima name and connects the studio's early work with Hiroaki Kojima's previous producer role at OLM.

• Television anime · 2022

  Summer Time Rendering

  A television anime project listed among the cooperative works associated with the OLM Team Kojima production unit. Its inclusion reflects Bug Films' early involvement in serialized Japanese animation production.

• Theatrical anime · 2023

  Pretty Cure All Stars F

  A cooperative theatrical production made with Toei Animation and connected to the Pretty Cure franchise. The project demonstrates Bug Films' participation in large-scale, established intellectual-property animation.

• Theatrical anime · 2024

  Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony

  A theatrical Doraemon project on which Bug Films collaborated with Shin-Ei Animation. It expanded the studio's documented work into a major family-animation franchise and feature-film production.

• Theatrical anime · 2024

  Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain

  An animated feature listed as a cooperative production involving Bug Films and EOTA. The project added a distinctive theatrical title to the studio's early portfolio.

• 2021

  Establishment of a dedicated animation studio within Twin EngineStrategy

  Background

  Hiroaki Kojima and former OLM members created Bug Films after Kojima's producer work on several anime adaptations. The move was also connected to Twin Engine's plan to reinforce its production pipeline and pursue broader international expansion.

  Action taken

  Bug Films was established as a Tokyo-based animation studio and operated as a subsidiary of Twin Engine.

  Aftermath

  The studio developed a portfolio spanning television anime and cooperative theatrical projects, although detailed performance and financial results are not publicly specified in the available reference material.

  Source

• 2024

  Bug Films joins theatrical and franchise animation collaborations[1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Bug Films was credited on cooperative projects including Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony with Shin-Ei Animation and Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain with EOTA.

• 2022

  Bug Films participates in Summer Time Rendering[1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The studio's early project history included work connected with Summer Time Rendering under the OLM Team Kojima name.

• 2021

  Bug Films established as a new animation studio[1]Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Leadership change

  Hiroaki Kojima founded Bug Films after working as a producer at OLM. The new studio was established as part of Twin Engine's effort to expand and reinforce its animation-production capabilities.

1. 1Bug Filmsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bug Films - Anime News Network Encyclopediaanimenewsnetwork.com