Cloud Hearts

Cloud Hearts Co., Ltd. was a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. The studio developed from a branch or affiliated production unit of Yokohama Animation Lab that operated during the mid-2010s under the credit YAL/CHst, meaning Yokohama Animation Lab / CloudHearts studio. It was subsequently formalized as a separate legal entity on June 1, 2021, while remaining within the Yokohama Animation Lab corporate group. The company was established by producer Satoshi Nakatani. Cloud Hearts occupied a production role within Japan's anime industry rather than operating as a consumer-facing entertainment conglomerate or a diversified media company. Available reference material identifies its principal business as animation production, but does not provide a sufficiently detailed catalogue of television series, films, games, merchandise, distribution activities, or licensing operations to support a broader product description. Its public identity was therefore closely associated with studio credits and animation-production work. The transition from an internal or affiliated Yokohama Animation Lab branch to a separately established company in 2021 represented the studio's main organizational turning point. The separate corporate structure preserved its connection to Yokohama Animation Lab, suggesting that Cloud Hearts functioned as a specialized production entity within a larger studio group. The available material does not establish the size of its workforce, its annual output, its revenue, or the full list of productions for which it was credited. In May 2024, Cloud Hearts was reportedly delisted from its parent company, an event described in the available reference as connected with the studio's apparent closure. This marked the end of its publicly documented operation as part of the Yokohama Animation Lab group. On December 18, 2024, the company officially began bankruptcy proceedings. The bankruptcy filing places Cloud Hearts among Japanese animation studios whose corporate existence ended after a relatively short period as an independent legal entity. No reliable source supplied here states the company's liabilities, creditors, final financial results, liquidation timetable, or the disposition of its intellectual property. Because the source material is limited, Cloud Hearts is best characterized as a now-defunct Japanese animation-studio brand with roots in Yokohama Animation Lab's mid-2010s production activity, formal incorporation in 2021, apparent separation from its parent in 2024, and bankruptcy proceedings beginning later that year.

Cloud Hearts originated as a branch or affiliated production unit of Yokohama Animation Lab during the mid-2010s. Before becoming a separate company, it was credited under the designation YAL/CHst, an abbreviation of Yokohama Animation Lab / CloudHearts studio. This earlier identity indicates that the studio's production activity began within the organizational environment of Yokohama Animation Lab rather than as an entirely independent company. On June 1, 2021, the operation was formally established as Cloud Hearts Co., Ltd. The new company remained within the Yokohama Animation Lab corporate group and was founded by producer Satoshi Nakatani. Its separate legal status gave the studio a distinct corporate identity, although the available reference material does not describe any change in ownership, management structure, production facilities, or business strategy resulting from the establishment. Cloud Hearts operated as an animation studio based in Suginami, Tokyo. The available source identifies animation production as its core activity, but does not provide a complete list of works or enough detail to reconstruct a full production history. It also does not document the studio's staff count, financial performance, international distribution arrangements, or relationships with broadcasters and publishers. The studio's relationship with Yokohama Animation Lab changed in 2024. In May of that year, Cloud Hearts was delisted from its parent company. The event was associated with the apparent closure of the studio, although the supplied reference does not give a detailed explanation of the corporate decision or identify the treatment of ongoing projects, employees, contracts, or intellectual property. On December 18, 2024, Cloud Hearts officially began bankruptcy proceedings. This marked the company's transition from an operating animation business to a company undergoing formal insolvency procedures. The available material does not state the amount of debt, the appointed administrator, the outcome of the proceedings, or whether any assets or projects were transferred to another studio. Cloud Hearts is consequently documented as a defunct Japanese animation studio whose history spans an affiliated mid-2010s branch, formal incorporation in 2021, separation from its parent group in 2024, and bankruptcy proceedings beginning in December 2024.

• 2024

  Removal from the parent-company group

  [1]Cloud Heartsen.wikipedia.org

  The studio was delisted from Yokohama Animation Lab in May 2024 amid reports suggesting that it had closed or was in the process of closing.

• 2024

  Bankruptcy proceedings

  [1]Cloud Heartsen.wikipedia.org

  Cloud Hearts officially began bankruptcy proceedings on December 18, 2024.

• 2021

  Separate legal establishment

  [1]Cloud Heartsen.wikipedia.org

  Cloud Hearts Co., Ltd. was formally established on June 1, 2021, by producer Satoshi Nakatani while remaining within the Yokohama Animation Lab corporate group.

• 2015

  Early activity as a Yokohama Animation Lab branch

  [1]Cloud Heartsen.wikipedia.org

  Cloud Hearts existed as a branch or affiliated unit of Yokohama Animation Lab during the mid-2010s and used the credit YAL/CHst.

A Japanese animation-production studio operating within the Yokohama Animation Lab corporate group.

• Studio service

  Animation production

  Cloud Hearts' documented business was the production of Japanese animation. Its work was connected to studio credits and television-animation activity, but the supplied reference does not identify enough specific titles or production roles to provide a reliable catalogue of individual works.

• 2024

  Delisting and apparent closureOther

  Background

  The studio was still associated with Yokohama Animation Lab before being removed from the parent-company group in May 2024.

  Action taken

  Cloud Hearts was delisted from its parent company, in an event described as connected with the studio's apparent closure.

  Aftermath

  The company entered formal bankruptcy proceedings on December 18, 2024.

  Source

• 2021

  Creation of a separate corporate studioStrategy

  Background

  The Cloud Hearts operation had previously existed as a Yokohama Animation Lab branch credited as YAL/CHst.

  Action taken

  Yokohama Animation Lab's affiliated operation was formalized as Cloud Hearts Co., Ltd. on June 1, 2021, under founder and producer Satoshi Nakatani.

  Aftermath

  Cloud Hearts continued as a distinct studio within the Yokohama Animation Lab corporate group until its reported delisting in 2024.

  Source

1. 1Cloud Heartsen.wikipedia.org