Studio Mother

Studio Mother Co., Ltd., stylized as studio Mother, is a Japanese animation production studio based in Suginami, Tokyo. The company was established in May 2019 by Voyager Holdings, the rights holder associated with the Space Battleship Yamato franchise. Its formation followed the winding down of Xebec, another Japanese animation studio whose parent company, IG Port, sold most of its assets to Sunrise. Studio Mother brought together many former Xebec staff members, giving it continuity with Xebec's production personnel and animation-industry experience while operating as a separate company. The studio's early corporate development was closely connected to the continuation and expansion of the Space Battleship Yamato property. Bandai Namco Arts invested in Studio Mother to reinforce the studio's ability to develop projects related to the franchise through cooperation with Voyager Holdings. Bandai Namco Arts subsequently operated under the legal entity Bandai Namco Music Live. This relationship positioned Studio Mother as a production company with a particular connection to established Japanese animation intellectual property rather than simply as a general-purpose new entrant. Studio Mother was initially led by Yukinao Shimoji, a former Xebec producer who later became that company's chief executive officer. Shimoji served as a central figure in the studio's establishment and early management, drawing on his previous production background. Following his death in February 2022, Kiyonori Hiramatsu became the company's representative director. Hiramatsu was already associated with Studio Mother as a board member and also served as representative director of Asread. The available reference material identifies Studio Mother primarily as an animation studio and records its corporate origins, staffing links, investment relationships, and management transition. It does not provide a sufficiently detailed catalogue of specific television series, films, or original net animation productions to support a complete works list here. Studio Mother's business scope can therefore be described conservatively as the development and production of Japanese animated content, including work connected with the Space Battleship Yamato franchise. Its international profile is mediated mainly through Japanese animation distribution and licensing rather than through a separately documented global retail or consumer-products operation.

Studio Mother was founded in Suginami, Tokyo, in May 2019 by Voyager Holdings. The studio emerged during the reorganization of the Japanese animation sector surrounding Xebec. Xebec had operated as an established animation production company, but its parent, IG Port, sold most of Xebec's assets to Sunrise. Studio Mother was subsequently formed with many former Xebec employees, creating a personnel and production-continuity link between the new company and the former studio without making Studio Mother a continuation of Xebec's corporate entity. Voyager Holdings' involvement gave Studio Mother a specific connection to the Space Battleship Yamato franchise. Voyager Holdings is associated with the franchise's copyright ownership, and the new studio was intended to support further development of the property. Bandai Namco Arts invested in Studio Mother as part of this relationship. Bandai Namco Arts is now under the legal entity Bandai Namco Music Live. The investment provided an entertainment-industry partner and reinforced the studio's role in developing animation linked to a major Japanese science-fiction property. Yukinao Shimoji led Studio Mother during its founding period. Before joining the new company, Shimoji had worked as a producer at Xebec and later served as that company's chief executive officer. His background made him a significant link between Studio Mother's staff base and the production culture of the former Xebec organization. The studio's formation thus combined a new corporate structure with experienced animation personnel and established franchise relationships. Shimoji died in February 2022. After his death, Kiyonori Hiramatsu was appointed representative director. Hiramatsu had served as a Studio Mother board member and was also representative director of Asread, another Japanese animation company. The appointment represented the principal documented leadership transition in Studio Mother's history. Reference material categorizes the studio's output broadly across television series, films, and original net animations, but the available source does not provide enough verified title-level information for a comprehensive works catalogue. The documented history instead emphasizes the studio's establishment, its former-Xebec staffing base, its Voyager Holdings relationship, Bandai Namco investment, and the 2022 change in representative director. Studio Mother is therefore best understood as a specialized Japanese animation producer formed to preserve experienced production capacity while participating in the development of established animation intellectual property.

• 2022

  Leadership passes to Kiyonori Hiramatsu

  [1]Studio Motheren.wikipedia.org

  After Yukinao Shimoji dies in February, board member Kiyonori Hiramatsu becomes Studio Mother's representative director.

• 2019

  Studio Mother is founded

  [1]Studio Motheren.wikipedia.org

  Voyager Holdings establishes Studio Mother in Suginami, Tokyo, in May 2019, with many staff members coming from the former Xebec studio.

• 2019

  Bandai Namco Arts investment

  [1]Studio Motheren.wikipedia.org

  Bandai Namco Arts invests in Studio Mother to strengthen development of the Space Battleship Yamato franchise through cooperation with Voyager Holdings.

A Tokyo-based Japanese animation studio with strong continuity from former Xebec personnel and a strategic relationship with Voyager Holdings and Bandai Namco's entertainment business.

Product categories. Japanese animated television productions · Animated films · Original net animations · Animation development and production services

• 2019

  Investment and franchise-development partnershipStrategy

  Background

  Studio Mother was created by Voyager Holdings, which was connected to the Space Battleship Yamato rights, while Bandai Namco Arts sought to reinforce development of the franchise through an investment.

  Action taken

  Bandai Namco Arts invested in Studio Mother and partnered with Voyager Holdings around the development of Space Battleship Yamato-related projects.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement gave the newly established studio a strategic relationship with a major Japanese entertainment group and an established animation property.

  Source

1. 1Studio Motheren.wikipedia.org