Sony Pictures Entertainment announced Wednesday the launch of Crunchyroll Storyworks, a new division focused on adapting stories from around the world into anime and developing anime properties for live-action adaptations.
Led by Tohru Iokibe, the division will work with Japanese creators and operate within Crunchyroll’s content group. Its projects are intended to help build a pipeline of potential productions for HAYATE Inc., the anime venture established by Crunchyroll and Aniplex.
Founded in March 2025, HAYATE plans and produces anime for Crunchyroll’s global streaming platform. Masanori Miyake serves as chairman and CEO, while Leo Watanabe is president and chief operating officer. In April, HAYATE acquired anime studio Lay-duce, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
The announcement comes as Crunchyroll continues to expand its business. The service raised prices for all U.S. subscription tiers in February and ended its free, ad-supported streaming option in December 2025.
Crunchyroll is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex. Both companies’ parent organizations are subsidiaries of Sony Group. Sony completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T in August 2021 for $1.175 billion.
Source: Deadline
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