Anime International Company

WorldBrand briefing

AI supplement

Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.

Anime International Company (widely known by the abbreviation AIC) is a historic Japanese animation enterprise based in Nerima, Tokyo. Originally founded as a full-service animation production studio, it created hundreds of well-known OVA and television anime titles over four decades, before transitioning its core business to management of its existing content copyrights and legacy intellectual property around 2016.

Key moments

1982-07-15Officially established, built on the foundations of an earlier small animation studio that worked on the 1980 Astro Boy remake
1985-05Longtime company executive Yasutaka Miura took office as CEO, leading the studio through its peak growth years
Late 1980sRose to widespread fame riding the global OVA (Original Video Animation) boom, releasing a string of popular mecha and fantasy anime titles targeted at dedicated niche anime fans
2010Expanded its internal structure to 7 independent dedicated production units to scale output of multiple concurrent anime projects
2008-05Completed a corporate split restructuring to launch the current new legal entity of AIC
2016Formally withdrew from full in-house animation production, shifting its primary operations to copyright management for its large back catalog of classic titles

AIC holds a distinct legacy niche in the Japanese animation industry, separate from both large mainstream incumbent studios and modern high-output streaming-era production houses. It was one of the few studios that defined the commercial success of the 1980s and 1990s OVA market, which laid the groundwork for today's global direct-to-consumer anime distribution model. Unlike active rival studios that compete fiercely for limited high-budget streaming and theatrical project commissions, AIC no longer operates as a full production shop, which eliminates most of the cost and schedule risk that plagues current mid-tier anime producers. Its large catalog of cult fan-favorite titles gives it unique leverage for licensing partnerships, re-releases, and potential remake projects that other newer studios without decades of back catalog cannot match.

Enormous nostalgia value tied to its 1980s-2000s classic titles that have large dedicated global fanbases, giving it consistent low-risk royalty income from merchandise, rebroadcasts and physical media sales
Low operational overhead following its exit from active in-house production, as it no longer needs to maintain large full-time creative and production staff teams
The modular multi-studio production structure it pioneered in the 2010s has been widely adopted across the Japanese animation industry as a standard way to scale output without central creative bottlenecks

Anime International Company (AIC) is a pioneering legacy Japanese animation brand with over four decades of history, holding a distinct, defensible niche in the global anime ecosystem that differs sharply from both large mainstream incumbent studios and high-output modern streaming-era production houses. The brand’s core equity was built during its decades as a full-service animation producer, where it helped define the commercial viability of the 1980s and 1990s original video animation (OVA) market, a segment that laid the foundational groundwork for today’s global direct-to-consumer anime distribution model. AIC’s unique brand value proposition was amplified following its 2016 strategic shift away from new in-house animation production to focus exclusively on managing its extensive back catalog of existing copyrights and legacy intellectual property. This transition eliminated nearly all of the cost overruns, schedule risks, and volatile project-based revenue swings that plague most contemporary mid-tier animation studios, allowing the brand to prioritize steady, low-risk monetization of content that already has proven cross-generational fan appeal. The brand maintains unparalleled cultural cachet among long-time anime enthusiasts who followed its iconic titles during the peak OVA era, with residual fan demand for remasters, re-releases, merchandise, and potential remake projects far outpacing comparable content from newer studios that lack decades of accumulated cult and mainstream IP. This loyal built-in audience base gives AIC consistent leverage for high-value licensing partnerships that few other niche anime brands can match.

Brand leadership

Score: 68/100

As one of the foundational studios that turned the Japanese OVA segment into a commercially successful, widely distributed market category, AIC holds clear recognized leadership in the global legacy anime content niche, even as it no longer produces new original animation. Its historic production output is regularly cited as a key industry reference point by active modern production teams developing niche, fan-targeted direct-to-consumer anime projects.

Fan community interaction

Score: 62/100

AIC maintains consistent light-touch engagement with its large global base of long-time franchise fans through official classic title re-release announcements, limited-edition merchandise drops, and public fan surveys to identify which dormant IP has the strongest existing audience demand for remasters or reboot projects, with thousands of dedicated fans still active in niche social media groups and forums discussing its decades-old catalog.

Brand growth momentum

Score: 57/100

While AIC does not pursue high-volume new original animation production, it has recorded steady year-over-year growth in IP licensing revenue in recent years driven by surging global consumer demand for retro anime content across major streaming platforms, premium physical media reissues, and cross-media collaboration projects with game and streetwear brands.

Brand operational stability

Score: 87/100

Following its 2016 strategic transition to IP rights management, AIC removed the vast majority of operational risks associated with traditional full-service anime production, leading to a highly predictable, low-volatility revenue model that does not depend on competing fiercely for limited high-budget streaming or theatrical project commissions.

Brand establishment tenure

Score: 92/100

Founded more than 40 years ago in Nerima, Tokyo, Anime International Company ranks as one of the longest continuously operating animation brand entities in Japan, with an unbroken industry track record stretching back to the earliest days of the modern commercial anime industry, far outdating the vast majority of active anime studios launched after 2000.

Industry peer recognition profile

Score: 74/100

AIC is widely respected by animation industry peers, critics, and global distribution partners as a historic pioneer of the OVA format that established the core operational and audience targeting frameworks for today’s $20+ billion global direct-to-consumer anime market, with a unique catalog of hundreds of titles no other legacy Japanese studio fully replicates.

Global brand reach

Score: 71/100

Decades of international distribution of AIC’s classic anime titles across North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America have built a large, dispersed cross-generational global fan base, with many of its most recognizable works regularly featured on international retro anime streaming lineups and celebrated at major global pop culture and anime fan conventions.

This brand value assessment is generated with the support of AI-powered brand equity reasoning frameworks, and all associated figures and framing presented are for illustrative and reference purposes only, not a formal audited financial valuation. For official, fully audited brand value data and authoritative standardized brand ranking resources for Anime International Company, please contact the World Brand Lab directly to access dedicated formal valuation services.

Overview

Anime International Company, Inc.

native name	株式会社アニメインターナショナルカンパニー
native name lang	ja
romanized name	Kabushiki-gaisha Anime Intānashonaru Kanpanī
type	Kabushiki gaisha
foundation	July 15, 1982
key people	Tōru Miura (CEO)‡R1R‡
divisions	AIC Asta AIC Build AIC Classic AIC Digital AIC Frontier AIC Plus+ AIC Spirits AIC Takarazuka

successor	Production IMS (AIC Spirits) Troyca (AIC Classic)

location	Nerima, Tokyo, Japan

industry	Production company Animation studio (formerly)

owner	Tōru Miura (97.56%)

homepage	http://www.anime-int.com/

Anime International Company, Inc. (株式会社アニメインターナショナルカンパニー), often abbreviated as AIC, is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 15, 1982, and located in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan.[4][5] On December 10, 2015, AIC Rights Company, Inc. was established through a company split, in which AIC Rights received the transfer of some of the copyrights owned by Anime International Company.[6]

Their notable works include series such as Tenchi Muyo!, Bubblegum Crisis, El Hazard, and several adaptations of the manga Oh My Goddess!.

AIC had eight sub-studios within itself, named: AIC Asta (2003, formerly: AIC A.S.T.A.), AIC Spirits (2003), AIC Digital (2003), AIC Plus+ (2006), AIC Takarazuka (2006), AIC Build (2010), AIC Classic (2010) and AIC Frontier (2012).

History

In June 2006, a partnership was started with NTU for the development of the CACANI system, a software used as a tool in the animation process to generate fills between keyframes.

In September 2010, Oizumi Corporation acquired 95% of the studio from the ACA-managed investment fund MCP Synergy for 530 million yen. Also on the same day of the acquisition, AIC will buyback the remaining shares of the company held by TM Company. Together with the 5% share buyback from AIC, the studio subsequently became a wholly owned subsidiary of Oizumi Corporation.[7]

In March of the following year, Aplix Corporation acquired all shares of the studio except AIC's treasury stock from Oizumi Corporation for 660 million yen, and AIC became a subsidiary of the company.[8]

In February 2013, production producers of AIC Spirits quit the company and established an animation studio Production IMS. Also in May of that year, production producers of AIC Classic quit and founded the studio, Troyca.

On January 20, 2014, Aplix IP Holdings transferred all shares of AIC to Tōru Miura at 8,000 yen (1 yen per share).[9][10][11]

In August 2015, former AIC animator Atsushi Okuda tweeted a post stating that AIC's production department had been disbanded.[12]

In December 2015, Yasutaka Omura was appointed as the CEO of AIC.[13] Also in the same month, AIC Rights Co., Ltd was established through a company split from AIC, in which AIC Rights received the transfer of some of the copyrights of the work of Anime International Company. Omura was appointed as the CEO of AIC Rights.[14]

In February 2017, AIC Rights launched the "anime reboot projects" initiative to celebrate AIC's 35th anniversary.[15]

On January 12, 2020, Omura announced his resigning from his CEO position at Anime International Company, although he remained as CEO of AIC Rights.[16] Following Omura's resignation, Tōru Miura would return as CEO of AIC.

In April 2021, AIC Rights entered into a business alliance with Toei Agency, with the two companies going forward co-owning the copyrights to some of the intellectual property owned by AIC Rights.[17]

In February 2022, Kenji Tsukamoto was appointed as the new representative director of AIC Rights, replacing Omura.[18]

In October 2025, AIC Rights disclosed that its former shareholder, Anime International Company, filed a lawsuit against the company's former shareholder for the return of its shares in AIC Rights.[19]

Anime International Company

WorldBrand briefing

Brand leadership

Fan community interaction

Brand growth momentum

Brand operational stability

Brand establishment tenure

Industry peer recognition profile

Global brand reach

History

Works

TV series

Films

OVAs

ONAs

Outsourced productions

Specials

Tokusatsu

Video games

See also

External links

References