Studio Signpost

St. Signpost Co., Ltd. (株式会社スタジオ サインポスト) is an animation studio subsidiary of Pierrot. The studio is an associate-member of The Association of Japanese Animations.[1]

History

The company was founded in 1959 as a magazine advertising agency and stepped into the anime industry in 1989 by Keiji Kusano and Yoshikazu Tochihira. In 1993, the company took on the name Studio Kikan and released their first animated works Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirou. In 1996, the company established Arms as a separate studio to focus on adult animation and subcontracted animation work.

The studio became a subsidiary of Pierrot in 2008 and changed its name to Pierrot Plus in 2009. Kusano stepping down as CEO to become a chairman, and was replaced by CEO of Arms, Osamu Shimizu.

On September 20, 2019, the company changed its name to Studio Signpost. Ken Hagino, who had worked at Pierrot as animation producer was appointed as the new CEO. In conjunction with this change, the official website of Arms was closed down, and the company was later dissolved on October 6, 2020.

Works

Television series

OVAs

Gross outsource

Series in which Studio Signpost, Pierrot Plus, or Studio Kikan served as a gross (full) outsourcing studio, either for singular episodes or across entire series.

Notable staff

Representative staff

  • Keiji Kusano (co-founder, president of Studio Kikan (1989~2009))
  • Yoshikazu Tochihira (co-founder and animation producer)
  • Osamu Shimizu (Studio Kikan producer (1991~2009), president of Pierrot+ (2009~2019))
  • Ken Hagino (president of Studio Signpost (2019~present))

Animation producers

  • Shintarou Nozaki (1994~present)
  • Shingo Chiba (2007~present)
  • Yuuya Kumagai (2013~2019)
  • Kazuyoshi Ozawa (2013~present)
  • Osamu Koshinaka (also a part of ARMS)
  • Yasuyuki Ogoshi (also a part of ARMS)

Directors

  • Keizō Kusakawa (1991~2002)

Animators

  • Maya "Rin Shin" Suzuki (1991~1996; moved to ARMS; has been working with Signpost since ARMS' dissolution)

References

  1. 株式会社スタジオ サインポスト 公式サイト COMPANY st-signpost.co.jp, retrieved 2022-04-11^
  2. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2009_2015.html#works/6 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  3. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2009_2015.html#works/5 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  4. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2009_2015.html#works/4 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  5. Nelkin, Sarah. Pierrot Plus Animates Sabagebu! Shōjo Anime Anime News Network, February 2, 2022^
  6. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2009_2015.html#works/1 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  7. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2016_2020.html#works/7 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  8. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2016_2020.html#works/6 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  9. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2016_2020.html#works/1 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  10. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works.html#works/3 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  11. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works.html#works/2 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  12. Crystalyn Hodgkins. Gunjō no Magmell Manga Gets TV Anime at Studio Pierrot Anime News Network, April 29, 2018, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  13. Rafael Antonio Pineda. Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga Canine Samurai TV Anime Reveals Cast, Staff, January Debut Anime News Network, September 20, 2019, retrieved September 20, 2019^
  14. Rafael Antonio Pineda. 'Kingdom' Anime Season 3 Reveals New Staff, Visua Anime News Network, December 15, 2019, retrieved December 15, 2019^
  15. Loo, Egan. Kingdom Anime Gets 4th Series Next Spring Anime News Network, October 17, 2021, retrieved October 17, 2021^
  16. Joanna Cayanan. My Clueless First Friend Anime's First Video Reveals Additional Cast, Staff, April Debut Anime News Network, January 19, 2023, retrieved January 19, 2023^
  17. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works.html#works/11 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  18. Rafael Antonio Pineda. 'Tsuma, Shōgakusei ni Naru.' Anime Reveals Staff, 2024 TV Debut Anime News Network, February 29, 2024, retrieved March 1, 2024^
  19. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/620408 Comic Natalie, Natasha, Inc, April 17, 2025, retrieved April 17, 2025^
  20. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2009_2015.html#works/3 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  21. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2016_2020.html#works/3 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  22. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2016_2020.html#works/5 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  23. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works2016_2020.html#works/4 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  24. DYNAMIC CHORD Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^
  25. https://st-signpost.co.jp/works.html#works/4 Studio Signpost, retrieved December 8, 2023^