DMM.com has established GLEESTONE, a new animation production company, adding a second in-house studio as the platform moves deeper into production itself rather than commissioning work from outside.
GLEESTONE will handle everything from producing to creating TV series, feature films and short works. The studio said it will respect each creator's skill and individuality while pursuing more advanced expression as a team.
The name carries two meanings. One is to deliver the finest "GLEE" — the kind that makes a heart leap — and the other is to preserve that emotion like an inscription in "STONE," in a form that does not fade across eras.
A decade of DMM anime
That move gave the company a structure covering everything from producing to planning and development, production and service rollout. GLEESTONE extends that base with a studio of its own.
An atelier of few, elite hands
Naokazu Tsuruta, GLEESTONE's representative director, president and CEO, said the new members' spirit comes through in conversation. "What I feel talking with them about what comes next is exactly what the company name expresses — an almost stubborn devotion to simply and honestly aiming for better work," he said.
Tsuruta said the company would draw on the DMM Group's foundations so the team can make the most of its creative ability. The aim, he said, is to deliver good work to as many fans as possible.
Kensuke Tateishi, executive officer and COO, said the goal is an "atelier" where master craftsmen gather. Being small and elite, he said, means everyone involved in a work carries responsibility and affection through to the smallest details of its story.
Tateishi said the studio will eliminate gaps in communication and drive each creator's passion directly into the footage. He called that density the studio's greatest weapon.
“At the 10-year mark of DMM.com's anime business, I am truly delighted to welcome such reassuring new colleagues.”Naokazu Tsuruta, Representative Director, President and CEO, GLEESTONE
The studio's stated philosophy
GLEESTONE set out its principles in a short statement: works that stay in the heart 10 years on; not chasing trends, but moving people in any era; creating moments that make the heart leap, and carrying that emotion beyond time.
The company said it will keep facing the essence of craftsmanship, Comic Natalie reported.