TBS is making another serious move in anime, and this one is worth watching if you care about where modern CG anime is heading.
Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings’ anime planning and development company Sand B has acquired a 51% controlling stake in Xenotoon, the 3D CG anime studio connected to director and animator Genshō Yasuda. With that majority stake, Xenotoon is now a subsidiary of Sand B.
Alongside the announcement, Yasuda drew a special visual for the acquisition reveal, which is a nice touch considering how closely his name is tied to the studio’s identity.
The bigger long-term plan is even more interesting: TBS and Sand B intend to merge Xenotoon with Seven Arcs, TBS’ existing anime studio, sometime in mid-2027.
For casual fans, this might sound like just another corporate shuffle. But for anime viewers in Malaysia and SEA, these studio moves matter more than they seem. When big Japanese broadcasters consolidate studios under one roof, it can shape what kinds of anime get funded, how quickly productions scale up, and how aggressively those titles are pushed overseas. More global ambition usually means stronger licensing plays, wider streaming availability, and more chances for SEA audiences to get official releases instead of waiting around.
Xenotoon was founded in December 2019, with producer Koichi Kawase serving as CEO. The studio is best known through its work with Genshō Yasuda, who built a following through CG shorts before directing his first full-length animated film, Make a Girl. That movie opened in Japan in January 2025, with the studio credited as Yasuda Gensho Studio by Xenotoon.
The studio also worked with Yasuda on Moana to Densetsu no Umi 2 3D Short Anime. In July 2025, Xenotoon was also part of another expansion move when Web3 anime brand Azuki, Comisma, and Xenotoon announced a new U.S.-based joint anime studio called Studio Azuki.
On the other side of this planned merger is Seven Arcs, which TBS acquired back in December 2017. Long-time anime fans will know Seven Arcs mainly for the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchise. The studio is currently working on the latest entry, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance, which is scheduled to premiere on July 4.
Sand B itself is a very new piece of TBS’ anime strategy. TBS Holdings established the company in May 2025, after it had earlier been tentatively called CIP. Its job is to plan, develop, and produce animation, basically acting as a dedicated anime growth engine inside the TBS group.
TBS invested 30 billion yen, around US$207 million, into setting up Sand B. The company’s stated goal is to increase revenue and speed up global expansion, including through collaboration with Mainichi Broadcasting System, better known as MBS. Kazuhiko Akatsu serves as Sand B’s representative.
The Malaysian angle here is simple: anime is no longer being treated as a side business by major Japanese media companies. Everyone is chasing global growth, and SEA is part of that audience. If Sand B can combine Xenotoon’s CG-focused production style with Seven Arcs’ existing franchise experience, we could see more polished, globally targeted projects coming out of the TBS pipeline over the next few years.
Of course, mergers do not automatically mean better anime. Fans should watch whether this gives creators more resources, or whether it just turns into another corporate efficiency play. But with TBS putting real money behind Sand B, this is not a small move.
Source: Anime News Network