From the article:
The acquisition involves the purchase of all shares from Science SARU’s representative, Eunyoung Choi, with the studio becoming a subsidiary of Toho effective June 19, 2024.
Through this strategic move, Toho aims to strengthen its animation production capabilities, by leveraging Science SARU’s expertise and resources
Toho does have a reputation of being a more hospitable working environment than much of the industry from what I know, so this bit might not be just bluster:
Toho also plans to collaborate closely with Science SARU to enhance its production environment and provide greater creative opportunities for employees and affiliated creators, and to produce high-quality anime content tailored for both domestic and global audiences.
Finally, if you are struggling to remember any Science SARU projects:
Its most recent projects are the animated feature film Inu-Oh (2021), two short films for the animated anthology project Star Wars: Visions (2021), and the animated series The Heike Story (2021), Yurei Deco (2022), and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).
Toho has a really good portfolio of anime work already.
Maybe this is the only way to acquire manpower right now…
That’s an interesting angle I hadn’t thought of. There has been a chorus of industry veterans talking about the lack of fresh talent and training for junior roles. This can largely be attributed to the horrid working conditions within the industry…but putting that aside, it does seem plausible to want to acquire a successful studio for the talent it contains just as much as anything else.
