DMM Establishes New ‘GLEESTONE’ Animation Studio

DMM has announced its establishment of a new animation studio known as “GLEESTONE.” It will focus on animated works such as television series, movies, and shorts.

The studio will supervise projects from their initial planning stages to the actual animation production. Naokazu Tsuruta, the head of DMM Group’s content creative unit, is the GLEESTONE’s president and CEO. Anime producer Kensuke Tateishi is the chief operating officer of the company, while Kō Shimizu and Kōya Takami are its producers. The company’s name embodies the wishes of DMM to deliver the ultimate “Glee” to make audiences’ hearts race, and to preserve that emotion in “Stone.”

DMM previously established the “DMM Pictures” animation label in March 2017, which has been involved in the production of several beloved anime over the last few years. Some examples include Fire Force, Rent-A-Girlfriend, and KILL BLUE. KILL BLUE is streaming on Crunchyroll, the It’s Anime YouTube Channel, Amazon Prime Video, and several other streaming services (access will vary per region). Season 2 is in production.

Hiro Kaburagi is the director of the KILL BLUE anime. What’s more, Miho Daidōji is the character designer, and CUE is producing the animation. The cast of the anime includes:

• Shinsuke Takeuchi as protagonist Juzo Ogami in his adult form
• Yūko Sanpei as Juzo Ogami in his kid form
• Fūka Izumi as Noren Mitsuoka
• Shūichirō Umeda as Kotatsu Nekota
• Takeo Ōtsuka as Tenma Tendo
• Atsumi Tanezaki as Chisato Shiraishi
• Yumi Uchiyama as Eri Wanibuchi
• Daisuke Sakuma as Shin Kohazame
• Shoya Chiba as Kazuma Rindou
• Yoshiki Nakajima as Eiji Rindou
• Ikumi Hasegawa as Mermaid Queen Mai Otohime