Video production company HEIYA in Kagoshima establishes Animation Division

PUBLISHED Jan 24, 2022

President Eiki Tsukuda calling for animators

HEIYA, a video production company in Arata, Kagoshima City, launched its animation division last December.

The company, established in 2014, produces TV commercials, bridal videos, and promotional materials for companies and local governments. Eiki Tsukuda, the president, says that entering the animation business has been a dream of his for over ten years. In order to launch the animation business, the company has entered into a technical and business alliance with Telecom Animation Film — the company produces well-known animation works such as the “Lupin III” series. Shoichi Baba, an animator based in Kagoshima, has also joined the project. He has worked on “Space Battleship Yamato 2202: The Warriors of Love” and “Onegai My Melody” and has been producing his own animation since 2009.

Although there are several vocational schools in Kagoshima Prefecture where students can take animation courses, it was not easy to become locally-based animators since there were no production companies. Meanwhile, animation production, which used to be concentrated in Tokyo, is changing into a job not restricted by location due to the digitalization of production technology. In the future, the division plans to collaborate with Kagoshima Career Design College and Kagoshima Joho High School, where students can learn techniques related to animation production. Tsukuda says, “We want to attract and develop the animation industry in Kagoshima through industry-academia cooperation.”

He added, “I want to actively hold hands-on events so that children can get inspired to create animation and become animators in the future.”

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