Ufotable

• 1. Introduction

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  In 2025, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba , The Movie: Infinity Castle became the highest-grossing anime film of all time. It passed the earlier record held by the studio's own Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba , The Movie: Mugen Train, released in 2020. That studio is Ufotable, a Japanese animation company. Its work stretches across light novels, manga, visual novels and video games. Its founder also stood in a Tokyo courtroom and explained, in his own words, where he thought the studio's money came from. This documentary asks how a company that began with small television series reached that record, which partners shaped its path, and what the court case revealed about the business behind the animation.

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• 2. Shinjuku Beginnings

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  Ufotable was founded in October 2000 by Hikaru Kondō, a former producer at Telecom Animation Film. The studio is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its first television series, Weiß Kreuz Glühen, ran for 13 episodes in 2002-2003 on Kids Station. Hitoyuki Matsui directed it, and it served as a sequel to Weiß Kreuz, with Magic Bus named in the production notes. Matsui stayed on for Dokkoida?! in 2003, a 12-episode adaptation of Taro Achi's light novels. He also directed Ninja Nonsense in 2004, which adapted a manga by Ryoichi Koga over 12 episodes. Futakoi Alternative followed in 2005 as an original work of 13 episodes. Takayuki Hirao directed it, and the studio shared production with Feel. and Studio Flag. Coyote Ragtime Show arrived in 2006 as another original, directed by Takuya Nonaka. Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! came in 2007, also original, with the director credit going to Team Manabibeya. Several of these titles share a quirk. Ninja Nonsense, Futakoi Alternative, Coyote Ragtime Show and Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! each include a claymation sequence, which became a hallmark of the studio. The same sequence appears in Tales of Symphonia and The Garden of Sinners, two projects that point to the studio's longest relationships.

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• 3. Type-Moon Years

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  The first of eight Garden of Sinners films, Overlooking View, appeared in 2007 under director Ei Aoki. It adapted a light novel series by Kinoko Nasu. Different directors took the later installments, including Takuya Nonaka, Mitsuru Obunai, Teiichi Takiguchi, Takayuki Hirao, Takahiro Miura and Shinsuke Takizawa. Tomonori Sudō directed the eighth and final film, Future Gospel, in 2013. In 2011, Kondō himself is credited as director of The Garden of Sinners: Epilogue. A 13-episode television version arrived in 2013, covering the first four films and the seventh. The partnership with Type-Moon grew from there. Fate/Zero ran for 25 episodes in 2011-2012 under Ei Aoki. It adapted a light novel by Gen Urobuchi and acted as a prequel to Fate/stay night. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works followed in 2014-2015, also at 25 episodes, directed by Takahiro Miura. A one-episode alternate ending, titled sunny day, came in 2015. The Heaven's Feel film trilogy arrived in 2017-2019 and 2020, with Sudō directing the first and last. A lighter spin-off, Today's Menu for the Emiya Family, ran for 13 episodes in 2018-2019. It adapted a manga by TAa. One planned project never happened. Girls' Work, announced in 2016 as an original work co-produced with Type-Moon, was never produced.

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• 4. Opening Animations

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  Symphonic Rain, a 2004 game from Kogado Studio, gave Ufotable its first video game credit, for background arts. Opening animations came next. Summon Night EX-These: Yoake no Tsubasa, published by Banpresto, carried one in 2005. Nippon Ichi Software's Disgaea 2 followed in 2006 and Disgaea 3 in 2008. Then came the long relationship with Bandai Namco Entertainment. God Eater in 2010 brought both an opening animation and cutscenes. Tales of Xillia came in 2011 and Tales of Xillia 2 in 2012. Tales of Zestiria arrived in 2015, Tales of Berseria in 2016 and Tales of Arise in 2021. The God Eater line continued with God Eater 2 in 2013, God Eater 2: Rage Burst in 2015 and God Eater 3 in 2018. Code Vein added an opening animation in 2019. Other credits include character designs for Natural Doctrine from Kadokawa Games in 2014. Nintendo's Dragalia Lost in 2018 drew cutscenes and illustrations from the studio. The games also fed the anime schedule. The Tales of Symphonia animation came in three parts, Sylvarant in 2007, Tethe'alla in 2010-2011 and The United World in 2011-2012. Haruo Sotozaki directed all three. God Eater grew from a one-episode prologue in 2009 into a 13-episode series in 2015-2016. Tales of Zestiria received a film in 2014 and a 26-episode series in 2016-2017. A browser game by Nitroplus became Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu in 2017. The most consequential game credit was a 2021 title from Aniplex, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba , The Hinokami Chronicles, for which Ufotable supplied key illustration.

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• 5. The Demon Slayer Run

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  Haruo Sotozaki, who had spent years on the Tales of Symphonia animations, directed Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba in 2019. The 26-episode series adapted a manga by Koyoharu Gotouge. A compilation film of the first five episodes, Kyōdai no Kizuna, appeared the same year. In 2020 came Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba , The Movie: Mugen Train, a sequel to the series. It became the first non-Hollywood production to top the annual global box office. The story then returned to television. Mugen Train Arc ran for seven episodes in 2021 on Fuji TV and Tokyo MX. Entertainment District Arc followed in 2021-2022 with 11 episodes. Swordsmith Village Arc added 11 more in 2023, and Hashira Training Arc added eight in 2024. Compilation films joined each stretch. To the Swordsmith Village in 2023 gathered the last two Entertainment District episodes and the first Swordsmith Village episode. To the Hashira Training in 2024 did the same for the Swordsmith Village finale and the opening of the next arc. The 2025 film, Infinity Castle, was a sequel to the Swordsmith Village Arc. It is also only the first film of a planned trilogy.

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• 6. Tax Evasion Case

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  In March 2019, reports said that Ufotable's offices had been searched over alleged tax evasion. That was the same year the first Demon Slayer series premiered. The next month, further reports said the studio owed back taxes. In June 2020, both the studio and its founder and president, Hikaru Kondō, were charged with violating the Corporation Tax Act and the Consumption Tax Act. The charge was failing to pay about US$1.28 million in taxes. The studio published a public statement apologizing. In July 2021, the special investigation department of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office formally indicted Kondō for evading about US$1.24 million. Ufotable acknowledged the indictment. It said it had already filed a corrected tax return and paid the appropriate amount. In September 2021, Kondō admitted the evasion at a preliminary hearing at the Tokyo District Court. The company had allegedly hidden about US$4 million in income. Under questioning from prosecutors, he gave his reason. "The only profits coming from the studio come from the cafe business and merchandise sales, and if those were to disappear, we wouldn't be able to pay the staff's salaries or production costs, so I wanted to secure some cash just in case something happened." In November 2021, prosecutors sought a 20-month prison sentence. On the 10th of December 2021, the court sentenced Kondō to 20 months, suspended for three years. The studio's production list still looks ahead, with an untitled Genshin Impact series co-produced with HoYoverse and a 2026 film, Witch on the Holy Night, based on a visual novel by Type-Moon.

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