Anime Studio Behind One Piece And Dragon Ball Announces Plan To Focus on Overseas Markets

By Elijah Gonzalez | November 3, 2025 | 1:00pm

Anime News Dragon Ball

Anime Studio Behind One Piece And Dragon Ball Announces Plan To Focus on Overseas Markets

Toei Animation, one of the biggest anime studios in Japan, has announced a new plan focused on expanding its global reach. Their goals were outlined in a document titled Vision 2030, which was partially translated by Twitter user Venixys. The document specifies the first phase in a ten-year plan aimed at expanding the company’s reach, both in terms of becoming a world-class studio and in making content directly in overseas markets.

One key tenet is the continued expansion of the studio’s biggest IP globally. The studio’s Dragon Ball series has obviously become a worldwide phenomenon, so it’s likely a part of these goals. Earlier this year, the studio produced Dragon Ball Daima, a fun mash-up that combined several different eras of the series—it was also the final anime that series creator Akira Toriyama contributed to before his untimely passing.

Meanwhile, the company’s other biggest ongoing franchise is One Piece. Interestingly enough, Toei recently announced that it would be slowing production on the series for the first time in decades, as the anime has almost fully caught up to the manga. The source material is similarly winding down as it approaches its endgame.

Beyond this, Toei has been behind countless classic anime: Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya, Slam Dunk, Fist of the North Star, Precure, and more. They’ve also been involved in some excellent, more recent series like Girls Band Cry and Mononoke.

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Another key point is that Toei is planning hundreds of hirings for key roles within the company’s main studio in Tokyo. Considering that the anime industry disproportionately relies on freelance labor for animation instead of full-time hires, it could certainly be a big deal if they are targeting animators for in-house positions.

Tying into this, they apparently intend to put artists at the center of their efforts going forward. They want to establish a production pipeline that would allow the company’s Tokyo-based studio to plan and create projects internally, allowing them to bring various works to life and experiment, including more short-form works. Two pilot productions in this style were apparently approved recently. Additionally, the company wants to better publicize its creators’ roles in productions: for example, holding exhibitions and creating behind-the-scenes social media posts that highlight key animation drawings.

Overall, they plan to invest 70 billion yen (roughly 454.2 million) in developing their productions and new technologies, which include VR/AR/XR, games, motion capture, AI (hopefully not for animation), and more.

Lastly, they outline some of their plans for global expansion more concretely. The company aims to triple its IP, with a target of creating 25 IPs overseas in regions such as North America, China, and Europe. They intend to invest around 20 billion yen (about $129.8 million) into making animation in overseas studios, such as in North America, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, China, the Middle East, Africa, and India, and Dubai. Specifically, they’d like to lead pre-production of works in North America and Europe and create works incorporating regional cultures and local artists. They also intend to spend another 19 billion yen ($123.2 million) over five years on improving logistics, e-commerce, stores, facilities, and events worldwide.

All things considered, Toei Animation is one of the largest anime studios in Japan, and its continued focus on overseas markets reflects the increasing global popularity of the medium. Hopefully, this plan will lead to improved conditions for animators via more in-house positions at the company and lead to more interesting original works being created, like Girls Band Cry.