MAPPA Sister Studio Grizzly Dissolves

According to the National Tax Registry of Japan and Commercial Registry of Japan, animation studio GRIZZLY (株式会社GRIZZLY) was dissolved on February 20, 2025.

GRIZZLY was founded on December 25, 2017, with the intention of exclusively producing boys' love (BL) anime. The company's website was registered under an email belonging to MAPPA producer Makoto Moriwaki (森脇誠), with MAPPA CEO Manabu Ootsuka (大塚学) as representative of the company. The studio was originally located in the same building as MAPPA's headquarters, the Asahi Seimei Suginami building in the Suginami ward of Tokyo and later moved to Nakano ward.

Their first work was released in 2018, an OVA adaptation of Ogeretsu Tanaka's Yarichin Bitch Club, which spanned two episodes. In 2020, the studio produced a feature-length film adaptation of Kou Yoneda's Twittering Birds Never Fly manga, directed by Kaori Makita, with plans of producing a trilogy series. A prequel OVA titled Don't Stay Gold was released in 2021.

MAPPA animation producer Fuuko Noda (野田楓子) was in charge of both series with Ootsuka serving as co-animation producer for Yarichin Bitch Club and production supervisor for both of the Twittering Birds Never Fly projects. Albeit a distinct legal entity, much of the same staff from MAPPA worked on all of these projects.

In 2021, it was announced that Makita would direct Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku under studio MAPPA for release in 2023, with a sequel later confirmed for 2026; and between 2020 and 2024, GRIZZLY made no announcements for upcoming works. Noda left MAPPA in 2024; and by early 2025, GRIZZLY's website was offline.

Ootsuka was the liquidator in the dissolvement.

Thanks to Mazen for the initial report.