Anime Studio Yaoyorozu Pulled From Screen Project Due to Communication Issues

According to the Kemono Friends website, Yaoyorozu would no longer be working on the upcoming screen project for Kemono Friends. The website posted a note detailing the reason behind this case, following an announcement from Tatsuki, the director for Yaoyorozu, that he would no longer be working on the project.

The full note can be read below:

Regarding Kemono Friends, we already had the privilege of announcing a new screen project, but since then, we have been considering whether to keep using the same production system or implement a new system for a new depiction. As of now, nothing has been decided yet. With this in mind, we prioritized the same production system used in the television anime that aired from January to March this year, and adjusted it to meet viewer expectations. However, we received word from animation studio Yaoyorozu of their intent to pull out this past August, so we currently have to start from square one on a production system.

Kemono Friends begins with a philosophy of animals first, and through the input of many people it has spawned games, manga, anime, and stage plays. The doors are wide open, and with the help of people who believe in the philosophy we want to spread Kemono Friends around the world. As such, it is not a project that belongs to any one person, and so for the sake of the animals Kemono Friends resumed activity again.

However, there are works that Yaoyorozu, the studio that handled production, used without contacting or sharing information through the appropriate channels. In order to keep the next project going, we proposed to normalize sharing information in advance, but Yaoyorozu could not accept these conditions and declined.

In part due to the conditions above, the Kemono Friends screen project will be delayed, but from here on out we will collaborate with everyone who is working on the project to protect the work and its fans, and to carry on the mission of learning more about animals. We will update as soon as possible with information about the screen project.

Please enjoy upcoming Kemono Friends projects.

After the incident, Nobuo Kawakami, the president of Kadokawa Dwango, responded that he was “worried” about the altercation and asserted that Kadokawa and Dwango are in constant talks about the situation.

In other news, Kemono Friends is getting another video game, as well as a new screen project that will not be based from the unoffical 12.1 episode. Also, it has been confirmed that a second season of the anime is in the works, but according to the official guidebook of the anime, the second season, “will take some time.”

Sources: Nlab