Disney held a business seminar this week at the AnimeJapan 2022 event aimed at Japanese companies. It was an interesting opportunity to learn how the media company is approaching the Japanese market. Gaku Narita (Executive Director of Original Content) introduced the presentation by invoking classic Disney nostalgia as a way to establish common ground. "We all have fond memories of classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," he said, describing the love of Disney as a unifying force around the world. He then outlined Disney's ambitions in the streaming market, briefly describing the Disney Plus service and its growth statistics.
Disney promises that there will be no censorship in the anime it licenses
The next speaker was Takuto Yawata (Head of Animation), who explained that Disney wants to represent works from around the world, and identified anime as an “area of focus” for the company. He said a big emphasis was on diversifying content, and inferred that they have no intention of influencing creators to conform to the traditional Disney brand. "We deeply respect the works of Japanese creators and will transmit them abroad as they are," he said.
Yawata then briefly introduced the Japanese anime titles that Disney Plus will stream in Japan: Yojouhan Time Machine Blues, Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall, Summertime Render (Summer Time Rendering), and Dance Dance Danseur. Notably, the introduction included the names of key employees and the Japanese anime titles they are best known for, indicating that the company is familiar with the industry context. Yawata also briefly referred to Star Wars: Visions and Disney Twisted-Wonderland as successful examples of collaboration between Disney IPs and Japanese creators.
"I'm sure this will open a new door," he noted, emphasizing how the "Disney Difference" means there are unique things that can only be achieved through a partnership with Disney. “We have high expectations of producing local content. This includes brand new works from Japan," he added. Moreover, Disney Plus launched in November 2019 and is now available in North and South America, most of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries and territories. Disney noted that streaming of the new titles is "subject to local availability."
Source: AnimeJapan Business Seminar
