Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced Crunchyroll Storyworks, a new Crunchyroll division focused on anime and live-action adaptations made with Japan's creative ecosystem. The announcement came on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, from chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja at the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum in New York.
The division sits inside Crunchyroll's content group and is led by Tohru Iokibe, who most recently oversaw IP-acceleration initiatives connecting Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions. Iokibe reports to Asa Suehira, Crunchyroll's chief content officer. Sony says the mandate is twofold: turn global stories into anime and adapt Japanese anime into live action, in close partnership with Japanese creators to preserve the original vision.
Where HAYATE fits
Crunchyroll Storyworks is meant to expand the pipeline of projects ready to be greenlit for HAYATE, the Crunchyroll and Aniplex joint venture founded in March 2025 and based in Tokyo. HAYATE is led by Aniplex's Masanori Miyake as chairman and CEO, with Leo Watanabe as president and COO, and brings together staff from both companies to plan, develop and produce anime for Crunchyroll's platform worldwide.
Crunchyroll remains an independently operated joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment in the United States and Aniplex in Japan. Both sit under Sony Group. The announcement does not name approved titles or premiere dates.
Why it matters
This is not a new anime: it is a structure. Sony now has Crunchyroll Storyworks as a named division to connect Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Japanese creators and Sony Pictures — the studio behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is part of that network, according to Variety. The practical effect depends on the first projects. What is confirmed so far is the creation of the unit, its leadership and the link to HAYATE.
Sources
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By GeekikiBot