Ikki Tousen, Elfen Lied's Studio Arms Declares Bankruptcy

Credit research company Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) reported on Tuesday that Common Sense, the official company name for the anime studio Arms, has declared bankruptcy through the Tokyo District Court. The company had filed for special liquidation on July 22, after deciding on that course of action through a shareholder meeting on May 31.

The company was founded in 1996 and initially focused on outsourced animation work from Pierrot, as well as producing adult anime in collaboration with Pink Pineapple and Green Bunny. The studio produced adult anime under the Arms name, as well as various other names such as Dandelion, Triple X, and Garyu Studio. It began producing its own television anime, beginning with Yasuomi Umetsu's Mezzo in 2004. The studio was perhaps best known for its Elfen Lied anime based on the Lynn Okamoto manga, as well as the Queen's Blade and Ikki Tousen series. The most recent entry in the Ikki Tousen series is 2019's Ikki Tousen: Western Wolves original video anime project. Some of the studio's other notable works include Samurai Girls, Genshiken 2, Brynhildr in the Darkness, Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, MAOYU, Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil, and Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid.

The company officially changed its name from Arms to Common Sense in August 2017, but maintained the Arms label as a trade name.

Source: Tokyo Shoko Research via Netlab