Sony creates Crunchyroll Storyworks to bring international stories to anime

Sony Pictures has announced the creation of Crunchyroll Storyworks, a new division focused on adapting international stories into anime and live-action formats. The unit will work hand in hand with Japanese creators and will operate within Crunchyroll's content group.

The goal is clear: to build a bridge between Japan and storytellers from around the world. According to Variety, projects coming out of Storyworks will go through HAYATE, the joint venture already run by Crunchyroll and Aniplex, to decide which ones get the green light.

Asa Suehira, Crunchyroll's chief content officer, explained it with an idea that sums up the moment well: anime has become a global cultural force, and now it's time to protect what makes it special. "That is the goal of Storyworks," he said.

A bridge between Japan and the rest of the world

The move comes as no surprise when you look at how Crunchyroll has grown since Sony acquired it in 2021. The platform already boasts one of the largest anime streaming catalogs, and in recent years it has strengthened ties with Sony Pictures, as seen with the theatrical release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle in 2025.

What Storyworks aims to do is go one step further: to help international properties find their anime adaptation without losing the vision of Japanese creators. Suehira insists that the priority is to protect that distinctive storytelling and those characters that have made anime what it is. It's not about replacing, but about expanding.

It's an idea reminiscent of what other companies have already done with Western franchises, but here the approach is more organic: Crunchyroll brings global distribution and direct contact with fans, while Japanese studios bring the craft.

The first projects are already on the way

Storyworks isn't starting from scratch. Sony and Crunchyroll already have several projects that fit this philosophy, and two stand out above the rest.

The first is the upcoming film by Makoto Shinkai, the director of Your Name and Suzume. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures have secured international distribution rights, so it will hit theaters across much of the world when the time comes.

The second is the Ghost of Tsushima anime, which will be produced by Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Sony Music, and PlayStation Productions. The series will be based on Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, the multiplayer mode of the PlayStation video game, and will arrive exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027.

With these two titles as its calling card, Storyworks makes it clear that it's not here to experiment on a small scale: it's here to put major adaptations on the calendar. We'll have to see what other projects join the lineup once the division gets fully rolling.