Xebec (studio)


Xebec, Inc. was a Japanese animation studio based in Kokubunji, Tokyo, founded by former Tatsunoko Production animators on May 1, 1995. They have worked on many popular series such as Martian Successor Nadesico, Love Hina, Shaman King, To Love Ru, Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, and .
The company logotype is interesting in that it includes the International Phonetic Alphabet transcription: , not of the Japanese pronunciation, but of a presumed "English" pronunciation.

Closure

On November 20, 2018, Xebec's parent company, IG Port, sold the studio to Sunrise after constant deficits that the subsidiary had in different years.
On March 5, 2019, Sunrise announced that they established a new company, Sunrise Beyond, at Xebec's address, with Xebec's operations being transferred to it.
Xebec ceased to exist as a business entity on May 31, 2019. Its post-production teams, which were not part of the sale to Sunrise, were broken up and consolidated into several IG Port companies, but Production I.G inherited the company's assets. Copyright of Xebec's past works reverted to the IG Port group as a whole.

Works

TV

In 2003 the subsidiary Xebec M2 was established, which focuses in providing animation assistance for their main studio and other companies. It has also produced three full series: Petopeto-san, ZOMBIE LOAN and Hitohira. Its last activity was in 2009/2010.
In 2010, it was followed by Xebeczwei, which handled in-between, key, and 2nd key animation for Xebec's main studio and other anime studios. It later produced the full series Fafner in the Azure: Exodus, which ran throughout 2015.
In late 2018, it was announced the coloring department of Xebec would be transferred to Signal.MD following the release of the former from IG Port. In addition, Xebeczwei would be transferred to Production I.G as a subsidiary and subsequently be renamed IGzwei.