News
Gonzo Hiring Anime Production Staff Members Again
posted on by Egan Loo
The Japanese studio Gonzo has posted a recruitment notice for new anime production staff members on Friday. Gonzo is hiring animation runners (the Production Coordinator job seen in Animation Runner Kuromi), one "international production operations assistant" ("fluency in English required, Chinese is a plus"), in-between animators ("must have enthusiasm"), production desk managers, and designers. The job descriptions mention "TV series as well as theatrical films," but does not indicate if Gonzo is working on its own projects or doing subcontracting work for other studios.
Gonzo told ANN during March's Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) that it was developing a potential Spring 2011 project that would take advantage of the new stereoscopic 3D televisions now entering the marketplace. The studio also showcased four character design sheets for a new project in the works at the fair, although it did not specify whether these designs were from the same Spring 2011 project. Gonzo was also listed in the copyright credits for a Cheer Figu! Character Project with another animation company, Dogakobo. However, Dogokobo representatives at TAF cautioned that they cannot state what format the project will be released in — or if it will be an anime project at all.
Gonzo was established in 1992 when anime producer Shouji Murahama left Gainax to start his own company. Gonzo merged with Shinichirō Ishikawa's Digimation company in 2000 and a new parent company was formed, GDH (Gonzo Digimation Holdings).
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun paper reported last year that GDH was restructuring its anime production operations after GDH asked 20% of its workforce to "voluntarily retire" in 2008. GDH has since absorbed Gonzo and adopted the Gonzo name for itself.
In the past year, Gonzo has been involved in several animated sequences for games, such as Crackdown 2 (Riot Act 2) and Arcadia Saga.
[Via Uri-Sure Matome R]
