Director says Irodori team are "alive and well," will continue working as anime creator

Kemono Friends anime director TATSUKI posted his first Tweet in two weeks since he announced that he was no longer working on the new Kemono Friends anime project. He states in the post:

(Hello, I don't have anything in particular to report, but the three Irodori people are alive and well. Thank you to everyone who showed concern and kept in contact. It was encouraging. I don't know what kind of work I'll be doing but I plan to keep on working as an anime creator.)

Irodori is the three-person independent animation group that worked with the studio Yaoyorozu to produce the Kemono Friends anime. Besides TATSUKI, the members include Yūko Shiromizu and Yoshihisa Isa, the art director and animation director on Kemono Friends .

TATSUKI reported on September 25 that, per a notification from publishing and production company Kadokawa, he is no longer working on the Kemono Friends project. Nobuo Kawakami, the president of Kadokawa's parent company Kadokawa Dwango, posted a response on September 26 that he was "worried" about the incident and that discussions are ongoing in both Kadokawa and Dwango.

The Kemono Friends website posted a note on September 27 claiming that Yaoyorozu had produced works "without contacting or sharing information through the appropriate channels," and that Yaoyorozu had left after being unable to accept conditions of sharing information in advance.

Kadokawa President and CEO Shinichiro Inoue also commented on the controversy earlier this month and said he has been in discussions with the anime's production committee and Yaoyorozu.

Nexon's original Kemono Friends app game launched in early 2016 and ended service on December 14 — before the Kemono Friends anime even aired. The 12-episode television anime then premiered on TV Tokyo and TV Osaka on January 10 and ended on March 28. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired.

The anime received an unofficial "episode 12.1." Kemono Friends is also getting a new game, a new stage play, and a "new screen project" (separate from "episode 12.1"). An official guidebook for the anime confirmed in July that a second season is in the works but it "will take some time."

[Via Nijipoi]