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Appleseed Films' Micott & Basara Files for Bankruptcy (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
The financial research firm Teikoku Databank reported on Tuesday that the production company Micott & Basara filed for voluntary bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court on April 21. Micott & Basara has been behind the animated Appleseed projects of the last decade, including the two computer-animated films and the upcoming Appleseed XIII series. The company had incurred 1.938 billion yen (about US$23.7 million) in debts at the end of March.
The company Micott was established in December of 1997 to plan, develop, and manage film and video projects. It formally incorporated in June of 1999 and changed its name to the current Micott & Basara moniker in March of 2003. It delved into live-action films (such as Kisaragi, Boku to Kanojo no XXX/Your and My Secret, and Higanjima), but it also focused on computer-animated works.
The most well-known Micott & Basara production worldwide was Shinji Aramaki's 2004 computer-animated film adaptation of Masamune Shirow's future police manga Appleseed. The company would then produce Aramaki's 2007 film sequel Appleseed: Ex Machina.
Micott & Basara announced Appleseed: Genesis, a planned computer-animated series, in 2008. However, the project was suspended at the studio Radix mobanimation, and Radix sued Micott & Basara over production costs. (Micott & Basara counter-sued Radix for restitution and compensation.)
Micott & Basara has been producing Appleseed XIII, a new 13-part computer-animated series adaptation of Appleseed, for release this June. The company's other animated projects included koma Tori Eiga Komaneko, Atagoal wa Neko no Mori, Prologue of Blame!, and Samuroid Zero.
Source: animeanime.biz
Update: The animeanime.biz website reports that Appleseed XIII may continue production under a new future arrangement.
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