They say fan service sells… well, apparently it didn’t sell well enough to save studio Arms.
In a report which hit the Internet on Wednesday, August 5th, it was revealed that studio Arms has declared bankruptcy after deciding on the action at a shareholder’s meeting on May 31st. They were originally created in 1996, though they operated under different names such as Dandelion and Triple X as early as 1993.
If you’re a fan of fan service heavy series, this will undoubtedly be a heavy loss for you as Arms has been a mainstay in the genre ever since its inception. Arms got their start with hentai titles, including the legendary title La Blue Girl, but in 2004 the studio now known as Arms went mainstream with their debut title Mezzo, which was followed up by one of their most famous titles, Elfen Lied. Over the next decade and a half, the studio would continue to release fan service heavy titles including Ikki Tousen, Queen’s Blade, Wanna Be The Strongest in the World, Samurai Girls, and others.
Interestingly, the studio ventured into more story-rich series including Maoyu (2013), Brynhildr in the Darkness (2014), and Wizard Barristers (2014). None of them left a lasting impact on the community, which is a shame, because Maoyu was a very good series that deserved at least a second season. They even tried their hand at comedy once with Genshiken Pt. 2 in 2007.
It’s always sad when a studio goes under and this is especially painful since this is a studio that knew what their fanbase wanted and delivered on that pretty much every single time. If you happen to have a drink handy, feel free to pour one out for the fallen and hope that the members of this studio go on to bigger and better things.
Source: Anime News Network
