Amazon MGM Studios Japan is doubling down on Japanese storytelling. The studio’s new head of Japan, Buddy Marini, has revealed the company has doubled its investment in original Japanese content, with an expanded slate of live-action films and series on the way.
Buddy Marini at TIFFCOM (Credits: Deadline)
Marini made the announcement on the opening day of TIFFCOM, Tokyo’s international content market, which runs from October 28 to 30 alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival. He was speaking on the panel Unlocking the Global Potential of Japanese IP, joined by Steven Maeda, showrunner of Netflix’s live-action One Piece, and Kingdom producer Shinzo Matsuhashi, with Atsuo Nakayama moderating.
Amazon MGM Studios Japan Doubles Investment in Original Content
While Marini did not put a dollar figure on the increased investment, he outlined how Amazon MGM is working with a deep bench of partners to ramp up production of Japanese live-action and anime content. The collaborators named include Korea’s Studio Dragon alongside Japan’s Credeus, Toho, TV Tokyo and Wowow.
The strategy is deliberately Japan-first: the slate is primarily made for Japanese audiences, but with the clear intention that it will also travel globally. That mirrors the path taken by hits like One Piece, where a beloved Japanese property found a worldwide audience in live-action form, and Kingdom, the hit manga adaptation franchise produced by Matsuhashi’s Credeus.
Why Japanese IP Is the Talk of TIFFCOM 2026
Marini is a fitting figure to lead the push. Appointed earlier in 2026, the former Warner Bros. Discovery Japan chief brings more than 25 years of experience across Japan and Asia, including founding manga platform Mangamo and serving as CEO of Hulu Japan. He now oversees Amazon MGM’s Japan studio business across film, TV series and anime.
The panel is part of a wider TIFFCOM programme putting Japanese IP front and centre, with sessions on AI and storytelling, anime’s global expansion and international co-productions running across the three-day market. For Amazon, the message is clear: Japanese stories are no longer a local bet, but a global one — and the studio is doubling its money behind them.
Also Read: Thai Forest Spirit Horror Cher Joins Tokyo Gap-Financing Market as Only Thai Entry
Source: Deadline — read the full story there.
