David Production

David Production, Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社デイヴィッドプロダクション, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Deividdo Purodakushon) is a Japanese animation studio founded in September 2007 by former Gonzo producers Kōji Kajita and Taito Okiura, and is based in Nishitōkyō, Tokyo. Notable works from the studio include JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Cells at Work!, the 2018 adaptation of Captain Tsubasa, Fire Force, and the 2022 adaptation of Urusei Yatsura.

David Production, Inc.

Native name	株式会社デイヴィッドプロダクション
Romanized name	Kabushiki-gaisha Deividdo Purodakushon
Company type	Kabushiki gaisha
Industry	Japanese animation
Founded	September 2007
Founder	Kōji Kajita Taito Okiura
Headquarters	Nishitōkyō, Tokyo , Japan
Key people	Shūichirō Tanaka (CEO)
Number of employees	93 (January 2021)
Parent	Fuji Television
Website	davidproduction.jp

Establishment

The company was founded by former Gonzo president and producer Kōji Kajita and fellow producer Taito Okiura in September 2007 upon having left Gonzo. The company's first work was as an animation subcontractor, but in 2009 David Production undertook their first full animation production as a primary contractor with Ristorante Paradiso.^[1][2][3]

Fuji TV acquired the studio on August 1, 2014.^[4][5]

The company's name is a reference to the Biblical story of David and Goliath, a story chosen to represent "[the creation of] good animation with great storytelling and characters" despite being smaller than other well-known studios. It is also short for "Design Audio & Visual Illusion Dynamics", which signifies the studio's impactful animations.^[6]

Productions

Anime television series

Year	Title	Director(s)	Eps.	Note(s)
2009	Ristorante Paradiso	Mitsuko Kase	11	Adaptation of the manga series by Natsume Ono.
2009–2010	Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra	Toshiya Shinohara	27	Adaptation of the light novel series by Ishio Yamagata.
2011	Level E	Toshiyuki Kato	13	Adaptation of the manga series by Yoshihiro Togashi. Co-production with Pierrot.
2011	Ben-To	Shin Itagaki	12	Adaptation of the light novel series by Asaura.
2012	Inu × Boku SS	Naokatsu Tsuda	12 +OVA	Adaptation of the manga series by Cocoa Fujiwara.
2012–2013	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation	Naokatsu Tsuda Kenichi Suzuki[a]	26	Adaptation of the first two parts of the manga series by Hirohiko Araki.
2013	Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation	Masahiro Mukai	12 +OVA	Based on a video game series by Idea Factory and Compile Heart.
2014–2015	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders	Naokatsu Tsuda Kenichi Suzuki[a]	48	Adaptation of the third part of the manga series by Hirohiko Araki.
2016	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable	Naokatsu Tsuda Toshiyuki Kato[a]	39	Adaptation of the fourth part of the manga series by Hirohiko Araki.
2016–2018	Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On	Mitsuru Hongo	75	Based on a video game series by Capcom.
2017	Sagrada Reset	Shinya Kawatsura	24	Adaptation of the light novel series by Yutaka Kōno.
2018–2019	Captain Tsubasa	Toshiyuki Kato Hirofumi Ogura[a]	52	Adaptation of the manga series by Yōichi Takahashi.
2018	Cells at Work!	Kenichi Suzuki	13	Adaptation of the manga series by Akane Shimizu.[7]
2018–2019	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind	Naokatsu Tsuda[b] Yasuhiro Kimura Hideya Takahashi	39	Adaptation of the fifth part of the manga series by Hirohiko Araki.
2019–2026	Fire Force	Yuki Yase (season 1) Tatsuma Minamikawa (season 2-3)	48	Adaptation of the manga series by Atsushi Ōkubo.[8][9]
2019	Ensemble Stars!	Mazakazu Hishida Yasufumi Soejima[a]	24	Based on a smartphone game by Happy Elements.[10]
2020	Strike Witches: Road to Berlin	Kazuhiro Takamura Hideya Takahashi[a]	12	Third season of Strike Witches.[11]
2021	2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team	Yasuhiro Kimura	12	Adaptation of the light novel series by Yukako Kabei.[12]
	Cells at Work!!	Hirofumi Ogura	8	Second season of Cells at Work!.[13]
2022–2024	Urusei Yatsura	Yasuhiro Kimura Hideya Takahashi Takahiro Kamei[a]	46	Second adaptation of the manga series by Rumiko Takahashi; with the first being in 1981.[14]
2023–2024	Undead Unluck	Yuki Yase	24	Adaptation of the manga series by Yoshifumi Tozuka. Co-produced with TMS Entertainment.[15]
2025	Onmyō Kaiten Re:verse	Hideya Takahashi	TBA	Original work.[16]

Anime films

Year	Title	Director(s)	Dur.	Note(s)
2016	Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars	Naokatsu Tsuda	117m	Based on a visual novel by Key.
2020	"Hataraku Saibō!!" Saikyō no Teki, Futatabi. Karada no Naka wa "Chō" Ōsawagi!	Hirofumi Ogura	112m	Adaptation of the manga series by Akane Shimizu.
2021	The House of the Lost on the Cape	Shin'ya Kawatsura	100m	Adaptation of the novel by Sachiko Kashiwaba.
2022	Ensemble Stars!! Road to Show!!	Asami Nakatani Masakazu Hishida	72m	Based on a smartphone game by Happy Elements.

Original video animations (OVAs)

Year	Title	Director(s)	Eps.	Note(s)
2009	Dogs: Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark	Tatsuya Abe	4	Adaptation of the manga series by Shirow Miwa.
2012	Lost Forest	Yasufumi Soejima	1	Music video by MOKA.
2017–2019	Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan	Toshiyuki Kato Yasufumi Soejima	4	Adaptation of the one-shot manga by Hirohiko Araki.

Original net animations (ONAs)

Year	Title	Director(s)	Eps.	Note(s)
2016	Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet	Naokatsu Tsuda	5	Based on a visual novel by Key.
2021–2022	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean	Kenichi Suzuki[b] Toshiyuki Kato	38	Netflix; Adaptation of the sixth part of the manga series by Hirohiko Araki.
2022	Spriggan	Hiroshi Kobayashi	6	Netflix; Adaptation of the manga series by Hiroshi Takashige and Ryōji Minagawa.

See also

• Okuruto Noboru—An animation studio founded in 2017 by line producer Wani Koguchi and other former production staff members.
• Shaft—Producers Reo Honjouya and Kousuke Matsunaga, as well as CG director Shinya Takano, were part of Shaft prior to their joining of David Production around 2018.

Notes

1. Credited as Series Director (シリーズディレクター, Shirīzu Direkutā).
2. Credited as Chief Director (総監督, Sō Kantoku).