Studio Pierrot is one of the largest anime studios in Tokyo, founded in 1979 by Yuji Nunokawa, a former Tatsunoko Production animator. Its long-running shΕnen adaptations β Naruto, Bleach, Black Clover, Tokyo Ghoul β have placed it consistently in the centre of the global anime business since the early 2000s.
Founding
Yuji Nunokawa founded Pierrot in May 1979 as a small studio with about ten initial employees. Early work included magical-girl shows for which the studio is still remembered (Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel; Magical Emi, the Magic Star), and adaptations of mainstream manga properties.
The shΕnen Jump pipeline
From the 2000s onward, Pierrot's identity has been defined by long Weekly ShΕnen Jump adaptations. Naruto (2002β2007) and Naruto: Shippuden (2007β2017) collectively ran for over 700 episodes. Bleach (2004β2012, with a return arc in 2022 onwards) and Black Clover (2017β2021) have followed the same model. These multi-year productions provide stable revenue but require continual scheduling pressure on animators and have produced widely varying quality across episodes.