I wonder if this is (from the Kadokawa side) being somewhat driven by succession issues...you had the brothers, and then the son...and now Natsuno-san as CEO.
It could be a factor. But there was an op-ed just today in Shukan Bunshun that theorized Natsuno would be first to go if the merger happened.
More broadly I think it's more driven by the realization of how much money there is to be made outside of Japan, and how poorly the current system is able to respond to that demand. Toho just signed an agreement with Bandai-Namco, so the "battle lines" are being drawn.
I just hope making the system more efficient and more profitable doesn't also result in it being made less interesting.
I wonder if this is (from the Kadokawa side) being somewhat driven by succession issues...you had the brothers, and then the son...and now Natsuno-san as CEO.
It could be a factor. But there was an op-ed just today in Shukan Bunshun that theorized Natsuno would be first to go if the merger happened.
More broadly I think it's more driven by the realization of how much money there is to be made outside of Japan, and how poorly the current system is able to respond to that demand. Toho just signed an agreement with Bandai-Namco, so the "battle lines" are being drawn.
I just hope making the system more efficient and more profitable doesn't also result in it being made less interesting.