Steins;Gate Creator Chiyomaru Shikura Steps Down as President of MAGES., Continues in Creative Role
Chiyomaru Shikura, the creator and writer of the Science Adventure series that includes Steins;Gate, Chaos;Head and more, along with multimedia company MAGES. announced last night that Shikura will be stepping down from the Representative Director and President role to become an Executive Producer that solely works on the creative side.
MAGES. was started by Shikura in 2005 as an independent studio. This is where his Science Adventure series began and continues to this day. The studio was recently purchased by Colopl after going independent from DWANGO in 2019 due to financial issues.
Shikura’s tweet announcing his move into an Executive Produce position, thanking his employees and fans:
皆様へご報告
この度、任期満了により株式会社MAGES.代表取締役会長の職から離れる事となりました。創立以来、長い間お世話になった関係者の皆様、頼れるスタッフ、そして何よりも僕の作品に少しでも触れてくれたファンの皆様には、心からのお礼の言葉で溢れています。本当にありがとうございました。— 志倉千代丸 (@chiyomaru5pb) January 4, 2023
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Those issues continued under Colopl where MAGES. posted a 556 million yen (US$4.2 million) loss on its year ending and confirmed that they owe more than they’re able to pay back, entering insolvency. Though no creditors have come forward at this time.
Sources: Chiyomaru Shikura on Twitter, MAGES. official website
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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.
