Tonari Animation

Tonari Animation was an independent 2D animation studio founded in March 2020 by animator and producer Jarrett Martin. It connected an international network of artists with Japanese anime production, combining remote animation work with a physical production and liaison facility in Mitaka, Tokyo. The company operated until January 2025.

Its core business was subcontracted animation for Japanese television series and feature films. Assignments covered first and second key animation, animation direction and supervision, in-betweening, digital cleanup, and painting. The studio also offered character design, visual development, storyboarding, layout, and compositing, allowing it to undertake complete animated shorts, music videos, commercials, and promotional productions alongside individual production tasks.

Anime and original productions

Between 2020 and 2024, the studio contributed subcontracted animation to more than 80 commercial anime productions. Its reported work included key and second key animation for One Piece, One Piece Film: Red, Spy × Family Season 2, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, and Delicious in Dungeon. Other assignments included animation direction or supervision on productions such as Blue Lock, Zombieland Saga Revenge, and Digimon Ghost Game. These were contributions to productions led by other studios, rather than claims of sole production responsibility.

Tonari also produced original animated content for virtual performers and talent agencies. Examples included Gawr Gura’s short Shark’d and music video Blue Horizon for Cover Corp / Hololive, Ironmouse Unleashed for VShojo, and Ren Zotto’s Wanderer for NIJISANJI EN. Its commercial work included animation supervision for a McDonald’s Japan advertisement through Shin-Ei Animation.

Closure

The business encountered financial difficulties and failed to secure the investment needed to sustain operations. Martin announced its shutdown on January 17, 2025, with operations ending on January 31. He subsequently joined Creative Freaks to help establish an animation division. That employment arrangement was explicitly described as not an acquisition of Tonari Animation.