Science Saru
Science Saru, Inc., stylized as Science SARU, is a Japanese independent animation studio headquartered in Kichijōji, Musashino, Tokyo. Established on February 4, 2013, by director Masaaki Yuasa and producer Eunyoung Choi, the studio has produced feature films and animated series, as well as co-productions, compilation films, and episodes of series for other studios. Science Saru's first animation was the "Food Chain" episode of the American animated series Adventure Time ; its most recent projects are the animated feature film Inu-Oh, two short films for the animated anthology project Star Wars: Visions, and the animated series The Heike Story, Yurei Deco, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Dandadan.
The studio's work has received critical acclaim both within Japan and internationally, winning awards from Annecy, the Japan Academy Film Prize, the Mainichi Film Awards, and the Japan Media Arts Festival.
Science Saru utilizes a hybrid animation production method which combines hand-drawn animation and Flash animation, a technique not previously used in Japanese animation. The studio was led by Eunyoung Choi until 2025.
Name
The studio's name, Science Saru, translates into English as "Science Monkey". Company co-founder Masaaki Yuasa frequently drew himself as a monkey in self-portraits, but wanted his company to be smarter than a monkey; as a result, he added the word Science in front of Saru with the intent of having a company that possesses both instinct and intelligence.Co-founder Eunyoung Choi further described the meaning behind the name:
We thought about a lot of possible names for the studio... Science is like logic, business, numbers, plans, technology, and new tools. On the other hand, 'Saru' means monkey in Japanese. As animators, we put in creativity, intuition, art, enjoying moments and being playful… a kind of 'monkeying around'. We want to keep these personalities in Science Saru. Thus, we wanted to create a balance. 'Science' is in English, which highlights being international, and 'Saru' in Japanese maintains traditional anime.
History
Founding
Science Saru was founded on February 4, 2013 by Masaaki Yuasa and Eunyoung Choi. Yuasa and Choi had previously worked together on numerous projects, and Choi had prior experience leading Ankama Japan, a studio which utilized similar digital animation production techniques and employed a multinational staff. The creation of the studio was proposed by Choi during the making of the short film Kick-Heart, which was the first large-scale Japanese animated project to be successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter. The studio's first official production under the Science Saru name was an episode of the American Adventure Time animated series entitled Food Chain, on which Yuasa worked as director, writer, and storyboard artist; Choi served as co-director. By July 2014, the studio was also recognized for creating the digital animation for Yuasa's animated series Ping Pong the Animation.Science Saru's first production location was a small suburban house converted into an impromptu animation studio. By the end of 2013, the company had expanded to a staff of five, including Yuasa, Choi, and Abel Góngora, a former member of Ankama Japan; the studio's first productions began with this small crew.
Early work as a subcontractor (2014–2015)
Science Saru began its corporate activities by taking on subcontracting work, as well as by collaborating with other studios on projects. The studio's first project was the Adventure Time episode Food Chain. The episode was produced entirely in-house, and Yuasa and Choi were given free rein by series creator Pendleton Ward to develop the episode as they saw fit. Food Chain received critical acclaim as one of the best episodes of the series, was an official competition selection at Annecy, and was nominated for the Annie Award for Outstanding Television Direction. Another early highlight was Yuasa's television series Ping Pong the Animation ; Science Saru provided 'digitally assisted' animation production services, while Tatsunoko Production served as the primary studio. The series was awarded a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival, and won the Grand Prize for Television Animation at the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival; additionally, character designer and longtime collaborator Nobutake Ito won the Best Animator award for individual achievement. Ping Pong the Animation was subsequently highlighted as one of the best Japanese animated series of the decade. Science Saru also provided production assistance on a pair of episodes of the Bones television series Space Dandy ; and both received critical acclaim.Additional subcontracting work included opening credits animation for several of the animated Garo series ; animation assistance for Yo-kai Watch: The Movie, a pair of Crayon Shin-chan films, and Typhoon Noruda ; and animation production for the promotional mini-series What's Debikuro?, the music video Song of Four Seasons, and promotional episodes for the American animated series OK K.O.!: Let's Be Heroes.
Move to feature films (2016–2017)
By early 2016, Science Saru had gained experience and built a name in the industry; while still a small team, the company was ready to undertake its first large-scale project. The studio's first feature film production, the family-friendly fantasy film Lu Over the Wall, was produced in less than 16 months using 'digitally assisted' animation techniques. Yuasa directed and co-wrote Lu Over the Wall; it was his first feature film with an original story. During the production of Lu Over the Wall, Yuasa and Science Saru were offered the opportunity to produce a second feature film, the comedy romance Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi. Prior to the establishment of Science Saru, Yuasa had directed a television series adaptation of Morimi's novel The Tatami Galaxy ; Yuasa had originally hoped to adapt Night is Short, Walk On Girl immediately after that production, but was unable to at the time. When he was offered the opportunity in 2016, he immediately agreed. This resulted in the pre-production work on Night is Short, Walk On Girl overlapping with the post-production of Lu Over the Wall. Although Lu Over the Wall was completed first, it was released after Night is Short, Walk On Girl; this was in part due to a marketing suggestion that it might be preferable for the studio's first film to be based on a pre-existing property familiar to Japanese audiences.Both Lu Over the Wall and Night is Short, Walk On Girl received immediate critical acclaim. Lu Over the Wall received the Annecy Cristal du long métrage, the Mainichi Film Awards' Ōfuji Noburō Award, and the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for Animation. The Night is Short, Walk On Girl was awarded the Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year, the Ottawa International Animation Festival Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature, a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival, and has been listed as one of the best Japanese animated films of the decade.
International success and Netflix partnership (2018–2019)
2018 was the year that saw Science Saru, and in particular Masaaki Yuasa, achieve international recognition and prominence. Lu Over the Wall and Night is Short, Walk On Girl, as well as Yuasa's pre-Science Saru feature film Mind Game, were licensed for North American distribution by GKIDS. Most significant to Science Saru's growing popularity was the Netflix release of Yuasa's animated series Devilman Crybaby, based on the manga by Go Nagai. The series represented a dramatic scaling up of Science Saru's production capacity; prior to this project, the company had operated with a limited staff of 20-25 people, but work on the series necessitated expansion, including the hiring of episode directors and new creative talents. Devilman Crybaby was an immediate and massive international hit; with 90% of its viewers outside Japan, the series achieved the largest global audience for the studio to that date. The series inspired internet memes, was profiled by YouTuber PewDiePie, and was widely discussed on Twitter. The series was nominated in 7 categories at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards and won for Anime of the Year and director of the Year, was awarded a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival, was cited by Vulture as containing one of the 100 most influential sequences in global animation history, and was listed as one of the best Japanese animated series of the decade.In 2019, Science Saru produced Yuasa's next feature film, the romance Ride Your Wave. An original story, the film earned Science Saru the studio's best reviews to date. Ride Your Wave was an official competition selection at Annecy, was nominated for the Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film, was nominated for Annie Awards in the categories of Best Indie Feature and Outstanding Feature Film Direction, received a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival, and won Best Animated Feature Film awards at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, and Sitges Film Festival. Also in 2019, Science Saru produced the series Super Shiro, an installment of the popular Crayon Shin-chan franchise created by Yoshito Usui. The series was directed by Yuasa and veteran animator Tomohisa Shimoyama. Yuasa's involvement was the culmination of a long association with Crayon Shin-chan, having first animated for the franchise in the 1990s. The end of the year saw the 2010s heralded as Masaaki Yuasa's "breakout decade"; collectively, Devilman crybaby and the release of Yuasa's films in the United States led to him being highlighted as one of the most important and exciting directors in animation.
In 2020, Science Saru produced the comedy television series Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. Directed by Yuasa and based on the manga by Sumito Ōwara, the series boosted sales of the original manga, inspired internet memes, and won the Japanese Broadcast Critics Association's monthly Galaxy Award during its broadcast run. Following the conclusion of the broadcast, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! received critical acclaim as one of the best Japanese animated series of both the season that it aired and the year as a whole, and was recognized by The New York Times and The New Yorker as one of the best television series of 2020. The series was nominated in 10 categories at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards and won for Director of the Year and Best Animation, was awarded the Grand Prize for Television Animation at the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival, and received the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for Animation. Later that year, Science Saru produced the Netflix series Japan Sinks: 2020, based on the disaster novel by Sakyo Komatsu. Yuasa directed in conjunction with Pyeon-Gang Ho, who made her directorial debut with the series. The series attracted criticism within Japan for its condemnation of Japanese nationalism, but also received positive attention for its multiculturalism and inclusiveness, and was named as one of the best Japanese animated series of 2020. The first episode of the series was awarded the Annecy Jury Prize for a Television Series, and the series as a whole received two nominations at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. A film compilation version of the series was subsequently released in Japanese theaters in November 2020, and was awarded a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival.