Solo Leveling anime studio suffers massive financial loss

On Monday, June 30, 2025, the Official Gazette reported that the Solo Leveling anime studio A-1 Pictures suffered a significant net loss of 178 million yen for the fiscal year ending March 2025. The studio had incurred a profit in the previous fiscal year.

A-1 Pictures, Inc., founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata, is a Japanese animation studio and production company. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production company, Aniplex. The studio is best known for anime such as Sword Art Online, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, etc.

Solo Leveling anime studio suffers 178 million yen net loss

Sung Jinwoo as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

On Monday, June 30, 2025, the Official Gazette published the "Announcement of Financial Results." According to the latest report, the Solo Leveling animation studio recorded a net loss of 178 million yen (approximately 1.24 million USD) for the fiscal year ending March 2025.

This update came as a shock to fans, given that the studio had posted a profit of 24 million yen (approximately 167,000 USD) in the previous year, the period during which Solo Leveling premiered its first season.

A-1 Pictures' net profit and loss data since March 2014 (Image via Official Gazette)

What was even more surprising was that although the studio's profits in previous years had often been small, it had not suffered a loss at any point in the last decade. In fact, as per the data, A-1 Pictures projected an approximate profit of around 350 million yen (approximately 2.4 million USD) in March 2016.

Therefore, it did not make sense to fans how A-1 Pictures suffered a loss in the fiscal year ending March 2025 following the international success of the Solo Leveling anime.

Anna Yanami as seen in Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! (Image via A-1 Pictures)

During the fiscal year, the animation studio not only premiered Solo Leveling -Arise from the Shadow- season 2 but also released Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!, NieR:Automata Ver1.1a (Cour 2), and Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II.

In addition, A-1 Pictures produced a special animation for the Goddess of Victory: NIKKE video game. All of these ventures were popular and well-received by fans.

Cha Hae-in as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

While these results might lead some to believe that the Solo Leveling anime flopped, netizens have argued that the data does not represent the anime's performance. According to them, the studio "suffered from a net loss" because the profits were not accounted to A-1 Pictures but its production committee, i.e., Aniplex, owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

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About the author

Gokul has been an anime writer in Pop Culture division at Sportskeeda since 2022. His love for watching anime and his interest in the ever-growing anime industry inspire Gokul to produce insightful content about the genre on a daily basis. He holds a Master's degree in Communication & Journalism, and has worked for close to 3.5 years in the field.

Gokul likes to thoroughly research about the anime he is writing about and only credits a source after verifying its credibility. He loves the popular Shonen anime, Black Clover, for its memorable characters and their development throughout the story.

When not racking his brain behind his next anime story, Gokul likes to play video games, read manga, and play football.

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Edited by Gokul Chettiyar