NEWS

THE SEVEN, Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Katsuaki Setoguchi; hereafter “THE SEVEN”) has entered into a strategic VFX partnership agreement with M eighty-three Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Seoul, Republic of Korea; CEO: Sungjin Jung; hereafter “M83”), one of Korea’s leading VFX studios.

This partnership brings together top-tier studios from Japan and Korea—both responsible for globally acclaimed hits—to establish a powerful production framework aimed at delivering high-quality, Asia-originated VFX-driven content to the global market.

THE SEVEN has produced innovative, high-end titles such as the Netflix series Alice in Borderland (Season 3 | production cooperation) and Yu Yu Hakusho. Yu Yu Hakusho received the Grand Award in the Visual Effects category at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2024 (AACA 2024), earning international recognition for THE SEVEN’s world-class VFX-driven production capabilities.

M83, meanwhile, has played a pivotal role in the global rise of Korean content through its work on titles including the tvN drama Vincenzo, Netflix series Sweet Home Seasons 2 and 3, and the feature film Space Sweepers, which won the Technical Award at the 42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards. In August 2024, M83 was listed on KOSDAQ, and has since rapidly expanded into a comprehensive content studio group encompassing IP development, AI and visual R&D, and immersive content production through its ten specialized subsidiaries.


Key Initiatives Under the Partnership
Through this strategic partnership, THE SEVEN and M83 will pursue the following initiatives:

-Comprehensive and Priority Collaboration in VFX Production
From planning and pre-production through final compositing, both companies will work in close coordination to deliver the highest-quality VFX.

-Joint R&D in Technology and Workflow
By combining their technical expertise, the two companies will jointly develop cutting-edge VFX technologies and more efficient production workflows.

-Joint Expansion into the Global Market
Through strengthened international co-productions and shared networks, the partnership aims to enhance competitiveness across the global content market.

A special VFX showreel showcasing representative works produced by THE SEVEN and the M83 Group (M83, Mortarheadd, and Gimpville) has been released, highlighting the scale and quality achieved by the fusion of Japan and Korea’s leading studios.

▼ YouTube Link:

Katsuaki Setoguchi - President and CEO, THE SEVEN
“To create content that truly excites audiences around the world, collaboration across borders is essential. We are delighted to form a partnership with M83, a top runner that has driven the evolution of Korea’s screen industry through technology. By combining M83’s outstanding VFX expertise with THE SEVEN’s storytelling and production capabilities centered on VFX, I am confident we can deliver entertainment experiences the world has never seen before. We look forward to what lies ahead.”

Tomofumi Akahane - Chief VFX Officer, THE SEVEN
“Through my work on numerous high-end productions, I have long held deep respect for the quality of M83’s creative output and their relentless pursuit of new technologies. Today, VFX is no longer the “final touch” of production—it is the foundation that supports a project from its core. By working closely with M83 from the pre-production stage onward, we can achieve both efficiency and explosive visual impact. I am truly excited to witness the creative chemistry between Japan and Korea.”

Sungjin Jung - CEO, M83
“Japan’s content industry has established a globally trusted standard by combining proven IP competitiveness with decades of accumulated planning expertise, precision, and highly refined production systems. THE SEVEN is a studio that embodies these strengths in an innovative and sophisticated manner, and has consistently demonstrated its capabilities through the quality of its works.
This partnership brings together companies with deep-rooted strengths from Japan and Korea, enabling us to connect our respective production philosophies and technologies at an even more advanced level. Going beyond simple collaboration, I believe this will significantly amplify synergy. Together with THE SEVEN, we aim to demonstrate our true potential through results, and to create a new success model in which “Asia” stands strong in the global market.”

Founded in 2020, M83 is a comprehensive content group established by specialists with an average of over 20 years of experience across various sectors of the visual content industry, with VFX technology at its core. In just four years, the company achieved a KOSDAQ listing in 2024, rapidly growing into a top-tier studio within Korea’s VFX industry.
Today, M83 operates alongside ten specialized subsidiaries—including VFX studios in Korea and Norway, film and drama production companies with proprietary IP, animation studios, a full-scale film studio complex, advertising and talent agencies, event marketing firms, industrial equipment and IT solution providers, and AI and visual R&D companies—maximizing group-wide synergy.
Representative works include Vincenzo, Space Sweepers, Hansan: Rising Dragon, Noryang: Deadly Sea, Sweet Home Seasons 2 and 3, Omniscient Reader: The Prophet, and The Great Flood.
M83 has received more than ten major technical awards, including the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the Asian Film Awards.

CEO Sungjin Jung is a first-generation Korean VFX supervisor with over 30 years of experience, holding the record for the most VFX technical awards in Korea, and is also recognized as a skilled business leader who has successfully led two companies to KOSDAQ listings.

Company Name: M eighty-three Co., Ltd. (M83)
Location: 4F, 176 Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Established: February 20, 2020
CEO: Sungjin Jung
Official Website: https://www.m83.co.kr/eng/

Established in January 2022 with investment from TBS HOLDINGS, INC., THE SEVEN plans, develops and produces high-end content for the entire world, mainly in cooperation with global streaming platforms, and promotes the global content business as the core of the TBS Group's overseas strategy.
Its achievements include a strategic partnership with Netflix, completion of its own dedicated world-standard sound stage, production of Alice in Borderland Season 3, co-development with American and Korean partners, and a partnership with a top VFX studio. Furthermore, following the strategic partnership between TBS Holdings and the Hollywood-based major studio Legendary Entertainment announced on the 16th Jan, THE SEVEN will lead the creative direction on the Japanese side. In this role, THE SEVEN is committed to serving as a "Cultural Translator"—one that draws out the intrinsic essence of Japanese IP to share with the world, acting as a vital bridge between Japan and the global entertainment industry.

Company Name: THE SEVEN, Inc.
Location: THE Hexagon 3F & B1F, 5-4-7 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Established on: January 7th, 2022
President and CEO: Katsuaki Setoguchi
THE SEVEN Official Website: https://www.the7.co.jp/