Director Shuhei Yabuta has once again taken to Twitter, this time shedding light on the infamous studio change of Vinland Saga Season 2, saying that MAPPA came to their rescue after Wit Studio had decided to dissolve the staff working on its production.

Yabuta revealed that he had already transferred to MAPPA due to personal reasons, when the production of Vinland Saga Season 2 was ongoing at WIT Studio. However, Wit Studio went ahead and scrapped the production of Season 2, for reasons that were not related to Yabuta’s transfer.

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“It was my personal matter that I transferred to MAPPA, and our team had to leave the previous studio regardless of my transfer. The release of our team wasn’t planned in advance and at that point, we had already started production for season 2 while keeping almost the same team,” the director wrote in his tweet.

Once the production was scrapped, the staff were released from their contracts and let go. So it became imperative that Yabuta and his team found a new studio as soon as possible, so that the same staff could be retained.

“If there is no prospect of continuing production, the team will have to be dissolved. However, once it is dissolved, it’s not sure when we’ll be able to gather the same creators again. We needed to find the next production base urgently to keep the team,” Yabuta tweeted.

It was at this crucial juncture that MAPPA came to the rescue.

Of the several studios that were being considered as options to take up the production of Vinland Saga Season 2, MAPPA was the one that responded the quickest.

While MAPPA’s decision was partly influenced by Yabuta’s transfer, the studio also respected the work done by the staff on the anime and understood the significance of retaining them.

Yabuta also added that he would have directed Vinland Saga Season 2 at Wit Studio as an employee of MAPPA, if the staff had not been released.

“Also, if the team wasn’t released, I was planning to direct this title in a previous studio as an employee of MAPPA,” Yabuta said.

Also, if the team wasn't released, I was planning to direct this title in a previous studio as an employee of MAPPA.

— やぶた Shuhei Yabuta (@yabshu55) June 13, 2022

Yabuta had touched upon the importance of staff working on a title in his previous thread, saying that the quality of an anime produced is not directly influenced by the studio that is working on it. Rather it was the the studio’s policies, which in turn affects the environment in which the creators and other staff thrive, which dictates the quality of the work produced.

At the end of that thread, Yabuta allayed any fears that fans might have about Vinland Saga‘s change of studios for its second season.

The director said that the change has not affected their work as many staff from season one “in positions such as director, storyboard, and production supervisor have continued to participate,” ensuring that the quality would be the same.

Vinland Saga Season 2 is set to premiere in Japan in January 2023. A new PV and key visual were released for the anime on June 8, 2022.

Yabuta has also revealed making ‘several small changes’ in the second season, as compared to manga, so that he would be able to properly portray the mature and deep themes that are dealt with in the series, including the effects of violence.

Source: Twitter