The company logotype includes the International Phonetic Alphabet transcription [zíːbek], which represents not the Japanese pronunciation using syllabification for Hepburn romanization but rather a presumed "English" pronunciation.
Closure
On November 20, 2018, Xebec's parent company, IG Port, sold the studio to Sunrise after constant deficits that the subsidiary had in different years.[2][3]
On January 12, 2019, Xebec Zwei, a subsidiary of Xebec, was transferred to Production I.G, becoming a subsidiary and changing its name to IG Zwei accordingly.[4]
On March 5, 2019, Sunrise announced that they established a new company, Sunrise Beyond, at Xebec's address, with Xebec's operations being transferred to it.[5]
Xebec ceased to exist as a business entity on May 31, 2019. Its post-production teams, which were not part of the sale to Sunrise, were broken up and consolidated into several IG Port companies, but Production I.G inherited the company's assets. Copyright of Xebec's past works reverted to the IG Port group as a whole.[6]
In 2003 the subsidiary Xebec M2 was established, which focuses in providing animation assistance for their main studio and other companies (including OLM, as in Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys). It has also produced three full series: Petopeto-san, ZOMBIE LOAN and Hitohira. Its last activity was in 2009/2010.[7]
In 2010, it was followed by Xebeczwei, which handled in-between, key, and 2nd key animation for Xebec's main studio and other anime studios. It later produced the full series Fafner in the Azure: Exodus, which ran throughout 2015.[8]
In late 2018, it was announced the coloring department of Xebec would be transferred to Signal.MD following the release of the former from IG Port. In addition, Xebeczwei would be transferred to Production I.G as a subsidiary and subsequently be renamed IGzwei.[9]
Notes
^ abSunrise took over most of Xebec's assets, which included the building which the studio operated. In its place, Sunrise established a new subsidiary, Sunrise Beyond, which retains a number of former Xebec staff, including former Xebec CEO Nobuyoshi Habara, who is one of Sunrise Beyond's board members. Xebec's Fukuoka Studio was rebranded to Sunrise Beyond Fukuoka (and later BFN Fukuoka), and a few other assets remained under Production I.G.
^The Xebec M2 substudio was dissolved following the departure of its representative director, Hideyuki Motohashi, in 2009.
^ abXebec Zwei was a part of the assets that Xebec owned which were given to Production I.G after its dissolution, and its name was subsequently changed to I.G. Zwei.
^Former Xebec CEO Yukinao Shimoji founded Studio Mother in 2019 after Xebec's dissolution.
