As reported by the National Tax Agency Corporate Number Publication Site of Japan, the animation studio Encourage Films (エンカレッジフィルムズ) underwent a name change to Kachigarasu (鵲) on December 28, 2023.
Encourage Films originated in Musashino, Tokyo, on August 5, 2008. It was established by former Gonzo producer Touyou Ikeda and animator/director Fumitoshi Oizaki. Ikeda assumed the roles of president and CEO, while Oizaki became the managing director. Their inaugural production was the web series Ontama! in 2009, directed by Oizaki. The studio expanded its services to include comprehensive outsourcing for other productions, some of which were directed by Oizaki at different studios. Following Ikeda's death in 2013, Oizaki stepped up as president and CEO.
The studio's debut television series was Etotama in 2015, co-produced with Shirogumi. Encourage Films has frequently partnered with Diomedea, contributing to episodes of Beatless (2018) and Ahiru no Sora (2019). Kenjirou Kawando, the head of production at Diomedea, also worked as an animation producer on several Encourage Films projects. The company relocated its headquarters to Nerima in 2018.
Akuma-kun, released in 2023 and directed by Oizaki with Junichi Satou as the chief director, was the final series produced under the Encourage Films banner. The newly named Kachigarasu studio is set to produce the forthcoming Gorilla no Kami TV series, again directed by Oizaki, in collaboration with Diomedea.