is an animation studio subsidiary of Pierrot. The studio is an associate-member of The Association of Japanese Animations.
History The company was founded in 1959 as a magazine advertising agency and stepped into the anime industry in 1989 by Keiji Kusano and Yoshikazu Tochihira. In 1993, the company took on the name Studio Kikan and released their first animated works Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirou. In 1996, the company established Arms as a separate studio to focus on adult animation and subcontracted animation work.
The studio became a subsidiary of Pierrot in 2008 and changed its name to Pierrot Plus in 2009. Kusano stepping down as CEO to become a chairman, and was replaced by CEO of Arms, Osamu Shimizu.
On September 20, 2019, the company changed its name to Studio Signpost. Ken Hagino, who had worked at Pierrot as animation producer, was appointed as the new CEO. In conjunction with this change, the official website of Arms was closed down, and the company was later dissolved on October 6, 2020. Shimizu and most of the animation producers associated with Arms merged into Studio Signpost, with Shimizu taking a position as a board member. In 2026, Hagino was made chairman and co-CEO of the company with former Pierrot producer Naoyuki Oshikiri taking the role of president and co-CEO.
Works
Television series Year Title Director(s) Animation producer(s) Source 1993–2008Shima Shima Tora no ShimajirōHisayuki ToriumiShintarou KozakiYoshikazu TochihiraManga7261994–1995Tsutomu ShibayamaYoshikazu TochihiraManga20Chō Kuse ni NarisōTetsuya EndoYoshikazu TochihiraManga39 2008–2010Hakken Taiken Daisuki! ShimajirouManga101 2009–2010Letter BeeAkira IwanagaOsamu ShimizuManga25 2010–2011Letter Bee ReverseAkira IwanagaOsamu ShimizuManga25 2010–2012Shimajirou HesokaManga101 2011–2012BeelzebubOsamu ShimizuManga60 2014Survival Game Club!Masahiko OhtaKazuyoshi OzawaManga12 2015Re-Kan!Masashi KudōOsamu KoshinakaKazuyoshi OzawaManga13 2016OnigiriTakashi YamamotoShingo ChibaVideo game13The Morose MononokeanAkira IwanagaShintarou NozakiManga13 2018Magical Girl OreItsuro KawasakiKazuyoshi OzawaShingo ChibaManga12Late Night! The Genius BakabonManga12 2019The Morose Mononokean IIItsoru KawasakiOsamu ShimizuShingo ChibaManga13Ultramarine MagmellHayato DateKazuyoshi OzawaManhua13 2020Oda Cinnamon NobunagaHideotoshi TakahashiShingo ChibaManga12 2020–2021Kingdom (season 3)(co-animated with Pierrot)Kenichi ImaizumiKazuya MonmaYasuyuki OgoshiManga26 2022Kingdom (season 4)(co-animated with Pierrot)Kenichi ImaizumiKazuya MonmaYasuyuki OgoshiManga26Shin Ikki TousenRion KujouShintarou NozakiManga3 2023My Clueless First FriendShigenori KageyamaOsamu ShimizuManga13 2024Kingdom (season 5)(co-animated with Pierrot)Kenichi ImaizumiYasuyuki OgoshiManga13TsumaShoNoriyuki AbeShintarou NozakiManga12 2025Kingdom (season 6)(co-animated with Pierrot)Kenichi ImaizumiYasuyuki OgoshiManga13
OVAs Year Title Director(s) Animation producer(s) Source 1991–1992The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor (eps. 7–12)Masahiro Ōtani (7–9)Naoto Hashimoto (10–12)Osamu ShimimzuManga6 1993Hiromitsu OotaYoshiharu SakashitaManga1 1994Butt Attack Punisher GirlOsamu ShimizuManga1Butt Attack Punisher Girl RHiroshi YoshidaOsamu ShimizuManga1 1994–1995Wild 7Nagateru KatouKeiji KusanoManga2 2008Naisho no TsubomiManga3 2008–2009Master of Martial HeartsKeiji KusanoOriginal work5 2010Beelzebub: Jump Festa 2010 SpecialOsamu ShimizuManga1
Gross outsource Series in which Studio Signpost, Pierrot Plus, or Studio Kikan served as a gross (full) outsourcing studio, either for singular episodes or across entire series. List of gross outsources Year Title Primary contractor(s) Director(s) Episode(s) Note(s) 2005Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A'sSeven ArcsKeizō Kusakawa4 2005–2009BleachPierrotNoriyuki Abe23 episodes 2006Himawari!ArmsShigenori Kageyama1–13 2007Himawari Too!!ArmsShigenori Kageyama1–13Deltora QuestOLMMitsuru Hongo34 2012Hiiro no Kakera: The Tamayori Princess Saga 2Studio DeenBob Shirahata9Road to Ninja: Naruto the MoviePierrotHayato DateFilm 2013Rozen Maiden: ZurückspulenStudio DeenMamoru Hatakeyama4, 8, 12I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a JobAsreadKinji Yoshimoto7Gatchaman CrowdsTatsunoko ProductionKenji Nakamura6Freezing VibrationA.C.G.TTakashi Watanabe9 2013–2014Gaist CrusherPierrotYoshihiro Takamoto1–51 2016Soul BusterPierrotKōbun ShizunoToshinori Watanabe1–12Tsukiuta the AnimationPierrotItsuro Kawasaki1–12 2017Convenience Store Boy FriendsPierrotHayato Date1–12Dynamic ChordPierrotShigenori Kageyama1–12 2018Tokyo Ghoul:rePierrotToshinori Watanabe1–24 2019Astra Lost in SpaceLercheMasaomi Andō4A Certain Scientific AcceleratorJ.C.StaffNobuharu Kamanaka7Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's StrongestAsreadKinji Yoshimoto2, 8, 11
Notable staff Representative staff Keiji Kusano (co-founder, president of Studio Kikan (1989~2009)) Yoshikazu Tochihira (co-founder and animation producer) Osamu Shimizu (Studio Kikan producer (1991~2009), president of Pierrot+ (2009~2019)) Ken Hagino (president of Studio Signpost (2019~present))
Animation producers Shintarou Nozaki (1994~present) Shingo Chiba (2007~present) Yuuya Kumagai (2013~2019) Kazuyoshi Ozawa (2013~present) Osamu Koshinaka (also a part of ARMS) Yasuyuki Ogoshi (also a part of ARMS)
Directors Keizō Kusakawa (1991~2002)
Animators Maya "Rin Shin" Suzuki (1991~1996; moved to ARMS; has been working with Signpost since ARMS' dissolution)
Notes
References
External links