 In the mid-1980s, while still working for Tatsunoko, Mashimo survived a severe alpine skiing accident.During his stay in an intensive care unit, he came up with an idea of a "hospital for animators", an animation studio whose primary goal would be fostering and self-actualization of talented artists rather than commercial success and money.Some time after that, he founded a small freelance studio called Mashimo Jimusho that was mainly producing in-between animation for larger companies.