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48-492: Actas was founded on July 6, 1998, by Hiroshi Katō and Jūtarō Ōba, who previously worked for Tatsunoko Production and Ashi Productions . Following Katō's death in 2009, Shunpei Maruyama was named the new company president. The studio also had a subsidiary animation studio Karaku, but Actas merged it with the main company in July 2017. In September 2017, Bandai Visual has announced that it had acquired Actas. In August 2023, it

96-450: A deal to license and release some of Tatsunoko's titles, including Gatchaman and Casshan . In 2014, Nippon Television acquired 54.3% of the outstanding shares held by Takara Tomy and made Tatsunoko Production a subsidiary. Takara Tomy continued to hold a 20% stake in the company and maintained the partnership. In 2019, Tatsunoko founded a new label, Bakken Record. In the same year, four people associated with Tatsunoko received

144-434: A lawsuit filed by them over character and mecha design. As a result of the trial, it was decided that Tatsunoko Productions would retain ownership of the film of the work, but that the designs would be shared by Bigwest and Studio Nue. Meanwhile, overseas, Harmony Gold USA, which had obtained the license, adapted and broadcast several Tatsunoko works as a single epic Robotech series depicting different eras and generations in

192-502: A manga artist. Nowadays there are many self-published manga artists on the internet posting their work on websites. It is possible for these manga artists' works to be officially picked up by a publishing company, such as Shueisha . For example, One-Punch Man started off as a webcomic before Shueisha began publishing a manga remake on Tonari No Young Jump. While Japan does have a thriving independent comic market for amateur and semi-professional artists, creating manga professionally

240-499: A nickname for Tatsuo) and " sea dragon ", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko Production was established in 1962 and is engaged in the planning and production of anime films and television series , as well as character licensing. The company produced many hit anime series from the 1960s through the 1980s, and holds numerous original rights and character copyrights for its original works in Japan and abroad. The company

288-740: A three-month period, with Tatsunoko staff, including Tatsuo and Sasagawa, also able to participate in training. However, the negotiations broke down due to copyright issues, so Tatsunoko decided to produce an original work on its own. They bought a plot of land in Kokubunji , cleared out a wooded area, and built a prefab house , which became an improvised studio. As for animators, Tatsunoko had three manga artists, Tatsuo, Kuri, and Sasagawa, and about 10 assistants to Tatsuo, so they were confident that they could manage, but most of them refused, saying that they wanted to be manga artists, not to make animation. Having no choice, Tatsunoko placed an advertisement in

336-496: A wide range of styles. The studio was founded in October 1962 by mangaka and anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida , and his two younger brothers, Kenji , who managed Tatsuo, and Toyoharu (better known by his pen name " Ippei Kuri "), a manga artist , at Tatsuo's own house. It initially began as a production company specializing in manga to manage the copyrights of Tatsuo Yoshida's manga and his assistants. However, at that time,

384-442: A writer creating a story which is then handed over to a manga artist for drawing. The Japanese term for such a writer of comics is gensakusha ( 原作者 ) . In 2009, 5,300 mangaka were honored with a title published in bound volume in Japan. In a 2010 message Japan Cartoonists Association chairman, Takashi Yanase says: "[w]hile Japan is often said to be world's cartoon kingdom, not a few people will surely be wondering what exactly

432-514: A writer, as any conversation must fit within the physical constraints imposed by the art. Takeshi Obata of Death Note , Tetsuo Hara of Fist of the North Star , and Ryoichi Ikegami of Sanctuary are all successful manga artists who have worked with writers through the majority of their careers. Most manga artists have assistants who help them complete their work in a clean and timely manner. The duties of assistants vary widely, as

480-453: Is considered exceptional. Assistants are commonly used for inking , lettering , and shading , though the predominance of black and white art in manga means that unlike in the western comic industry, a studio rarely employs a colorist . Some manga artists only do the sketchwork for their art, and have their numerous assistants fill in all of the details, but it is more common for assistants to deal with background and cameo art, leaving

528-460: Is one of Japan's leading anime studios in terms of the breadth and richness of its content, ranging from hard action heroes to comedies , science fiction , anthropomorphic animals , and domestic dramas . Since the first work, Space Ace , they have produced many works such as Speed Racer , Hakushon Daimaō , Science Ninja Team Gatchaman , and the Time Bokan series , supporting

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576-456: Is rarely a solo effort. Manga artists must work with an assortment of others to get their work completed, published, and into the hands of readers. Most professionally published manga artists work with an editor, who is considered the boss of the manga artist and supervises series production. The editor gives advice on the layout and art of the manga, vets the story direction and pace, ensures that deadlines are met, and generally makes sure that

624-465: The 1990s, Tatsunoko has brought back former key staff members, including Hiroshi Sasagawa, who had left the company, and has been producing mainly remakes of older works. On June 3, 2005, major toy manufacturer Takara (now Takara Tomy ) acquired 88% of Tatsunoko's stock from the Yoshida family, making the company a subsidiary. Accordingly, Chairman Kenji Yoshida and President Ippei Kuri resigned, and

672-667: The Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Award: Kunio Okawara , Akiyoshi Sakai, Hisayuki Toriumi , and Tsuneo Ninomiya. Mangaka A manga artist , also known as a mangaka ( Japanese : 漫画家 ), is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga . As of 2013, about 4,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan, plus thousands of part timers and wannabes. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering

720-502: The Japanese mean by the term ' cartoon '. Unfortunately, there is no hard-and-fast definition that can be offered, since the members of this association lay claim to an extensive variety of works." Traditionally in order to become a manga artist, one would need to send their work into a competition held by various publishing companies. If they won their work would be published and they would be assigned an editor and officially "debut" as

768-453: The broadcast of Astro Boy , Japan's first domestically produced anime television series produced by Osamu Tezuka 's Mushi Production , had just begun, and the manga artist community was abuzz. Tatsuo Yoshida became interested in anime production after hearing from Hiroshi Sasagawa , a manga artist who had worked as Tezuka's assistant, and Tatsunoko set out to produce anime. Tatsuo saw that more and more people were buying televisions in

816-498: The dawn of Japanese animation. Although the company later began producing works set in Japan, it has basically aimed from its inception to produce works that can be used anywhere in the world in a stateless manner. In the genealogy of animation studios in the history of Japanese animation, Tatsunoko is known as the studio that created many derivative studios along with Toei Doga (currently Toei Animation ), Mushi Production , and Tokyo Movie (currently TMS Entertainment ). In

864-414: The designs for anime adaptations, and similar products, though this duty may also fall to the manga artist or an agent. An example of a manga artist and their editor is Akira Toriyama and Kazuhiko Torishima . A manga artist may both write and illustrate a series of their own creation, or may work together with an author. The manga artist typically has a strong influence on dialog even when paired with

912-482: The dialogue to take advantage of the popularity of the then hit Star Wars and changing the setting of the work to outer space , and also changed the title to Battle of the Planets . The series was broadcast in the U.S. and around the world, and he profited considerably from its merchandising. However, Tatsunoko did not profit from the series because they gave him the overseas copyrights. In 1975, Time Bokan ,

960-471: The early 1960s and predicted that they would demand higher quality anime program in the future, so he decided to provide it to them. Just around that time, Toei Doga, having heard of Tatsuo's hopes, invited Tatsunoko to produce an anime TV series. It was a good deal for Tatsunoko, which was entrusted with the original story, script, and direction, while Toei worked on the subsequent inbetweening , finishing, cinematography , etc., and Toei trained animators over

1008-774: The entire Yoshida family, including executives, left the management of Tatsunoko Production. In the same year, Tatsuo Yoshida was awarded the Special Achievement Award as one of the 20 People Who Made Japanese Animation at the Tokyo Anime Award held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair . In 2010, Production I.G. acquired 11.2% of Tatsunoko's outstanding shares. Additionally, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, president of Production I.G and IG Port , becomes non-executive director of Tatsunoko Production. In 2013, Horipro acquired 13.5% of

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1056-444: The first of the Time Bokan series , began broadcasting. This series, which added an element of comedy to the action that had already become Tatsunoko's signature, lasted for eight years and became a new Tatsunoko masterpiece. At that time, Hiroshi Sasagawa, who excelled at comedies, and Hisayuki Toriumi , who had a hard, serious style, supported Tatsunoko's heyday in the 1970s as the two signatures. Also during this period, Tatsunoko

1104-447: The industry as a primary creator. More rarely a manga artist breaks into the industry directly, without previously being an assistant. For example, Naoko Takeuchi , author of Sailor Moon , won a Kodansha Manga Award contest and manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka was first published while studying an unrelated degree, without working as an assistant. A manga artist will rise to prominence through recognition of their ability when they spark

1152-418: The interest of institutions, individuals or a demographic of manga consumers. For example, there are contests which prospective manga artist may enter, sponsored by manga editors and publishers. This can also be accomplished through producing a one-shot . While sometimes a stand-alone manga, with enough positive reception it can be serialized in a weekly, monthly, or quarterly format. They are also recognized for

1200-539: The manga artist to focus on drawing and inking the characters. Assistants may also be employed to perform specialized artistic tasks. Go Nagai , for instance, at one time employed a specialist to draw helicopters and other military vehicles, Kaoru Mori employed a historical consultant for Emma , and series that incorporates photorealistic architecture , animals, computer-rendered imagery , or other technically demanding effects may employ or contract separate artists trained in those techniques. Assistants almost never help

1248-586: The manga artist with the plot of their manga, beyond being a sounding board for ideas. A manga artist's assistants might be listed in the credits for a manga tankōbon , and short interviews with or illustrations by assistant artists are a common form of bonus material in these collections, but they typically do not receive individual credits. Most manga artists started out as assistants, such as Miwa Ueda to Naoko Takeuchi, Leiji Matsumoto to Osamu Tezuka, Kaoru Shintani to Leiji Matsumoto, and Eiichiro Oda , Hiroyuki Takei and Mikio Itō to Nobuhiro Watsuki , who

1296-425: The manga stays up to company standards. Naoki Urasawa compared the relationship between a manga artist and their editor to that of the one between a music producer and a recording artist, specifically citing George Martin 's relationship with The Beatles . The editor may also function as a brand manager and publicist for a series. When a manga is the basis for a media franchise , the editor may also supervise

1344-548: The newspaper looking for animators and trained 50 amateurs from all over the country based on their training experience at Toei. In addition, art director Mitsuki Nakamura from Toei Doga and scriptwriter Jinzō Toriumi from Nikkatsu transferred to the company to provide immediate assistance. Tatsunoko didn't have any experience yet, so they produced a 15-minute pilot and pitched it to TV stations. In 1965, Tatsunoko's first TV anime series, Space Ace , began broadcasting. The series became popular and successful. Tatsuo

1392-437: The number of manga they run at any given moment. The original Japanese word can be broken down into two parts: manga ( 漫画 ) and ka ( 家 ) . The manga corresponds to the medium of art the artist uses: comics , or Japanese comics, depending on how the term is used inside or outside Japan . The - ka (家) suffix implies a degree of expertise and traditional authorship. For example, this term would not be applied to

1440-536: The past, Tatsunoko had a production system in which almost all processes, from planning to scriptwriting, drawing, cinematography , and editing, were completed in-house. The company continued to use this system for a long time after Toei Doga and Mushi Production, which had a similar production system, became unsustainable due to streamlining and bankruptcy. Initially, Founder Tatsuo Yoshida tried to establish his studio's own style with realistic drawings that accurately depicted muscles and skeletons. At that time, it

1488-481: The prime contractor, placing orders with Artland and its own subsidiary, Anime Friend. Later, however, Bigwest produced a sequel, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again , without Tatsunoko or Studio Nue, and in response, Tatsunoko signed a contract with Harmony Gold USA without the consent of Bigwest and Nue, resulting in a dispute over intellectual property rights. In Japan, Tatsunoko sued Bigwest and Studio Nue over copyright and won, but conversely lost

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1536-573: The production costs, so Tatsunoko decided that the only way to complete the series was to sell it in the United States. They chose car racing as their theme because their target the U.S. was a car society. However, due to sloppy work by the Japanese intermediaries, Tatsunoko profited little from its worldwide success and received no tribute beyond a mention in the credits of a later live-action film . In 1972, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman began broadcasting. Tatsuo demanded thorough realism in

1584-490: The release of a live-action Robotech movie in Japan. In addition, an exclusive worldwide license outside of Japan to use Macross characters and mecha in the Robotech series approved by Tatsunoko for Harmony Gold through 2021 has been ratified. In 1987, Kenji Yoshida retired from Tatsunoko Production, and Ippei Kuri became the third president. Kenji established a new production company, Yū Entertainment. In December of

1632-524: The same picture, and were difficult for other animators to imitate. Most animators refused to participate in the production, and the company's schedule was on the verge of collapse. However, the company was able to get through the busy season when a comedy with a simple design happened to enter the production rotation. This allowed the company to learn how to run a studio that alternated between serious action animation with detailed drawings and comedy animation with simple drawings using deformation, resulting in

1680-580: The same world. Bigwest and Harmony Gold had different claims over the rights to the Macross and Robotech series for many years, and Macross was not developed for business worldwide and Robotech in Japan. However, in 2021, the two companies announced an agreement regarding worldwide rights to the Macross and Robotech series from that point forward. This will allow the Macross series to be developed globally and confirms that Bigwest does not object to

1728-629: The same year, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa , together with the Tatsunoko Production Branch Office, which consisted mainly of staff who had participated in Zillion , became independent and established IG Tatsunoko Ltd. (now Production I.G ). In 1990, Tatsunoko Anime Technology Research Institute led by Koji Sugii became independent and participated in the establishment of Animation 21. In 1995, Kenji Yoshida returned to Tatsunoko Production and became its first chairman. Since

1776-469: The scene where the car spins, he rented a driving school and had the driver actually demonstrate the spin with the car, and had the animators draw the scene without deforming it by referring to the demonstration. It was so well received that it became the studio's origin and led to subsequent realistic, hard-action works. However, Yoshida's drawings, with their many lines, precision, and sharpness, were unsuitable for animation, which required many drawings of

1824-473: The shares, making it the second largest shareholder (at the time) after Takara Tomy. In the same year, the company changed its name from Tatsunoko Purodakushon ( 竜の子プロダクション ) (written in kanji ) to Tatsunoko Puro ( タツノコプロ ) (written in katakana ). At the same time, the head office was relocated from Kokubunji City, Tokyo to Musashino City , and the dispersed corporate functions were consolidated. At Anime Expo 2013, Sentai Filmworks announced

1872-472: The term incorporates all people working for a manga artist's art studio , but is most commonly used to refer to secondary artists. The number of assistant artists also varies widely between manga artists, but is typically at least three. Other manga artists instead form work groups known as "circles" but do not use additional assistants, such as the creative team CLAMP . A few manga artists have no assistants at all, and prefer to do everything themselves, but this

1920-404: The works he led. Although the results were excellent, the animators were reluctant to take on the next series because of the increased number of animation cells and the time and effort required to draw them. Tatsunoko therefore recruited and trained new animators and introduced them to this series. The series was a huge hit and related merchandise sold well. Thanks to the copyright income, Tatsunoko

1968-514: Was Tatsunoko's first full-color work. At the time, color TVs were not widely available in Japan, and most households watched TV programs in black and white, but Tatsunoko dared to produce this series in full color, assuming from the start that it would be broadcast in the United States. This was due to Tatsuo's desire to move pictures like American comic books and create American-style animation, as well as for financial reasons. The funds from commercial TV stations and sponsors were not enough to cover

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2016-411: Was a project by Studio Nue that was adopted by Bigwest, an advertising agency , which secured broadcast slots for sponsor companies and commercial TV stations. However, Nue was not capable of producing animation, so Artland , which was headed by director Noboru Ishiguro , was assigned to produce the series. However, Artland, a subcontractor, was deemed insufficiently capable, and Tatsunoko took over as

2064-457: Was announced that former president and animation producer Shunpei Maruyama had died. Tatsunoko Production Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. ( 株式会社タツノコプロ , Kabushiki gaisha Tatsunoko Puro ) and often shortened to Tatsunoko Pro ( タツノコプロ , Tatsunoko Puro ) , is a Japanese animation and li company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is

2112-511: Was common knowledge that animation was to be abbreviated or deformed, and that pictures were to be simplified as much as possible to show movement. Even Mushi Production and Disney used to draw the car so that when it starts, it first contracts like rubber and then jumps out like a bullet due to the recoil, and when it stops, it contracts once due to braking and then extends and returns to its original state. However, Tatsuo Yoshida insisted on realistic animation and produced Mach GoGoGo . For

2160-454: Was finally on track to recoup its production costs and make a profit. Therefore, from then on, Tatsunoko began to actively introduce mecha in its works for toy manufacturers . Outside of Japan, independent TV program packager Sandy Frank has acquired the rights to syndicate Gatchaman worldwide except in Asia. He altered the series by cutting action scenes to meet U.S. broadcast codes, changing

2208-467: Was on the verge of collapse due to busyness and lack of funds, and there was a steady flow of personnel out of the company, particularly members from the pioneering period. In 1978, Tatsunoko Anime Technology Research Institute, an animator training institution, was established. In 1982, Tatsunoko produced Super Dimension Fortress Macross , the first in the Super Dimension series. Macross

2256-408: Was so pleased with the success that he immediately began work on the next series. In 1967, Tatsunoko's second TV animation series Mach GoGoGo began broadcasting. Not only was it repeatedly reran in Japan, but it was also exported overseas. In the U.S. in particular, it was broadcast under the title Speed Racer and became very popular, paving the way for syndication around the world. This

2304-411: Was trying to bring up university-educated directors in-house, following the example of Toei Doga, instead of hiring directors from outside the company. Those were Mizuho Nishikubo, Kōichi Mashimo , Hidehito Ueda, and Mamoru Oshii . On September 5, 1977, Tatsuo Yoshida passed away from liver cancer . Kenji Yoshida was appointed as the second president. Around that time, Tatsunoko's production site

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