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52-515: In 2002, Nakamoto won the Grand Prix in the Image Girl contest for Jewel Drop, a line of toy cosmetics produced by Bandai , subsequently starring in several Jewel Drop commercials. In 2006, Nakamoto was admitted to Actor's School Hiroshima (ASH). She studied with another future Sakura Gakuin member, Mariri Sugimoto  [ ja ] , with whom she had been acquainted before attending

104-612: A ¥ 9 billion loss from Bandai the same month, attributed to declining game sales and the poor reception of the Apple Pippin console. Bandai felt Sega was an appropriate company to merge with, as it possessed an American management model and several international offices, in addition to owning several successful franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog . Opposition arose within Bandai's employees and midlevel executives, as neither felt

156-762: A handful of stations in larger cities before the UHF band was opened for more affiliates, and the Fuji Network System itself was not yet configured. There are many NTV or TBS affiliates airing the anime where Fuji Sankei Group's TV stations have not yet opened, in most cases, they were the only commercial TV station in that area. For the English version, the producers, NBC Enterprises settled on "Astro Boy" after discussions between producer Fred Ladd and representatives from NBC. NBC Enterprises announced that it would begin syndicating 52 episodes on March 12, 1963, and

208-420: A line of build-it-yourself toy rolling ball "roller coasters" was introduced by Bandai in the 1980s. In May 1980, Makoto Yamashina, son of the founder, became president of Bandai. Naoharu Yamashina became chairman of the board. Upon his arrival, Makoto Yamashina completely changed the ageing staff of Bandai and replaced them with younger employees with the intent of not only bringing new ideas, but also revisiting

260-403: A mutual agreement to not renew their Power Rangers master toy license, effective Spring 2019, after which competing toy company Hasbro will inherit the license. This transition will not affect Bandai Japan's Super Sentai (the series from which Power Rangers takes footage) master toy license with Toei . A sister company, Bandai Spirits , was established on 15 February 2018. On 1 April 2018,

312-546: A part of its late night Adult Swim line-up. Only the first 52 episodes were aired. The Right Stuf International and Madman Entertainment have recently released the entire dubbed series on DVD in two box sets. The Right Stuf sets also include episodes 1, 20, 34, 56, and 193 in Japanese with English subtitles, a behind-the-scenes film, and an interview with Fred Ladd. For Right Stuf Inc. Home Entertainment's region 1 Ultra Collector's Edition DVD releases of dubbed episodes of

364-461: A small toy distribution division within the textile business. Yamashina assumed full control of the toy division on July 5, 1950, when it was spun-off as a separate company named Bandai-ya in Taitō, Tokyo . The name was derived from Japanese reading of Chinese phrase "bandai fueki" ( 万代不易 ), meaning "eternally unchanging" or "things that are eternal." Being assisted by Atsuko Tatsumi, publisher of

416-500: Is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo . Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California , and Richmond, London . Since 2005, Bandai is the toy production division of Bandai Namco Holdings , currently the world's second largest toy company measured by total revenue. Between 1981 and 2001, Bandai

468-557: Is a former member of the idol group Nogizaka46 . They studied together at the Actor's School Hiroshima (ASH) and sang together in a duo known as Tween. Her mother works with gemstones and occasionally gives gemstone accessories to the Babymetal members as a gift. Her father played in a rock band called Hooligans. Nakamoto tends to compare songs to colors. She is a fan of the metal band Sabaton . Bandai Bandai Co., Ltd.

520-854: Is among the largest and most profitable toy companies worldwide, alongside Hasbro and Mattel . The company focuses on creating unique and innovative products for its consumers, and to bend established conventions within the industry; its slogan, "Break out of the box" was made in reference to this. Bandai Spirits Co., Ltd. produces figurines and plastic models targeted towards older demographics, utilizing popular licenses such as Mobile Suit Gundam , One Piece , Pokémon , Kirby , Disney , Star Wars , Hatsune Miku , Dragon Ball , Demon Slayer , Kamen Rider , Super Sentai , Ultraman , and My Hero Academia . Bandai produces confectioneries, board games, and capsule toys through its subsidiary MegaHouse Corporation, which also releases toys and figurines under its MegaToy label. MegaHouse also holds

572-548: Is now under the management and a member of Bandai Namco Holdings (Bandai Namco Group). Following a group reorganisation in 2006, Bandai heads the group's Toys and Hobby strategic business unit (SBU). Bandai Entertainment announced it would cease its distribution operations in January 2012. Beez Entertainment is no longer releasing new anime in Europe. In February 2018, Saban Brands and Bandai's US division jointly announced

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624-466: Is the first popular animated Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became familiar worldwide as anime . It originated as a manga of the same name in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka , revered in Japan as the "God of Manga". It lasted for four seasons, with a total of 193 episodes, the final episode presented on a Saturday, New Year's Eve 1966. At its height it was watched by 40% of

676-667: Is universally accepted as the rarest licensed NES game released in North America. A shrink-wrapped copy of the game sold for $ 41,270 on eBay in February 2010. The sister game to Stadium Events , called Athletic World was initially released with a label that indicated compatibility with the Family Fun Fitness mat, but was later re-released with an updated label that mentions the Power Pad instead. Stadium Events

728-642: The Weekly Toy News in Tokyo, Bandai-ya distributed and imported celluloid dolls, metallic toys, and rubber swimming rings. The company released its first original product the same year, the Rhythm Ball, a beach ball with a bell inside that suffered from numerous quality defects. Bandai-ya improved the quality of its products as it continued designing new kinds of toys, such as inexpensive metal cars and aircraft models. Several of these were exported to

780-454: The 1968 New York International Innovative productions Exhibition. An additional manufacturing plant was acquired in late 1969 to further increase the production of toys. Bandai continued its expansion throughout the 1970s. The company established a joint venture with model car manufacturer Tonka in 1970 and established Tonka Japan K.K., as part of Bandai's continuing mission in establishing ties with foreign companies. A subsidiary named Popy

832-406: The English version of the original comic, said that the names were "cleverly" changed for American tastes. In one Astro Boy manga story Tezuka expressed frustration towards the restrictions passed by American television networks on the adaptation of the newly titled Astro Boy television series. The U.S. version did not air an episode showing a dog being operated on, as the producers believed it

884-591: The Japanese population who had access to a TV. In 1964, there was a feature-length animated movie called Mighty Atom, the Brave in Space ( 鉄腕アトム 宇宙の勇者 , Tetsuwan Atomu: Uchū no yūsha ) released in Japan. It was compiled from three selected episodes from the series—episodes 46 ("The Robot Spaceship"), 56 ("Earth Defense Army") and 71 ("The Last Day of Earth"), respectively. The latter two were filmed and produced in color. Between 1963 and 1965, 104 episodes were aired in

936-509: The Ministry of Science and rarely appears again. He harnesses a complicated relationship towards robotics, mainly believing that they should not be treated as humans but as slaves. In the circus, where robotics exist but are a lot more primitively made than Tobio (now named Atom), they are forced to participate in fighting tournaments similar to gladiator battles. However, Atom wishes to be peaceful. Eventually, he runs into Professor Ochanomizu,

988-565: The NES. Shortly after its release, Nintendo purchased the rights to the FFF mat in North America, replacing it with their own redesign, the Power Pad . In order to maintain branding continuity, Stadium Events was pulled from shelves after a short period of availability at Woolworth's stores. Because the game was pulled from shelves and discontinued before many copies were sold, Bandai's Stadium Events

1040-550: The United Kingdom (Bandai UK), Indonesia (Bandai Namco Indonesia), France, Spain, Taiwan, and mainland China. In the past, it owned offices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Germany, and East Asia, which acted as distributors for Bandai products in their respective countries. Bandai is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings and heads its parent's Toy and Hobby Content Strategic Business Unit (CSBU). Bandai

1092-489: The United States and elsewhere as a result of their popularity, being among the earliest "Made In Japan" products exported outside the country. As its revenue increased, Bandai-ya began expanding its operations. A new shipping and warehouse facility was constructed in spring 1953, followed by research and development (R&D) and product inspection departments later that year. A manufacturing facility, Waraku Works,

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1144-429: The United States, adapted to the English language. After enjoying success both in Japan and abroad as the first anime to be broadcast overseas, Astro Boy was remade in the 1980s , known in Japan under the name New Mighty Atom , and again in 2003, known in Japan as Astro Boy: Mighty Atom . In English, all 3 series are simply called Astro Boy . The first Astro Boy anime is set in the year 2013, rather than 2003 of

1196-518: The anime Astro Boy . In 1947, Naoharu Yamashina began working for a Kanazawa -based textile wholesaler. The eldest son to a rice retailer, Yamashina had studied business in high school and was enlisted in World War II , where an impact from a grenade shrapnel blinded him in his right eye. The textile business, ran by his wife's brother, was struggling financially as a result of Japan's post-war economy. He made little money working, and as he

1248-403: The company transitioned from working on original products to funding the creation of new television series and acting as a sponsor during their run, with advertisements that showed off Bandai's tie-in action figures and costumes. A similar blockbuster hit was found with action figures in the likenesses of Ultraman characters, largely due to the popularity of the television series at the time;

1300-575: The company's family-friendly work ethic meshed well with Sega's top-down corporate culture. As a result, Bandai called off the merge in May before its finalization in October. President Makoto Yamashina took responsibility for its failure, publicly apologizing and resigning his position within the company. Bandai instead agreed to a business alliance with Sega. After its merger with game developer and amusement facility operator Namco in 2005, Bandai Company

1352-434: The creation of several subsidiaries; Tonka Japan in 1970 following a joint venture with Tonka , Bandai Models being established in 1971, and finally Popy , who specialized in the manufacturing of toy characters. Although not their most profitable range, Bandai's 1/48 scale AFV models dominated that segment of the model kit market. Bandai America Inc. was established as local US sales/marketing operation in 1978. Spacewarp ,

1404-445: The division of Bandai that dealt with products for adult customers (including figures and plastic models) as well as Banpresto 's prizes business were transferred over to Bandai Spirits. (incomplete list) Bandai has developed kits of the following Star Wars vehicles and figures: Bandai's headquarters is in Taitō, Tokyo , Japan . The company owns offices in the United States (Bandai America), Mexico (Bandai Corporación Mexico),

1456-605: The early 1990s, Bandai published games for Nintendo in the United Kingdom , including Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . In January 1997, Bandai announced it would merge its operations with Japanese video game developer Sega . The merger, a $ 1 billion stock swap where Sega would acquire Bandai and dissolve the company, would have established a new entertainment conglomerate named Sega Bandai Ltd. with an estimated $ 6 billion in revenue. The announcement followed

1508-595: The figures were later released in North America to little fanfare. In July 1966, it released Crazy Foam, a line of bubble blowing canisters that sold 2.4 million units in three months, thanks to the backing of an extensive marketing campaign. Bandai's other products included the Thunderbird electrical vehicles, the Water Motor bath toys, and the Naughty Flipper, the last of which received a gold medal at

1560-563: The first episode premiered on September 7, 1963, in the United States. Following the series' success, NBC Enterprises announced it would syndicate an additional 52 episodes on September 16, 1964. The last of these episodes first aired on June 4, 1965, and repeats of the series continued until it was withdrawn by NBC in the early 1970s. A total of 104 episodes were adapted from the first 124 Japanese episodes and changed from their original order. In addition to this, characters' names were adjusted for American audiences. Frederik L. Schodt , who created

1612-717: The first third-party developers for the Nintendo Family Computer in 1985. Among its first titles was Tag Team Match: MUSCLE , a video game adaptation of the Kinnikuman manga, which sold over one million copies. Bandai also produced the Family Trainer Pad, released outside Japan as the Power Pad , which also performed well commercially. A series of games was released both in the US and in Japan, including Athletic World and Stadium Events for

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1664-399: The highest ratings of any show at the time. However, its popularity eventually declined to the point where only 104 of the 193 original episodes were released in the U.S., the reasons being mainly that it was still in black and white when most television sets were switching to color and many of the storylines were considered too violent and depressing for the mainstream audience. It was named

1716-577: The license for the Rubik's Cube in Japan, and has created multiple variations of the toy specifically for Japanese audiences. Manga series, television shows, and character-themed products are created by the Plex subsidiary. Astro Boy (1963 TV series) Astro Boy ( Japanese : 鉄腕アトム , Hepburn : Tetsuwan Atomu , "Mighty Atom", lit. "Iron Arm Atom") is a Japanese television series that premiered on Fuji TV on New Year's Day, 1963 (a Tuesday), and

1768-449: The main themes of much of the manga he had created, specifically Astro Boy, were that of anti-war, the preservation of nature, and discrimination, which had emanated from his childhood experiencing the devastation of World War II. Since Mighty Atom ended up being re-written more than ten times, either due to limits on size or duration in the magazines Astro Boy was published in, instead of just simply cutting or scaling down certain parts of

1820-431: The man who succeeded Dr. Tenma at the head of the Ministry of Science; Ochanomizu is treated much differently than Tenma, being regarded as a savior figure by the robots for his affection and kindness towards them that Tenma did not possess. After realising how advanced Atom is compared to the rest of the other robotics, he sets him free from the circus, becoming a surrogate father figure to him. According to Osamu Tezuka,

1872-406: The manga, Tezuka would completely redraw certain panels and sections of the manga to fit and flow better with the rest of the story. This means that it is hard to define what the most original, authentic version of the story is. Also, when the manga was to be made into the anime, further revisions had to be made, including a simplifying of the story to suit the less sophisticated, wider target audience

1924-414: The original 1963 series, the original English masters were destroyed in 1975, due to Tezuka's Mushi Productions filing for bankruptcy. Fortunately, Right Stuf found the best surviving voice track elements and combining them with picture quality from the original Japanese negatives. Astro Boy was initially very popular, being the first Japanese animated television series to make it to U.S. televisions, with

1976-484: The original manga. Dr. Tenma, a scientist working in the Ministry of Science's Department of Precision Machinery, loses his only son, Tobio, in a car-crash. Out of grief, he orders the production of a "super-robotic" in Tobio's likeness. Though the robotic is the most advanced anyone has ever seen, he is not pleased with it because it does not grow, and in a fit of rage he sells it to the circus. After this, he loses his job at

2028-432: The school. She also had a rivalry with Riho Sayashi , future Morning Musume member and Babymetal support dancer, as they were considered the school's top two students at the time. In 2007, she was signed to the talent agency Amuse, Inc. after becoming a runner-up in the 2nd Star Kids Audition held by the company. In 2008, her agency formed a trio called Karen Girl's , and Nakamoto was selected to be in it. The group

2080-424: The show was aiming to appeal to. After a while, since the television company that made the series needed an output of fifty-two episodes a year, the anime quickly outpaced the manga, meaning Tezuka also had to create many original stories for the anime series that would not appear in the manga, for the purpose of filling in the gaps. The anime was produced by Fuji TV . At that time of production, Fuji TV only had

2132-496: The spring of 2013, Nakamoto graduated from junior high school and therefore had to "graduate" from Sakura Gakuin (which limits girls up to the junior high age). Her graduation concert was held on March 31 at the Tokyo International Forum . Nakamoto now performs with Babymetal , which had been spun off from Sakura Gakuin following her graduation, under the stage name Su-metal. Babymetal's self-titled debut album

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2184-454: The strategy of the group. The new president took a different commercial approach by selling directly to retailers rather than going through intermediates. In July 1980, Bandai launched the 'Gundam Plastic Model' based on the animated series Mobile Suit Gundam which gave birth to the Gunpla range of scale model kits. In November, the subsidiary Celent was created. Bandai became one of

2236-425: Was a manufacturer of video game consoles . Bandai was founded by World War II veteran Naoharu Yamashina as Bandai-Ya on July 5, 1950, as the corporate spin-off of a textile wholesaler. The company began as a distributor of metallic toys and rubber swimming rings, before moving to metal cars and aircraft models. It was renamed Bandai Co., Ltd. in 1961 and achieved considerable success with its action figures based on

2288-413: Was formed a year later that specialized in the manufacturing of toys based on popular children's characters. Though Bandai became a major player in the Japanese toy industry, competing with companies such as Takara and Epoch , executives believed the company needed to further spread out into international territories to help increase worldwide brand awareness. Bandai continued to expand in the 1970s with

2340-407: Was having a difficult time finding ways to allow the business to pick up, a neighbor told him about the potential of the toy industry and the financial success that could be generated from it. Intrigued, Yamashina convinced his wife to travel to Tokyo with him to begin studying the potentially lucrative market for toys. With little money or exposure in the field, the two worked long hours to establish

2392-440: Was introduced as a little sister of the girl trio Perfume and sang several theme songs for the anime Zettai Karen Children , disbanding on March 31, 2009, after the anime ended its run. In March 2009, Nakamoto was cast in a musical stage adaptation of the 1972 Japanese novel The Adventurers: Gamba and His Fifteen Companions ( 冒険者たち ガンバと15ひきの仲間 , Bōkenshatachi: Ganba to 15-hiki no Nakama ) by Atsuo Saitō. The Adventurers

2444-690: Was not released by name again, but instead was slightly modified and relaunched as the Power Pad pack-in game, World Class Track Meet . Since the 1980s, Bandai has become the leading toy company of Japan, and to this day, has the main toy licenses in Japan to popular properties including Daikaiju , Ultraman , Super Robot , Kamen Rider , the Super Sentai and Power Rangers series (which it took part in creating), Gundam , and many others. In February 1989, it acquired arcade game developer Coreland and reorganized it into Banpresto , which became Bandai's coin-operated entertainment division. In

2496-463: Was opened in early 1955 to increase the production of toys. In the same year, it implemented the toy industry's first quality assurance system; the first toy approved by this was the 1956 Toyopet Crown model car, which was also Bandai-ya's first product with a guarantee. The growing company worked on creating a friendly corporate image for itself, introducing a new logo, slogan, and television commercials that emphasized its quality products. Bandai-ya

2548-543: Was performed again in June 2010, with Nakamoto playing the role of Shioji. In April 2010, Nakamoto became a founding member of Sakura Gakuin , an idol group created by her agency. The group members also formed sub-units called "clubs", each of which released their own songs as a unit. Nakamoto became a member of the "Heavy Music Club" ( 重音部 , Jūonbu ) , which released songs under the name Babymetal , and included fellow Sakura Gakuin members Yui Mizuno and Moa Kikuchi . In

2600-488: Was released in February 2014. Nakamoto ranked ninth place on the Oricon News ranking for "2018 Rankings for Anticipation of New Adults", commenting on her "overwhelming singing ability". In October 2022, with the release of the single "Divine Attack (Shingeki)", Nakamoto was credited for the first time as a lyricist on a song by Babymetal. Nakamoto is the youngest of three sisters. Her second sister, Himeka Nakamoto ,

2652-552: Was renamed Bandai in July 1961, the same time it started spreading its operations overseas, beginning with the establishment of Bandai Overseas Supply in New York City. While its toys often sold well in Japan, Bandai didn't achieve considerable success until 1963, when it began producing action figures based on the anime Astro Boy . The toy line's success prompted Bandai to reorganize and rethink its business strategies, as

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2704-536: Was too cruel and grotesque to show. Tezuka criticized this as hypocrisy, as non-Japanese eat and kill animals in manners he described as "grotesque". Tezuka added that many white people in Africa shot animals for sport, yet people in England spread false rumors about Japanese people eating dogs. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, Cartoon Network broadcast and webcast NBC's syndicated edition of the original 1960s episodes as

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