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35-560: Ultra Q can be described as a half-hour Toho kaiju series. Executive producer Eiji Tsuburaya intended this series to be more like the American television series The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits , featuring a variety of strange and unusual stories. After a survey, the TBS network convinced Tsuburaya Productions to add more giant monsters, as children were intensely interested in them, since Godzilla (Gojira) and Gamera were all

70-570: A controlling 67.4% stake in TIA, making the studio a subsidiary, and ultimately renaming the studio into Toho Animation Studios. In December 2023, Toho announced their intent to acquire a 25% stake in Fifth Season for $ 225 million via Toho International. Following the completion of the deal, Fifth Season will be valued at $ 900 million; CJ ENM will remain the majority shareholder in the company, with former owner Endeavor also continuing to serve as

105-433: A custom, swirling title-card. The series itself was dubbed in its 28-episode entirety. At some point, CBS Films backed out of licensing the series, and it was picked up, along with Ultraman , by United Artists Television , producers of The Outer Limits . Subsequently, United Artists Television hired Titra Studios to dub Ultraman . Ultraman was syndicated, however, Ultra Q was not, due to being in black-and-white at

140-643: A series of games based on Godzilla and a 1992 game called Serizawa Nobuo no Birdy Try . It also published games such as Super Aleste ( Space Megaforce in North America). They even worked with Bandai on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , released in Japan in 1988 and in the United States in 1989. dates as company employee The Toho Cinderella Audition is an audition to discover new young actresses, first held in 1984 and irregularly held since then. It

175-470: A small, mechanical Rodan prop was stripped down and rebuilt as the bird monsters Litra and Largeus, respectively. In 1967, Ultra Q was licensed from Tsuburaya and TBS by CBS Films , producers of The Twilight Zone . For the task of dubbing, CBS hired Film House in Toronto, Canada, what is now DeLuxe Toronto. Tsuburaya provided translated scripts, plus English language opening and closing credits, and

210-402: A strategic shareholder. CEOs Graham Taylor and Chris Rice stated that this investment would empower the company to continue the expansion of its premium slate and create opportunities for collaboration between Fifth Season, Toho and CJ ENM to produce global content as well as content produced in Japan. Following the success of Godzilla Minus One (2023) as their first self-distributed film in

245-462: A strategy to increase content, platform, real-estate, beat JPY50 billion profits, and increase character businesses on Toho intellectual properties such as Godzilla. Hiroyasu Matsuoka was named the representative director of the US subsidiary. In 2020, Toho acquired a 34.8% stake in the animation studio TIA, with ILCA and Anima each retaining a 32.6% stake. In 2022, Toho acquired Anima's 32.6% stake to take

280-452: A time when most television was switching to color. After Ultraman finished its run in syndication, audio and film masters, and other materials, for both series went into storage, eventually finding their way into the MGM vaults, after MGM acquired United Artists in 1980. Initially it was commonly believed, even by Tsuburaya Productions, that only one episode, Episode 3 ("Gift From Outer Space"),

315-552: Is a 2013 Japanese television drama broadcast by WOWOW and produced by Tsuburaya Productions as the 24th entry in the Ultra Series . It is billed as a second season of the 1966 drama Ultra Q , which began the Ultra Series. It premiered on January 12, 2013. On July 25, 2017, Toku announced that the series would air in the United States on its channel with English subtitles beginning August 15, 2017. The series

350-420: Is a Japanese anime production label founded in 2012, and owned by Toho Co., Ltd., which is one of the top three film distributors in Japan. Toho has produced revivals and original works. Years shown refer to when they staged each piece. In more recent years and for a period, they have produced video games . One of their first video games was the 1990 NES game titled Circus Caper . Later, they followed with

385-593: Is considered one of Japan's "Big Three Actress Auditions", along with Oscar Promotion 's National Bishōjo Contest and Horipro 's Talent Scout Caravan. Toho's headquarters, the Toho Hibiya Building ( 東宝日比谷ビル , Tōhō Hibiya Biru ) , are in Yūrakuchō , Chiyoda, Tokyo . The company moved into its current headquarters in April 2005. Neo Ultra Q Neo Ultra Q ( ネオ・ウルトラQ , Neo Urutora Kyū )

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420-573: Is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo , and is one of the core companies of the Osaka -based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group . Toho is best known for producing and distributing many of Ishirō Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya 's kaiju and tokusatsu films as well as the films of Akira Kurosawa and the anime of Studio Ghibli , CoMix Wave Films , TMS Entertainment , and OLM, Inc. The company has released

455-627: Is the largest shareholder (7.96%) of Fuji Media Holdings Inc. Toho is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), is the largest of Japan's Big Four film studios, and is the only film studio that is a component of the Nikkei 225 index. For filmography, see List of Toho films . Toho was created by the founder of the Hankyu Railway , Ichizō Kobayashi , in 1932 as

490-466: The Ultra series library from Tsuburaya Productions through Indigo Entertainment, including 1,100 TV episodes and 20 films. Mill Creek released the series on Blu-ray and digital on October 15, 2019, in standard and steelbook sets. In July 2020, Shout! Factory announced to have struck a multi-year deal with Alliance Entertainment and Mill Creek, with the blessings of Tsuburaya and Indigo, that granted them

525-693: The Tokyo-Takarazuka Theatre Company ( 株式会社東京宝塚劇場 , Kabushiki gaisha Tōkyō Takarazuka Gekijō ) . It managed much of the kabuki in Tokyo and, among other properties, the eponymous Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre and the Imperial Garden Theater in Tokyo ; Toho and Shochiku enjoyed a duopoly over theaters in Tokyo for many years. After the end of World War II , the new Occupation government allowed and encouraged

560-583: The Garamon suit was reused and repaired to serve as Pigmon. Other suits were altered to play other monsters, such as Pegulia being altered into Chandlar, Kemur being altered into Alien Zetton, Pagos being altered into Neronga (and later Magular and Gabora ), while the head of the Cicada Human was modified to become the head of Alien Baltan. Finally, Peter's suit was modified to become that of Guesra. In 2013, Tsuburaya Productions and Bandai Visual released

595-666: The Stars was released in 1990. In 2004, a new series called Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy was produced, while another series called Neo Ultra Q began airing in early 2013. The original concept of the show (when it was going to be called Unbalance ) was ultimately used for a 13-episode horror anthology series entitled Horror Theater Unbalance that was produced by Tsuburaya Productions in 1973. Various Ultra Q monsters were reused or redressed for various monsters in Ultraman . Kemur and Ragon (both of them now giant-sized) returned, while

630-568: The U.S., Toho declared in March 2024 that Godzilla is their " Intellectual property (IP) treasure" and they had regained retailing rights overseas (which were once abandoned), and now are able to sell, advertise, and distribute their own products to consumers outside Japan directly. The company also said that the film winning Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards is helping them gain more recognition and advancing more business extension overseas. Toho Animation (stylized as TOHO animation )

665-707: The United States during the 1950s through Henry G. Saperstein , Toho took over the La Brea Theatre in Los Angeles to show its films without the need to sell them to a distributor. It was known as the Toho Theatre from the late 1960s until the 1970s. Toho also had a theater in San Francisco and opened a theater in New York City in 1963. The Shintoho Company, which existed until 1961,

700-611: The aim of both cutting expenses and eliminating Communist leaders from the union. Negotiations failed and the union occupied the studio on April 15, joined by activists from the Japan Communist Party and other organizations, erecting barricades and closing the main gates. On August 13, the Tokyo District Court decided in Toho's favor, and on the morning of August 19, a district police chief arrived at

735-477: The best ten films of the year in Kinema Junpo . However, each film had double or triple the budget of films produced by other studios, and the company suffered severe losses. In 1948, the new Toho president Tetsuzo Watanabe ordered a return of the wartime quota of 24 films per year and the end of control over production by the union. In April, Toho management announced the dismissal of 1200 employees, with

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770-516: The end of 1949. In May 1953, Toho established Toho International , a Los Angeles -based subsidiary intended to target North American and Latin American markets. Seven Samurai was among the first films offered for foreign sales. Toho and Shochiku competed with the influx of Hollywood films and boosted the film industry by focusing on new directors of the likes of Akira Kurosawa , Kon Ichikawa , Keisuke Kinoshita , Ishirō Honda , and Kaneto Shindo . After several successful film exports to

805-525: The exclusive SVOD and AVOD digital rights to the Ultra series and films (1,100 TV episodes and 20 films) acquired by Mill Creek the previous year. Ultra Q , amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu. Toho Toho Co., Ltd. ( 東宝株式会社 , Tōhō Kabushiki-gaisha ) is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It

840-605: The formation of labor unions , which had been banned under the Imperial government. During a general strike of film studio employees beginning in October 1946, a group of Toho's ten top stars led by Denjiro Okochi split from the main Toho union along with 445 employees. During the resolution of the strike, a closed-shop provision with the main union led to the establishment of the Shintoho Company, which comprised

875-457: The front gate to read out the court decision. Two thousand policemen surrounded the studio, reinforced by soldiers, three airplanes, and several armored cars and tanks sent by the U.S. Eighth Army . The union leaders agreed to end their occupation on the condition the union was not disbanded. Toho was severely weakened after the strikes and produced only four films in 1948 and five films in 1949, and continued to distribute Shintoho films until

910-486: The majority of the highest-grossing Japanese films , and through its subsidiaries, is the largest film importer in Japan. Toho's most famous creation is Godzilla , featured in 33 of the company's films. Godzilla, Rodan , Mothra , King Ghidorah , and Mechagodzilla are described as Toho's Big Five due to their numerous appearances throughout the Godzilla franchise , as well as spin-offs. Toho has also been involved in

945-545: The members of the dissenting union and former Toho facilities. The loss of major stars led to the hiring and training of new stars, including Toshiro Mifune . The contract made after the strike stipulated that Toho would only produce films approved by a committee that included union members, which led to filmmakers gaining unprecedented creative and productive control over their films. While Toho produced only thirteen films in 1947, six Toho films, including One Wonderful Sunday , directed by Akira Kurosawa , were ranked among

980-453: The production of numerous anime titles. Its subdivisions are Toho-Towa Company, Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor of Universal Pictures via NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan ), Towa Pictures Company Limited (Japanese exclusive theatrical distributor of Paramount Pictures ), Toho Pictures Incorporated, Toho International Inc. , Toho E. B. Company Limited, and Toho Music Corporation & Toho Costume Company Limited. The company

1015-399: The rage at the time (the first "Kaiju Boom" took off after Ultra Q became an enormous hit). Much like The X-Files , the series features continuing characters who investigate strange supernatural phenomena, including giant monsters, aliens, ghosts, and various other threats. The originally planned title of this project was Unbalance , and was subsequently renamed Ultra Q mostly due to

1050-453: The series on Blu-ray, in monochrome and colorized editions. In 2018, Tsuburaya released four episodes in individual Blu-ray and DVD sets with newly produced special features, as part of their Ultraman Archives project. In November 2019, Tsuburaya released a 4K restoration of the series on Ultra HD Blu-ray . In August 2013, Shout! Factory released the series on DVD. In July 2019, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that it had acquired most of

1085-458: The word "Ultra" gaining popularity due to the Japanese gymnast Gold Medal recipient in the 1964 Summer Olympics using a technique named " Ultra C ". The "Q" stands for "Question" and is also tied with another hit TBS series, Obake no Q-tarō , an animated series based on the manga by Fujiko Fujio . The series began production in 1964, with the premiere set for January 1966. At the time, this

Ultra Q - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-403: Was dubbed into English as a pilot. Over the last decade, other episodes have been discovered in the hands of U.S. private collectors on the 16mm film format. In 2003, a weekly radio drama series was produced called The Ultra Q Club . It featured voice acting from the original Ultra Q cast. In the years following the show's original run, a live action film called Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of

1155-467: Was named New Toho because it broke off from the original company. Toho has contributed to the production of some American films, including Sam Raimi 's 1998 film, A Simple Plan and Paul W. S. Anderson 's 2020 military science fiction / kaiju film, Monster Hunter . In 2019, Toho invested ¥15.4 billion ($ 14 million) into their Los Angeles-based subsidiary Toho International Inc. as part of their "Toho Vision 2021 Medium-term Management Strategy",

1190-473: Was the most expensive television series ever produced in Japan. Because of his stature as a filmmaker, and with his close relationship with Toho (they were investors in, and on the Board of Directors at, Tsuburaya Productions), Eiji Tsuburaya was ordered by his crew to take what they needed from the prop warehouse, where the various props from his films were stored, for use on the series. The large Manda prop

1225-508: Was used for the dragon Kairyu (while the head was used as the front portion of a Viking ship seen in episode 12), as well as the Oodako prop from Frankenstein vs. Baragon became Sudar, while the Maguma suit from Gorath was repurposed as Todola. Other suits and props were refurbished to play some of the monsters, such as Godzilla for Gomess , King Kong for Goro, Baragon for Pagos, and

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