Founded 19 October 1962 Number of employees 59 (2015) | ||
Divisions I.G Tatsunoko 1987–1993 Website tatsunoko.co.jp/english Parent organizations Tomy, Nippon Television Hldgs Films produced King of Prism by PrettyRhythm, Macross: Do You Rememb, Hutch the Honeybee, Robotech: The Shadow, The Super Dimension Fortress Profiles | ||
Tatsunoko production and ryo timo anime studio spotlight
Tatsunoko Production Company (株式会社タツノコプロ, Kabushiki gaisha Tatsunoko Puro), previously known as Kabushiki gaisha Tatsunoko Purodakushon (株式会社竜の子プロダクション) and often shortened to Tatsunoko Pro (タツノコプロ, Tatsunoko Puro), is a Japanese animation company. It was founded in October 1962 by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida and his brothers, Kenji and Toyoharu (pen name "Ippei Kuri"). The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and "sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are in Musashino, Tokyo.
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My top 30 tatsunoko production anime opening
History
The studio's first production was the 1965 TV series Space Ace. Since then many figures in the anime industry have worked with Tatsunoko, including Mizuho Nishikubo, Hiroshi Sasagawa, Koichi Mashimo, Katsuhisa Yamada, Hideaki Anno (Tatsunoko provided animation work on the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series), and Kazuo Yamazaki. Sasagawa is notable for bringing his fondness for comedy animation to the forefront in Tatsunoko series such as the Time Bokan (1975) franchise. The company later licensed Macross to Harmony Gold, who then produced Robotech.
Takara acquired Tatsunoko on June 3, 2005 after purchasing an 88 percent stake and made the company a subsidiary. Production I.G was established in 1987 as I.G. Tatsunoko, a branch for the production of Zillion led by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa.
In 2009, Tatsunoko announced that it would collaborate with Marvel Comics on a joint television project and other ventures. IG Port announced on June 2, 2010 that its subsidiary, Production I.G, had purchased an 11.2 percent stake in Tatsunoko. Production I.G president Mitsuhisa Ishikawa became a part-time director of the studio.
Talent agency Horipro announced on February 23, 2013 that it had acquired a 13.5 percent stake in Tatsunoko. At Anime Expo 2013, Sentai Filmworks announced a deal to license and release some of Tatsunoko's titles, including Gatchaman and Casshan. Nippon Television announced on January 29, 2014 that it had purchased a 54.3 percent stake in Tatsunoko and adopted the company as its subsidiary.