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Toei Animation

Toei Animation
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Foundation date 23 january 1948

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. (東映アニメーション株式会社, Tōei Animēshon Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese animation studio in which Toei Company, Ltd. is the biggest shareholder. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films (日本動画映画, Nihon Dōga Eiga, often shortened to 日動映画 (Nichidō Eiga)). In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name. Over the years, the studio has created a large number of TV series, movies, and adapted many Japanese comics by renowned authors to animated series, many popular worldwide. Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Leiji Matsumoto and Yoichi Kotabe have all worked with the company in the past. Toei is a shareholder in the Japanese anime satellite television network, Animax, along with other noted anime studios and production enterprises such as Sunrise, TMS Entertainment and Nihon Ad Systems Inc. The company headquarters are located in the Ohizumi Studio in Nerima, Tokyo.

Until 1998, the company was known as Toei Doga (東映動画株式会社, Tōei Dōga Kabushiki-gaisha) (although even at that time the company's formal English name was "Toei Animation Co., Ltd."), with "dōga" being the native Japanese word for "animation" which was widely used until the 1970s. Their mascot is the cat Pero, from the company's 1969 film adaptation of Puss in Boots.

Toei Animation produced the anime versions of works by many legendary manga artists, including Go Nagai (Mazinger Z), Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Shotaro Ishinomori (Cyborg 009), Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro (Toriko), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk), Mitsuteru Yokoyama (Sally the Witch), Masami Kurumada (Saint Seiya), Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump), Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999), and Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon). In addition, the studio helped propel the popularity of the magical girl and Super Robot genres of anime; among Toei's most legendary and trend-setting TV series include the first magical-girl anime series, Mahoutsukai Sally the anime adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga of the same name, and Go Nagai's Mazinger Z, animated adaptation of his manga, which set the standard for Super Robot anime for years to come.

Although Toei Company usually lets Toei Animation handle its official animation works, on occasion they may hire other companies to provide animation on their behalf, such as the Robot Romance Trilogy in which Toei Company handled the overall production, but the animation work went to Sunrise (then known as Nippon Sunrise) instead.

Anime created by Toei Animation that have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award have been Galaxy Express 999 in 1981, Saint Seiya in 1987, and Sailor Moon in 1992.

In addition to producing anime for domestic release in Japan, Toei Animation also provided animation work for several American box office motion pictures and television series for US companies, dating back as far as the 1960s, but they mostly provided outsourced production work during the 1980s.

Best films

See more : Wikipedia

Filmography of Toei Animation (100 films)

Display filmography as list

Distribution

Kinnikuman: The Stolen Championship Belt, 48minutes
Genres Animation
Themes Sports films
Actors Akira Kamiya, Hideyuki Tanaka, Eiji Kanie, Daisuke Gōri, Hideyuki Hori, Chikao Ōtsuka

After winning the 21st Choujin Olympics, Kinnikuman plans to build his own theme park. As his friends and celebrities arrive, the sky grows dark and with a flash of lightning Kinnikuman's championship belt is gone. He then sees that it has been taken by Octopus Dragon III, who challenges him to take it back. Kinnikuman tries but fails and Mari is kidnapped. Octopus Dragon gives Kinnikuman a time limit to save her before she is fed to the monster Gigasaurus and then returns to his home world of Planet Metro (メトロ星,, Metoro-sei). Despite his injuries, Kinnikuman is determined to go and reclaim his belt and Mari. Luckily, Terryman, Ramenman, Robin Mask, Warsman, Brocken Jr., and Rikishiman arrive to lend him a hand.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1h56
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Environmental films, Feminist films, Post-apocalyptic films, Films about religion, Transport films, Aviation films, Films set in the future, Films about insects, Political films, Dystopian films, Children's films, Disaster films, Mise en scène d'une plante
Actors Sumi Shimamoto, Yoji Matsuda, Hisako Kyōda, Gorō Naya, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Ichirō Nagai

One thousand years have passed since the Seven Days of Fire, an apocalyptic war that destroyed human civilization and gave birth to the vast Toxic Jungle, a forest swarming with giant mutant insects in which everything is lethal to humans. Scattered settlements exist wherever the Toxic Jungle relents, with the Valley of the Wind being one such settlement. The Valley's settlers have a prophecy about a saviour, "clothed in blue robes, descending onto a golden field, to join bonds with the great earth and guide the people to the pure lands at last".
Final Yamato, 2h32
Directed by Toshio Masuda
Genres Science fiction, Action, Animation
Themes Films set in the future
Actors Kei Tomiyama, Yōko Asagami, Gorō Naya, Akira Kamiya, Chika Sakamoto, Ichirō Nagai

The water planet Aquarius is heading towards Earth after flooding the home planet of the warrior race of the Dinguil. The Dinguil use warp technology to make the planet move towards Earth faster than usual. The warrior race plans to flood Earth and make it their new home. When Earth learns of this, they make plans to evacuate humanity. Unfortunately, the Dinguil destroy the evacuation fleets. The space battleship Yamato, under the newly revived Jyuzo Okita (who seemingly died in the first season of the original series) now has to fight the Dinguil and stop Aquarius from flooding the Earth.
Be Forever Yamato, 2h25
Directed by Toshio Masuda
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Space adventure films, Films set in the future, Space opera
Actors Kei Tomiyama, Yōko Asagami, Shūsei Nakamura, Akira Kamiya, Banjō Ginga, Ichirō Nagai

The Black Nebula Empire, last seen in Yamato: The New Voyage, lands a huge fortress on Earth and sends out an invasion force, with the Black Nebulan fleet wipes out Earth's space fleets. The fortress contains a bomb capable of destroying half the planet. The Nebulans threaten to use it if they are attacked.
Space Battleship Yamato: The New Voyage, 1h35
Directed by Toshio Masuda
Genres Science fiction, Action, Animation
Themes Films set in the future
Actors Kei Tomiyama, Yōko Asagami, Shūsei Nakamura, Ichirō Nagai, Kazuo Hayashi, Kenichi Ogata

During a seemingly standard training mission a month after the war with the White Comet Empire, the crew of the Yamato face a new enemy: the mysterious Dark Nebula Empire. Kodai, Shima, Yuki, and the rest of the ship's crew have to ally with ex-enemy Desslar in order to foil the Dark Nebula's plans of strip mining Iscandar - the home planet of old friend Starsha, who helped the crew during their first voyage.
Taro the Dragon Boy, 1h15
Directed by Peter Fernandez, Kirio Urayama
Origin Japon
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Films about dragons
Actors Sayuri Yoshinaga, Kirin Kiki, Kazuo Kumakura, Miina Tominaga

In the distant past of Japan a lazy and selfish Taro loves to eat and sleep and wrestle with the animals. With no direction in his life, a Tengu appears that gives him a special potion. With this potion, he gains the strength of a hundred men - but he can only use it when he is helping others. After drinking the potion, Taro, day by day, begins to understand what it means to help other, first my fighting Akaoni (Red Oni) to save Aya, a young girl gifted with the flute, then by helping others in his village collect fire wood. One night his grandmother tells him of his mother's transformation into a dragon. Taro then begins his search for his mother. Before his search for his mother starts, Taro again confronts Akaoni after hearing from the animals that Aya was captured by Kurooni (Black Oni). After a brief fight, Akaoni agrees to help Taro save Aya from Kurooni. After besting Kunooni, Taro finds out he has also saved a village terrorized by Kurooni and Akaoni, the later bullied into the former's service. Taro then aids Akaoni by throwing him into the clouds to serve the thunder god. After the village celebrates Taro's deeds, he starts his search. He comes upon an old woman and is tricked into service in her rice patties. After a successful harvest year and learning the truth from a giant serpent living in the lake next to the old woman's rice farm, Taro takes the fruits of his labor and gives it to the old woman's former employees and others, leaving her with little. During his conversation with the serpent, Taro learns that nine mountain overs lives a yamanba that could point him in the right direction. Taro takes that information and finds the yamanba. The yamanba tells him what he seeks and lets slip she was responsible for the serpent. After narrowing escaping the yamanba, Taro is overpowered by yukionna. The following morning, Aya finds Taro near frozen and able to revive him. With her aid, Taro finds the lake where his mother, Tatsu, now lives. Tatsu tells Taro why she was transformed, as a mother heavy with child fulfilling her duties to her unborn child, she needed to eat, but neglecting her duties to the rest of her village, she left nothing of her catch for the other workers. Taro then proposes a means to make the lives of the villager back home better, by making for them a new home able to be large rice patties. Taro and Tatsu them attempt to break the dam that formed the lake Tatsu resides. Although they succeed, Tatsu's body is broken and all seeing it after the lake had emptied concluded she had died. Morning the lost of his mother, Taro is relieved to see her life was returned and she is yet again human. Their actions are successful and the new flooded low lands enable prosperity for all the villagers Taro has helped, not only along his way but from his home village.
Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato, 2h31
Directed by Toshio Masuda
Genres Science fiction, Action, Animation
Themes Films set in the future
Actors Kei Tomiyama, Yōko Asagami, Shūsei Nakamura, Akira Kamiya, Bin Shimada, Chikao Ōtsuka

The Yamato and her crew face the onslaught of the Comet Empire, a civilization from the Andromeda Galaxy that seeks to conquer Earth, led by Zwordar the Great (Prince Zordar in the English dub). The Earth ship is aided by an antimatter woman, Teresa of Telezart (known as Trelaina in the English dub), while the Comet Empire has revived Earth's greatest enemy, the Gamilas' leader Desslar, who is eager for revenge. After an immense battle destroys the forces of both Earth and the Comet Empire, the Yamato destroys the White Comet's cover, revealing the Empire City that hid inside it. After a long battle, Susumu Kodai orders everyone else off the Yamato before ramming her into the Emperor's ship head-on, sacrificing his life and the ship to defeat Zwordar and save humanity.
Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, 1h8
Directed by Tim Reid, Karel Kachyňa
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Animation
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Seafaring films, Transport films, Mermaids in film, Children's films
Actors Fumie Kashiyama, Kōsei Tomita, Hidekatsu Shibata, Ichirō Nagai, Libuše Šafránková, Flora Balzano

The movie opens in live action Denmark. From there, a narrator explains to the audience how Denmark is a popular tourist destination. He also states that many storytellers were born in Denmark, and the most famous one is Hans Christian Andersen. After explaining how this man wrote beautiful stories, the narrator finishes the explanations by mentioning that Andersen's most famous story, "The Little Mermaid," originated in Denmark. After a brief shot of a live action ocean and the opening title card (with a mermaid song in the background), the scene dissolves to 2D hand-drawn anime.
Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon, 1h20
Origin Japon
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about extraterrestrial life, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Darla Hood, Seiji Miyaguchi, Kyū Sakamoto, Junko Hori

The story concerns a homeless boy named Ricky, or Ted in the Japanese version. After seeing a movie about Gulliver he meets Professor Gulliver himself in a forest. Gulliver is now an elderly, space-traveling scientist. With Dr. Gulliver's assistant Sylvester the crow (named Crow in the Japanese edition), and Ricky's companions, a talking dog and a toy soldier, they travel the Milky Way to the Planet of Blue Hope, which has been taken over by the Queen of Purple Planet and her evil group of robots. Armed with water-pistols and water balloons, which melt the villains, Ricky and Gulliver restore Blue Hope to its doll-like owners. Then the boy wakes up.
The Tale of the White Serpent, 1h18
Origin Japon
Genres Fantasy, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Films about magic and magicians, Films based on mythology, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Films about snakes, Mythologie japonaise, Children's films, Reptile
Actors Hisaya Morishige, Lisa Lu, Miiko Taka, Mel Welles, Claire Tefnin, Xavier Percy

Xu-Xian, a young boy, once owned a pet snake in West Lake until his parents forced him to give her up. Years pass and during a violent storm, the snake magically transforms into the beautiful princess Bai-Niang. Bai-Niang finds Xu-Xian, but the lovers are separated by a local monk, Fa-Hai, who believes that Bai-Niang is an evil spirit. Xu-Xian's two panda pets, Panda and Mimi, try to find Xu-Xian. In the end, Bai-Niang gives up her magical powers and remains in human form to prove that her love for Xu-Xian is genuine.