Mushi Production
Mushi Production refers to two Japanese anime studios .
Old Mushi Production
The original KK Mushi Production ( Japanese 株式会社 虫 プ ロ ダ ク シ ョ ン , Kabushiki-gaisha Mushi Purodakushon ) was founded in June 1961 by Osamu Tezuka in competition with Toei Animation , initially as Tezuka Dōga Production ( 手塚 動画 プ ロ ダ ク シ ョ ン , duka production) ). In January 1962 it was renamed Mushi Production , which can be traced back to Tezuka's predilection for insects ( mushi ) and the kanji for those in his name. The studio's first productions included the 38-minute color film Aru Machikado no Monogatari , which won the Ōfuji Noburō Prize at the Mainichi film competition , the roughly two-minute film Male and the first episode of Astro Boy , based on the manga of the same name Tezuka. All three productions were presented to an audience for the first time in November 1962.
On January 1, 1963, the first black and white episode of Astro Boy , the first anime television series, ran on Japanese television. The series aired through December 1966 and comprises 193 episodes. Astro Boy became a huge success in Japan and was shown on foreign TV channels as early as 1964. This was followed by the 92-part series Ginga Shōnen Tai from April 1963, in which both animation and stop-motion were used. The 52-episode anime Kimba, the White Lion , based on a manga by Tezuka , which premiered on October 6, 1965, was Japan's first color television series.
Other successful or important productions of the studio were for example Ribon no Kishi (1967), The Moomins (1969), Cleopatra (1970), Ashita no Joe (1970), Pixi in Wolkenkuckucksheim (1971), Umi no Triton (1972) and Wansa -kun (1973).
In 1973 the company had to file for bankruptcy, due to the failing guarantees due to Tezuka's resignation as chairman in 1971. In 1968 he founded Tezuka Production which, in contrast to Mushi Production, had Manga as a business field, but from 1971 also produced anime with Fushigi na Melmo .
Many well-known animators , mangaka, and directors worked at Mushi Productions in the 1960s and 1970s, including Shingo Araki , Shinji Nagashima , Akihiro Kaneyama , Hisashi Sakaguchi , Ryōsuke Takahashi , Yoshiyuki Tomino , Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Rintaro .
Productions
TV Shows
- 1963: Astro Boy
- 1963: Ginga Shōnentai
- 1966: Jungle Taitei Susume Leo
- 1967: Choppy and the Princess
- 1968: Animal 1
- 1969: Dororo to Hyakkimaru
- 1970: Ashita no Joe
- 1971: Fushigi na Melmo
- 1971: Pixi in the Cloud Cuckoo Land
- 1980: Tetsuwan Atom
More anime productions
- 1962: Aru Machikado no Monogatari (film)
- 1964: Tetsuwan Atom Uchu no Yusha (film)
- 1970: Cleopatra and the great Romans (film)
- 1973: Belladonna of Sadness (film)
- 1989: Akai Kiba Blue Sonnet (OVA)
- 2003: Asu o Tsukutta Otoko: Tanabe Sakurō to Biwa-ko Sosui (film)
- 1965: Kimba, the White Lion (TV series)
- 1966: Chōhen Jungle Taitei (film)
New Mushi Production
In November 1977 the new Mushi Production KK ( 虫 プ ロ ダ ク シ ョ ン 株式会社 , Mushi Purodakushon Kabushiki-gaisha ) was founded, which produces anime for the cinema and manages the rights to the productions of the old Mushi Production, all of which Tezuka took over.