Nippon Animation


is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 3, 1975. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with its headquarters in their Tama City studio and an administrative head office in the Ginza district of Chūō.
Nippon Animation is known for producing numerous anime series adapted from works of Western literature as well as original works and manga adaptations such as the World Masterpiece Theater series with entries such as Rascal the Raccoon, Anne of Green Gables, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tales of Little Women, Romeo's Blue Skies among others as well as Maya the Bee, Papuwa, Uchūsen Sagittarius and Chibi Maruko-chan which has become a major hit for the studio in Japan and globally. Amongst many of its past and present staffers include Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, co-founders of Studio Ghibli. Aside from animation production, the company also handles character licensing.
The titular protagonist from Rascal the Raccoon serves as the studio's mascot.

History

Early history (as Zuiyo Eizo)

What is now Nippon Animation is descended from Zuiyo Eizo, an animation studio and planning and production company founded in April 1969 by TCJ former manager Shigeto Takahashi.
Zuiyo Enterprise was the former sales division of the animation studio, TCJ before it spun off in March and was formally established the following month.
The studio has been involved in the planning and production series based on Western literature in the early and mid-1970s such as Moomin, Vicky the Viking and 1974's Heidi, Girl of the Alps, an adaptation of Johanna Spyri's popular children's book Heidi. The Heidi anime was enormously popular in Japan. Zuiyo Enterprise soon found itself in financial trouble because of the high production costs of a series it was attempting to sell to the European market.
The company was involved in the production of animated series for the TV anime staple Calpis Comic Theater, later known as World Masterpiece Theater, broadcast on Fuji TV. These series were based on children's literature such as Moomin and Andersen Stories. These earlier series' animation were commissioned to two other studios: Mushi Production and Tokyo Movie Shinsha, while Zuiyo was mainly involved in the planning.
In 1972, after changing its headquarters, Zuiyo Enterprise formed an animation studio division known as Zuiyo Eizo. By this time, Zuiyo was working on its first independent production based on Johanna Spyri's Heidi, an ambitious project on which Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki also worked on. In 1967 Takahashi had already produced a short pilot for a Heidi series with TCJ, but the project was shelved. In the meantime Zuiyo also worked on Vicky the Viking, a German co-production with ZDF and ORF, based on Runer Jonsson's eponymous book series. In 1974 Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Vicky the Viking were broadcast in Japan, soon gaining a huge success also in Europe. Nevertheless, Zuiyo Eizo found itself in financial difficulties due to the high production costs of its series, not enough repaid by the selling of its properties to European market. In 1975, Zuiyo Eizo was split into two entities: Zuiyo Co., Ltd., which absorbed the debt and the rights to the Heidi anime and other previous series, and Nippon Animation, which was essentially Zuiyo Eizo's production staff, which would continue to produce World Masterpiece Theater, retaining the rights of other series on which the studio was working on, such as A Dog of Flanders and Maya the Honey Bee.

Modern History (as Nippon Animation)

In 1975, Zuiyo Eizo's staff spun off its studio into a separate company known as Nippon Animation, which was essentially Zuiyo Eizo's production staff. Officially, Nippon Animation Co., Ltd. was established on 3 June 1975 by company president Kōichi Motohashi. The newly rechristened Nippon Animation found success right away with Maya the Honey Bee and A Dog of Flanders, which became the first entry in the World Masterpiece Theater series to be produced under the Nippon Animation name. Hayao Miyazaki left Nippon Animation in 1979 in the middle of the production of Anne of Green Gables to make the Lupin III feature The Castle of Cagliostro. As a result, Zuiyo Enterprise absorbed the debt and the rights to the Heidi and Vicky the Viking television series and continued operations until 1988, when due to its debt, the copyrights for the Zuiyo Enterprise programs moved to a separate company under the Zuiyo name.
A lawsuit by 361 voice actors was filed against Nippon Animation and its recording production subsidiary Onkyo Eizo System in demand of unpaid royalties from DVD releases of the studio's series. After four years, a judge ruled in 2003 that Onkyo Eizo owed 87 million yen to the actors, but dismissed the case against Nippon Animation as they deemed actor compensation to be the responsibility of the recording studio. Both parties appealed the decision. On 25 August 2004, the Tokyo High Court upheld the ruling against Onkyo Eizo and also found Nippon Animation liable, ordering both companies to pay the 87 million yen. The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the ruling in 2005.

Body of work

In addition to the World Masterpiece Theater series, Nippon Animation has also produced many other series based on Western works of literature, as well as original works and adaptations of Japanese manga. Especially, until Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, its peak of productions based on Western works of literature. Many of these are included in the list of the studio's works below.
Of the studio's productions not based on Western literature, the most popular is undoubtedly Chibi Maruko-chan and its 1995 revival, based on the popular manga by Momoko Sakura. At its peak, this slice-of-life anime about an unusually intelligent elementary-school-aged girl and her family and friends managed an audience rating of nearly 40%, making it one of the highest-rated anime series ever.

Works adapted from Western literature

World Masterpiece Theater series

Other TV series

  • Vicky the Viking – 1974–1975
  • Maya the Honey Bee – 1975–1976
  • Laura, The Prairie Girl – 1975
  • Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures – 1975
  • The Adventures of Piccolino – 1976
  • Little Lulu and Her Little Friends – 1976
  • Monarch: The Big Bear of Tallac – 1977
  • Future Boy Conan – 1978, a Hayao Miyazaki work
  • Bannertail: The Story of Gray Squirrel – 1979
  • Ruy, the Little Cid – 1980, co-production with BRB Internacional
  • Heart : An Italian Schoolboy's Journal – 1981
  • Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds – 1981; co-production with BRB Internacional
  • The New Adventures of Maya the Bee – 1982
  • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – 1983
  • Around the World with Willy Fog – 1983, 1987 ; co-production with BRB Internacional
  • Manga Aesop's Fables – 1983
  • Bosco Adventure – 1986
  • Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics – 1987–1988
  • New Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics – 1988–1989
  • Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli
  • Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair – 1992

    TV specials

  • Manxmouse
  • Anne's Diary: The Story of Anne Frank
  • Back to the Forest
  • ''The Story of Fifteen Boys''

    Other works

TV series

  • Dokaben
  • Attack on Tomorrow
  • Blocker Gundan 4 Machine Blaster – 1977
  • Ginguiser – 1977
  • I'm Teppei – 1977
  • Charlotte – 1977
  • The Casebook of Charlotte Holmes – 1977
  • Poetry of the Baseball Enthusiasts
  • Haikara-san ga Tōru – 1978
  • Highschool Baseball Ninja – 1978
  • Misha the Bear Cub – 1979
  • Seton Dobutsuki Risu no Banner – 1979
  • Sanpei the Fisherman – 1980
  • Fútbol en acción – 1981
  • The Many Dream Journeys of Meme – 1983
  • Noozles – 1984
  • Elves of the Forest – 1984
  • Bumpety Boo – 1985
  • Spaceship Sagittarius – 1986
  • Animated Classics of Japanese Literature
  • Topo Gigio – 1988
  • Dagon in the Land of Weeds – 1988
  • Chibi Maruko-chan – 1990
  • Pygmalio – 1990
  • Top Striker – 1991
  • Christopher Columbus – 1992 co-production with Mondo TV
  • Mikan's Picture Diary – 1992
  • Papuwa-kun – 1992
  • Bow: Modern Dog Tales
  • Dragon League – 1993
  • Muka Muka Paradise – 1993
  • Miracle Girls – 1993
  • Mahojin Guru Guru – 1994
  • Pig Girl of Love and Courage: Tonde Burin – 1994
  • Yamato Takeru – 1994
  • Romeo's Blue Skies – 1995
  • Mama Loves the Poyopoyo-Saurus – 1995
  • Grander Musashi – 1997
  • Duck Caen – 1997
  • Cooking Master Boy – 1997
  • Coji-Coji – 1997; from the creator of Chibi Maruko-chan, Momoko Sakura
  • Ten-Ten-Kun – 1998
  • Inventor Boy Kanipan – 1998
  • Xenon Football Sign – 1999
  • Shuukan! Story Land – 1999
  • Hunter × Hunter – 1999
  • Corrector Yui – 1999
  • Bikkuriman 2000 – 1999
  • Taiga Adventure – 1999; a remake of Future Boy Conan directed by Hayao Miyazaki's former assistant, Keiji Hayakawa, but featuring a new cast of characters
  • Marcelino Pan y Vino – 2000
  • Mahōjin Guru Guru – April 2000, TV Tokyo
  • Princess Comet – 2001; based on a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, creator of Tetsujin 28-go and Sally, the Witch
  • Dennou Boukenki Webdiver – 2001
  • Daigunder – 2002
  • Hungry Heart: Wild Striker – 2002–2003, Animax
  • Papuwa – September 2003, TV Tokyo
  • Sore Ike! Zukkoke Sannin Gumi – April 2004, TV Tokyo
  • Fantastic Children – October 2004, TV Tokyo
  • Pokapoka Mori no Rascal – 2006, remake of Rascal the Raccoon
  • Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge – 2006
  • Antique Bakery – 2008
  • Hyakko – 2008
  • Meitantei Rascal – 2014, spin-off of Rascal the Raccoon
  • Genie Family 2020 – 2020
  • Let's Make a Mug Too – 2021
  • Love All Play – 2022
  • Blue Orchestra – 2023-present
  • Araiguma Calcal-dan – 2025, second spin-off of ''Rascal the Raccoon''